Topic

The main topic of Barack Obama’s speech is the importance of reclaiming the American Dream. In the first part of his speech, he mainly talks about the significance of the American Dream, while in the second part of his speech, he presents some of the measures he is prepared to take to see it revived if he is elected President of the United States.

 The fundamental idea of the American Dream is that anyone can be successful if they work hard enough, no matter what their backgroun…

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Reclaiming the American Dream

Obama talks about the common American Dream that unites the American people and the way in which his own family has been inspired by it. Furthermore, he makes it clear that the American Dream is not about individual desires but a shared value: “What is unique about America is that we want these dreams for more than ourselves - we want them for each other. That's why we call it the American dream.” (ll. 41-43)

After he talks about the significance of the American dream for ordinary working fa…

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Argumentation

In his speech on reclaiming the American Dream, Obama uses both direct and indirect argumentation.

Direct argumentation is used when Obama clearly and openly states his arguments with the help of facts and evidence. For instance, Obama directly states that he is against the Bush administration and wants it to end:

We're tired of more Americans going without health care, of more Americans falling into poverty, of more American kids who have the brains and the drive to go to college - but can't - because they can't afford it. We're ready for the Bush Administration to end, because we are sick and t…