Barack Obama "Back to School"
On September 8th 2009, the president of The United States, Barack Obama gave a speech called “Back to School”. The speech was about the responsibility that you have as a young individual - responsibility you have for yourself, your teachers, parents, and your country. Obama mentions, among other things, that you have to attend school to find out what your good at, and what you want to make of your future. He says that without education your never going to get the job you want most. He says that what you make of your education is going to determine the future of the country and if you quit school and quit on yourself, your giving up on our country. Throughout the speech, Obama makes references to not only his own life experiences, but also, the American dream. He ends his speech by saying, that it is hard to be successful and that you have to fight to achieve your goal in life. You have to practice, study hard and not be afraid of asking people for help. Furthermore he ends his speech by asking his audience questions and to say that he has great expectations for this new generation. The President of the United States Barack Obama is the speaker of the text “Back to School”. His audience is not only the young people at Wakefield High School, but moreover young people attending school in all over America. P.1 l.1: “Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today?” It is already indicated in the first line that he is trying to level with his audience, the young students, despite of his status. Furthermore he uses the words “I know”, and almost turns them into a phrase. With this phrase, which appears several times through the text, he indicates to the audience that he knows their feelings or thoughts. The imagery in this speech is very vivid, showing what success looks like, and what an individual could make of their life. With the use of small and simple sentences Obama tries to get the point across that school is important and one needs an education to survive