Analysis_of_the_Great_Debaters_Speech

Speech Analysis Humans are beings ruled by their emotions, emotions are the drive behind decisions and the essence of all humanity. In “The Great Debaters” James Farmer Jr. uses imagery and rhetorical questions to play on the emotions of his audience when debating Harvard on whether civil disobedience is a moral weapon in the fight for justice. James uses his and his teammates experience when he recalls how in Texas they “saw a man strung up by his neck -- and set on fire”. By using his own experiences, James opens a connection with his audience making it not only a personal event for him but for the rest of them as well. James takes advantage of this connection by delivering the shock of how they witnessed someone being lynched and then by pausing and telling how the man was set on fire. This plays on the audiences of shock and anguish making an awful experience worse, which brings James the sympathy of the audience. James also recalls how when driving through a lunch mob how they “pressed [their] faces against the floorboard [and he] looked at [his] teammates [and] saw the fear in their eyes; and worse -- the shame”. Once again, James uses the bond with the audience; fear and shame are emotions that many people experience in their lifetime. This allows the audience to emphasize with James’ teammates, to know how those feeling tear at them little by little. Imagery is also present the audience can picture the car going through the mob their heads down fear in their eyes. This contributes to the audiences’ empathy towards the team. James also stirs up emotions by asking “What was this Negro’s crime that he should be hung, without trial, in a dark forest filled with fog' Was he a thief' Was he a killer' Or just a Negro' Was he a sharecropper' A preacher' Were his children waiting up for him'” Through asking rhetorical questions James get the audience to start questioning what if ' What if' This creates a wide spectrum of emotions grief, anguish, distraught, suspicion. The questions get the audience emotions racing by making them think. Emotions are a key part of humanity James appeals to these emotions through experience and rhetorical questions.