The acting president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, fascinated millions of US-citizens in many of his campaign speeches in 2008. With his slogan “Yes we can!” he offered them a new, believable perspective.
Finally, this wave of euphoria brought him to the White House and made him, contrary to all expectations, the first black US-President.
I looked fascinated and interested at all important incidents happening in the USA in 2008 and I just wondered why it was possible to this man, like no other person, to fill so many people in this great country with enthusiasm and to give them a new hope of a better future.
Looking back on these events and irrespective of the fact if his goals were achieved or not, I ask myself which values, ideas and aims made the people so absolutely excited and how they were influenced by Obama.
If you only take a superficial view on this issue, it already becomes clear that the very popular American Dream, which is based on American history, is and was one of the important subjects of Obama’s speeches.
How Obama uses this Dream and the way he updates and enlarges it should be the central question of this thesis.
In order to do so, it is at first important to take a close look at Barack Obama, his curriculum vitae and his political rising. On the other hand, I want to present the history of the American Dream, as well as a preferably general but handy definition of what the American Dream actually is and what it wants to express.
Based on this, a detailed analysis of certain speeches of Obama with a special focus on the American Dream follows.
Outgoing from the results of the analysis, I will examine how Obama encloses the dream in his way of argumentation, the different values he refers to and the influence of different audiences on the usage of the American Dream.
In order to answer the general question of this thesis, explained above, in a good and suitable way, these points will be synoptically summarized in the conclusion. Of course, it is impossible to take a serious look at all his speeches or to pick up every single aspect of the American Dream coming up during American history, as this would exceed the extent of this essay. Nonetheless, a coherent, objective and differentiated answer to the general question should be the goal and claim of this thesis.
At a glance
- Grade: 1.7 (1.0 is the best grade)
- 16 sources in the bibliography
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The American Dream
2.1 Definition and history of concepts
2.2 History
2.3 The American Dream as a subject in political speeches
3. Barack Obama
3.1 Biography
3.1.1 Childhood
3.1.2 University and Business
3.2 Political Developments
3.3 Obama’s biography compared to the American Dream
4. Speeches
4.1 Announcement for President
4.1.1 Analysis with special focus on the American Dream
4.2 Obama’s Inaugural Speech
4.2.1 Reproduction of content
4.2.2 Analysis with special focus on the American dream
4.3 The European Speech
4.3.1 Analysis with special focus on the American Dream
5. Results of Analysis
5.1 American Dream as an important component of Obama’s way of argumentation:
5.2 Ideals and values of the American Dream, Obama refers to
5.3 The influence of different audiences on the usage of the American Dream
6. Conclusion
Aims and Themes
This work examines how Barack Obama uses, updates and expands the American Dream in his political speeches. It combines historical and biographical context with close readings of three addresses, asking how the dream contributes to his arguments and how its use varies with his audience.
- The meaning and history of the American Dream
- Obama’s biography and political development
- The presidential campaign announcement and inaugural address
- The European speech and transatlantic cooperation
- Political values, rhetoric and audience engagement
Excerpt from the Book
Analysis with special focus on the American Dream:
First, Obama thanks his audience for coming to Springfield and then immediately deals with their beliefs about for example change, hope, solidarity, “a more perfect union” and about “what this country can be”. (l.1-14) Although Obama doesn’t directly speak about the American Dream and the belief in its fulfillment this is what the audience has to associate with this listing.
Obama wants to stress that the speech will not only be about himself or his aims, but about the people and their beliefs or demands. Reminding them of the American Dream in general is especially advantageous in this context, because also the individual wishes and beliefs get included. The people also think about their personal dreams, which Obama of course can’t enumerate completely.
So, as it is usual for an introduction, Obama tries to call the people’s attention.
In the next part, Obama introduces himself by presenting his biography. Of course, the people have to know who is speaking to them, and they now can get a better impression of Obama.
For every listener, the relationship between Obama’s life and the American Dream should immediately become clear. (See also task nr.2) Obama particularly emphasizes his way from “rags to riches”. He came “without money or family connections” to Illinois and worked in “some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods”. In spite of being black, he became state senator and now, he even wants to become president. Therefore, the people can better identify with him. They also want their dreams come true and achieve success through hard work.
Then, Obama looks more closely at different jobs, representing different social statuses. So, everybody get interested and attentive. In line 45, Obama changes the perspective and uses the pronoun „we”, to include the audience.
Next, Obama enumerates the qualities he likes about Springfield, and consequently about its inhabitants. He connects them (“That’s why..”) to the tasks they’ve already managed (l.50-62) concerning for example the death penalty system, the health insurance to children and the tax system. Thus, Obama wants to remind the people of what they’ve achieved so far, but also that they can achieve their dreams of today (“common hopes and common dreams still live”). Moreover, it becomes obvious that the people have to apply to different values if they want to achieve their dreams.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: The author sets out the central question of how Obama uses and reshapes the American Dream and explains the approach taken.
2. The American Dream: This chapter discusses definitions and historical roots of the dream and its role in political speeches.
3. Barack Obama: The chapter presents Obama’s biography and political development and considers their relationship to the American Dream.
4. Speeches: The author analyzes the presidential campaign announcement, the inaugural speech and the European speech, focusing on references to the American Dream.
5. Results of Analysis: This chapter brings together the analysis of Obama’s arguments, the values he invokes and his use of the dream before different audiences.
6. Conclusion: The author summarizes the discussion of Obama’s rhetorical use and adaptation of the American Dream.
Keywords
Barack Obama, American Dream, political rhetoric, speech analysis, presidential campaign, inaugural address, European speech, American history, political values, audience, equality, opportunity, international cooperation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work about?
It examines the American Dream as a rhetorical theme in selected speeches by Barack Obama.
What are its central themes?
The work explores the history and values of the American Dream, Obama’s biography and political rhetoric, and the relationship between his speeches and their audiences.
What is the main research question?
The author asks how Obama uses the American Dream and how he updates and expands it.
What method does the author use?
The author uses close analysis of three speeches, supported by historical and biographical background, and compares their use of the American Dream.
What does the main part discuss?
It examines Obama’s presidential campaign announcement, inaugural speech and European speech, paying particular attention to their language, arguments and references to the American Dream.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Barack Obama, the American Dream, political rhetoric, speech analysis, equality, opportunity and audience.
Why does the work discuss Obama’s biography?
It considers his childhood, education and political rise as context for the comparison between his life and the ideals of the American Dream.
How does the European speech fit into the analysis?
The Strasbourg address provides a different audience from the American audiences of the other speeches and allows the author to examine references to shared values and international cooperation.
- Quote paper
- Bernd C. Schmidt-Nagel (Author), 2011, Barack Obama and the American Dream, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/171989
