...B. Commencement Address Essay by Tone M. H. Petersen Most people know that it is important to show kindness towards other people and it might seem like a very trivial piece of advice to give people if you tell them to remember to be more kind. However sometimes in the grand scheme of things and in the overpowering and overwhelming light of our own ambition and need for success we still let opportunities of kindness pass us by. This is what George Saunders[1] addresses in his commencement addres that he delivered in May 2013 at Syracuse University in New York State. In his speech Saunders uses 2nd person singular/plural, 1st person plural, and 1st person singular. The use of 2nd person plural makes it clear that Saunders is addressing the audience directly and that he wants them to think, take action and be responsible. The use of 1st person plural (“we”) creates a bond between Saunders and the audience: “Each of us is born with a series of built-in confusions […]: (1) we’re central to the universe […]; (2) we’re separate from the universe […] and (3) we’re permanent […]. Now, we don’t really believe these things - intellectually we know better. (ll.19-120) In this quote we can see how he includes the audience in his statement and therefore he is also stating that what he is saying applies to everyone, even himself - and that they all know better, meaning that they are collectively responsible. The values that he are advocating are relevant to everyone and therefore...
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...Bono Rhetorical Essay Rock Star and AIDS activist, Bono, in his commencement speech to the ’04 class of UPENN (entitled “Because We Can, We Must”) explains that since we are able to, we should find a cause and fight for it. Bono’s sole purpose is to inspire the UPENN graduates to make a difference in this world.. He adopts an informal tone in order to connect with and motivate his primary audience, the graduates, and to engage his secondary audience, the family (parents, grandparents, etc.) of the graduates. Bono begins his speech by explaining why he is at UPENN giving this speech and by sharing a personal anecdote (a pattern that is seen throughout his speech). His first sentence is a simple, declarative statement, “My name is Bono, and I am a rock star.” He opens with this kind of sentence to not only catch the attention of the audience, but to also establish his informal tone which is continued throughout the entire speech. His use of first person also makes the essay in entirety more relatable. While contemplating why someone like him was being honored with the title Doctor of Law and allowed to give a speech, Bono compares the situation to “[a] King Charles spaniels in little tartan sweats and hats” claiming “it’s not natural.” This self-deprecating statement is effective in establishing an informal tone because it sets Bono up to be seen as equal, to anyone sitting in there listening to him. He goes on to share a story about how he came to realize his passion...
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...David Foster Wallace was the commencement speaker for the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. Throughout his commencement speech, he made certain he entertained the young college students and not bore them with his speech. He does this by first telling a story that would first attract their attention and after he has caught their attention, he gives them information that would help them understand his speech, he talks about different extreme situations, he uses the phrase capital-T twice to gain attention and importance, and then proceeds to telling stories that the audience can relate to. Wallace’s main point he wanted to get across was that we should not live our live with a blind certainty and we should not live our lives based on assumptions. We should not live in a way that our default way of thinking can imprison our choice to choose what we want to think and that we should not live our lives thinking we are the absolute center of the universe and everything revolves around us. When we do this, we become imprisoned and start to think that we are the only one that has a problem but when we don’t live that way, we soon realize that we have a choice to think about everyone else’s problem and how it can be worse than ours. In his speech, Wallace talks about how someone can commit suicide and shoot themself in the head. If by any chance, the audience were not listening through his speech, when they heard that, they surely would have listened up again just because of how...
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...The “commencement speech” is a genre of writing that does not like to color outside of the lines. In them, you will hear platitudes such as “this is the beginning of the rest of your life” and “go change the world” that never fail to make the audience roll their eyes. In the vast sea of mediocre commencement speeches, only a few stray from the typical commencement speech formula and are considered exceptional. One of these notable commencement speeches is “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace. In his 2005 commencement speech to Kenyon College, David Foster Wallace’s makes a complete one-eighty from the typical commencement speech; discussing complex topics that were all too vital to the baby-faced, liberal arts graduates. He tackled the...
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...The speech, Kenyon Commencement Speech, by David Foster Wallace was delivered to the graduating class of 2005 at Kenyon College. Wallace talks about how important it is to have a degree that is more than “just a material payoff”. He tells the students that in order to be more successful, they must know how to think correctly. Wallace uses a story of two fish in which a young fish asks an older fish about the water. The older fish does not understand what the younger fish is talking about. He uses this story to show that often the most obvious things in life are often the hardest to see. Wallace tells students that in order for them to receive a full education they must first learn how to think. “[Learning how to think] means being conscious...
