A Study Of Rhetorical Situation In Obama's 2011 State Of The Union Address

Political speech is considered to be the water of the political life for all politicians, especially when they are in crisis situation. Politicians choose their words carefully because they believe that the power of language can influence thoughts, with which the powerful figure imposes his will under the audiences'unconscious or comfortable condition.Obama government's inaction in the more than two years provokes people's disappointment and discontent. With 2012 presidential campaign approaching, Obama delivers his 2011 State of the Union Address. This speech is considered to be the prelude to his reelection, which plays extremely important role in winning over his support and striving for serving for another term of office.Rhetorical situation is the core of present western rhetoric theory. This paper is a tentative study to test a new theoretical model:an integration of Bitzer's (1968) rhetorical situation with Yuan Ying's (2008) modification feasibility and effectiveness. This paper manifests that adapting to the rhetorical situation is of crucial importance for success in rhetorical engagement. Apprehending the local moment and exigence of political times, analyzing the historical backdrop, the seriousness of the current situation and the Guerra, the speaker can fit himself into the desired content as to effectively alter the reality. Audience adaptation should also be paid enough attention. The audience's power in rhetor-audience interaction is easily ignored. Since the rhetor and audience are separate entities, there exists dividedness between them. To skip the distance and gain identification, Toulmin's Argument and Burke's Identification (Identification by Inaccuracy, Identification by Antithesis, and Identification by Sympathy) become the vital rhetorical strategies. Correct perception of ethos is a key in rhetorical practices too. Fashioning the ethos in accordance with the particularity of the situation is inherent in situation adaptation. The rhetor should know how and when to display the tokens to establish an ethos that would best suit the situation and most favorable for him or her.