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A Tool in Politics: Syntax

            The nation was attacked: Pearl Harbor- along with man other Pacific territories- had been unexpectedly and ruthlessly bombed by the Japanese. Franklin Roosevelt, the nation’s leader in foreign affairs, needed to console the nation with honesty and plans of action. By only using words, the president gave hope to his citizens while employing syntactical elements. He mastered loose and periodic sentences to engage the audience at the most opportune times. Parallelism, although it was barely used reveals Roosevelt’s worries. Meanwhile, sentence variation glues the audience and content together.

            In Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation, Roosevelt employs loose and periodic sentences to keep the reader involved. Periodic sentences create anticipation within the first few paragraphs. It also makes Roosevelt seem hesitant to say the worst; and therefore, puts him on an emotional level with his audience. The periodic sentences also make him appear deliberate and solid: something a nation needs in a time of crisis. The loose sentences allow the president to go over the details of the attacks without tension and urgency. Furthermore, loose sentences as in paragraphs three and four allow the audience to swallow the bitter news previously stated in the speech.

            Moreover, parallelism is utilized in Roosevelt’s speech to draw attention to his worries. The first example of parallelism, “Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam…And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island,” allows the listeners to absorb the list of violent attacks in a clear manner. Roosevelt is also being economical with his words because it is a short speech. He is also attempting to expose the similarities in all of these attacks so as to unite us in defeating the miscreant.

            Lastly, sentence variation does wonders for the audience and the content. Short sentences such as, “Hostilities exist” emphasize the bluntness with which Roosevelt is responding to Japan. Longer sentences allow the influx of details: details ensure the reader that the government is aware and informed. Readers and listeners also are strayed from boredom by varying sentence lengths. For example, when one comes across a shorter sentence, they become startled and alert. This allows them to comprehend the longer sentence to ensue.

            In essence, Roosevelt employs wise syntactical elements to engage his reader, appear emotionally connected and solid, and emphasize his plans. Loose and periodic sentences, parallelism, and sentence variation were a few of the choices used in Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation. Like most great politicians, President Roosevelt knew how to exploit one of a politician’s most valuable tools: syntax.

Promlems: underlining the title of the speech and note putting it in quotation marks, not enough examples, and vague words.

Learned: speeches are in quotations,  lots of examples to PROVE point, and vague words make me seem like I am attacking the subject in a superfical manner.

Future Plans: use quotations, use examples left and right, be straight foward.