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Farewell To Baseball Address Rhetorical Analysis

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Farewell To Baseball Address Rhetorical Analysis
If you knew the time you had left on this earth was coming to an end, would you give up or cherish all the blessings in your life? Lou Gehrig preferred to count his blessings and continued to fight. He went day after day knowing his time was coming to an end, yet still managed to focus on the beautiful life he lived. In his speech “Farewell to Baseball Address”, Lou Gehrig uses rhetorical questions, repetition, and positive diction to effectively convey the idea that even though he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis he is still blessed.
Lou Gehrig used rhetorical questions to display how he believed every situation he experienced was something to be grateful for. Gehrig used rhetorical questions such as, “Who wouldn’t consider
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Using diction such as “blessing”, “lucky”, and “strength” show how he focused on the positive aspects of his life. Each mention of luck shows the cheerful attitude he had towards his accomplishments. His blessing came in the form of his parents working their entire lives in order to put their son through education and support his athletic habit (Gehrig). The support he had from his parents got him to where he is as a professional baseball player. The strength his wife had helped lift him and give him the strength to face his disease (Gehrig). Behind every brave man is a strong woman, and this is true for him as she was a pillar of strength he could look to when he had none. Even when Gehrig uses “bad break” in his speech it is still uplifting as he doesn’t see his condition as a tragedy or misfortune. Realizing he has more to live for is what makes him, “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” In memory of his fight with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS is often referred to as Lou Gehrig disease. The Hall of Fame baseball player impacted many lives due to his strong will and ability to never give up. Through the use of rhetorical questions, repetition, and understatements Gehrig explains all the reasons he has to keep fighting and

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