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...Steve Jobs 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech Analysis Essay In his speech, Jobs explores the crucial role of failure in finding success, specifically in the situations when he shows that it takes hard work, deliberate practice, and the ability to learn from failure and to persevere. The first point that Jobs makes, is that to be successful, you have to work hard. During the commencement speech, Jobs shares that, “If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do,” (7). Though Jobs admits to having dropped out of the class he was originally attending and ‘dropping in’ on a new one the decision he made was one that, in the long run, furthered his career. By making the decision, and putting in the work to go through the calligraphy class, Jobs ended up creating the future of typefaces on the personal computer. By putting himself and his career on the line, Jobs tells the Stanford graduating class of 2005, “Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future,” (8). Jobs let his actions decide his fate for his career, and at the time, he didn’t know that the decisions he was making would land him where it did. It took years of hard work for him to get to where he ended up, at the top of an internationally known company. Jobs later went on to say, “We worked...
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...State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. School buses will leave the MIHS bus loading zone on 92nd Ave SE by 9:30 a.m.sharp [following the senior breakfast] to take you to the rehearsal. Buses will return to school by 1:00. EVERYONE WILL RIDE THE BUS TO AND FROM COMMENCEMENT REHEARSAL. In order to prevent embarrassment to yourself and to your class, you must be familiar with your role in the commencement ceremony. IF YOU DO NOT ATTEND THE REHEARSAL YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN COMMENCEMENT. Please wear usual school clothing to the rehearsal. At rehearsal the commencement ceremony will be explained and you will slowly "walk through" it [more than once] in its entirety. This will be your only chance to learn your role in the program. DO NOT BRING CAPS AND GOWNS TO REHEARSAL. Use of alcohol or any controlled substance will not be tolerated, and anyone violating this policy will be dealt with as follows: • You shall be taken from the immediate area, your parents will be contacted and requested to come and pick you up. • Those not participating in the commencement rehearsal shall not be allowed to participate in the commencement ceremony that night. 2. Where is the Ceremony? How do we get there? Where can we park? The Washington State Convention & Trade Center is located in downtown Seattle with the main entrance on the corner of 7th and Pike Streets. Public parking is available there and in neighboring garages. For directions...
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...Homework 1 Hua Jin Ling 305W August 31, 2011 1. I wrote a diary on my blog on the commencement at Grossmont College on May 31st 2011. I had waited the graduation ceremony for a long time. It was a very special and significant day, since I came to the United States. Also, it was a kind of accomplish for studying in the abroad. My short plan was to graduate community college and transfer to the 4 years university when I started the first semester at Grossmont College. During the college period, I tried my best to attend every class, do homework, and prepare exams. Almost three years studying in the foreign country was not an easy thing. After some endeavor, I graduated with honor. After the commencement, I had an unknown feeling to push me write something on the blog. 2. The feeling to write was very strong that night; therefore, I decided to write something to memorize the wonderful day in my life. I wanted to retain the moment and stay in that moment. In the several years later, when I read the diary, it will take a journey to that moment. Probably, I will have the same feeling as I had on the commencement. It was the best way to keep memory perfectly. 3. My purpose in responding to the call to write was to take down the beautiful memories of life and to share the experience with my family and friends. I wanted to let them know I really made great efforts. Moreover, give them a message that if you are willing to put in the effort, their goals can become within...
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...Islam Meligi English 1A Richard Compean Ph.D. Sep 10, 2015 Kenyon Commencement Summary It’s well known that most of the commencements that are held after four or more of hard working years will congratulates the graduates for being successful and show them the value of the degree that they are about to receive. Wallance considered the day of the graduation as a start, not an end, for a new life that he referred to by “day in day out” term. He focused about giving the fresh and new people to the real world some tips in order to help them dealing with the reality in the world that no one can see easily. Math, science and all other subjects that they got in school teach them how to think, how to solve a problem how to think about what’s inside themselves, but they do not teach them what to think about during a regular day in the up coming boring and hard life that they almost face. Being in the shoes of a speaker in a graduation speech looks too hard to decide to give an advice for people who feel that they are unique and have no need to get an advice from anyone to show them what to do and how to think. They have already achieved a big mission by themselves and they know exactly what to do in their life. Wallance avoided being in that position by confirming more than twice that he will not take the wisdom position, but he will explain something that he just did experience it before them, not because he knows more. He declared that in order to minimize the gap between the speaker...
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...JON BON JOVI MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY Commencement Address May 16, 2001 Good afternoon… and congratulations to the graduating class of 2001. President Stafford, faculty, alumni, parents, family and friends. I’m humbled and honored to have been asked to give this commencement speech on this, one of the most special days of your life (so far.) I’ve had to think hard over the last several weeks about what information I could offer you that you might find useful in the years to come. Though the book of my life isn’t yet finished at 39 years old, I am a few chapters ahead so maybe there are a few lessons I can share. Right now I’ll bet there are a multitude of emotions running through you - from sheer joy to trepidation, from anxiety to anticipation. Don’t worry -- that’s normal. And it’s something you’ve faced before. When you went from kindergarten to elementary school and then from junior high to high school to college… it’s all been a series of NEW BEGINNINGS. Now, some of you have chosen to continue on with higher education, and others are jumping out into the “real world.” But YOUR schooling isn’t over. Treat the workplace as another school and learn all the lessons you can from it. Don’t be afraid to start from the bottom. Be humble and stay humble. No job is beneath you if you use it as a lesson. I may have been very successful in my music career – but when I started a film career, I was just another actor looking for work. My fame wasn’t a help –in...
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...President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates. The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion. Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, the law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard. You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step to self improvement. Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that...
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...Rhetorical Triangle is made up of three elements they are the speaker, audience and situation. I have watched two videos of presentations, which I will explain how they fit into the parts of the Rhetorical Triangle. The first video is Ellen Degeneres delivering a commencement speech to Tulane University’s class of 2009. Naturally the speaker in this video was Ellen Degeneres who is a well known actress and comedian. She of course started her speech off with jokes and kept it light hearted and jovial. This didn’t really show much direction in which she was trying to go with the speech, but as it went on she got more to the point as she delivered her intended goal. I feel that she did a fantastic job reaching her intended audience; they were focused on what she had to say during her entire speech. Ellen was able to combine funny with serious and even able to tie in some experiences that college students would have during their years at the university. She made sure to cover her experiences that got her and her career to where it is now. The situation of her speech was to deliver one at a commencement ceremony. The definition of commencement is a ceremony at which academic degrees or diplomas are conferred. (Commencement,2012) Even though Ellen did not attend Tulane University, but was a resident of Louisiana so the university had her deliver the speech. Its purpose was help the graduates look at someone’s path to their success through hard times and trials. It was meant as a motivational...
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...The Way of Life The 2005 Kenyon Commencement Address was given by David Foster Wallace, a commencement speaker and a graduating student. DFW states stories that would happen realistically in anyone's lifetime due to the choices of one another. He points out certain flaws that each person has done but didn't realize it. He also explains the rules of patience, everyone has done it and repeats it; your actions influence another's mindset similar to yours and inflicts it on another individual who's innocent of his/her flaws. Although, people bring much negativity in the air, there is still room for positivity and that’s the drive of what keeps people going in life. In the 2005 Kenyon Commencement Address by David Foster Wallace, he preaches about the blockades that may be upon the path to your success after graduate school. DFW elaborates realistic conflicts throughout adulthood that brings about a whole other situation to achieve. For instance, "They're the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that's what you're doing" (Wallace 2005 Kenyon Commencement Address). DFW demonstrates that one action would lead to another, it may be positive or negative, but that's how the way life goes. As flaws fade, don't look back and keep pushing forward. DFW states, "To have just a little critical awareness about myself and my certainties." He...
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...The speech “This is Water” was given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College as a commencement speech for the class of 2005. This short summary will discuss the rhetoric Wallace introduces in his speech and whether or not it is successful. Although the traditional rhetoric style of commencements speeches is optimistic in their nature and hopeful in their message, Wallace explores the harsh and mundane realities of everyday life through symbolic narratives and metaphoric stories about fishes, suicide and your daily grocery store run. Wallace´s tendency to use narratives to illustrate his message builds up his pathos and credibility as a “wise old man”, which he contradicts with a laid back and informal language to encourage the younger audience...
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...How would you define professional success? Getting a promotion at work, gaining employment in a well-known business, or maybe even opening your own bakery? All of these examples could define professional success. Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates are two incredibly successful people. They both created commencement speeches for Harvard University that discussed their failures, their drive to help others, and their successes. These two speeches were both inspiring and motivating. When we take a look at Oprah Winfrey, we can see how incredibly successful she has become over the years. She had a 25 year run on her own television show, a magazine, and she currently has her own television network. Along with Winfrey’s success, she has had many failures. She did not allow those failures to define who she is; instead she used them as motivation. “And when you do I want you to know this, remember this: there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction” (Winfrey, 2013). In her commencement speech to the Harvard graduates, she used this quote to remind the graduates that they will fail but to not lose the motivation to succeed. She wants the graduates to use their success to help others, especially those who are less fortunate. When you think of Bill Gates, you may think there is no way the co-founder of Microsoft has ever failed at anything. Well, you’re wrong! Gates was a student at Harvard University but what you may not...
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