Intention

The remarks by President Obama at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela is a eulogy speech, whose main topic is the life and death of Nelson Mandela as seen by the speaker. While discussing why Nelson Mandela is a role model for everyone, Barack Obama touches upon themes that are inevitably linked to Mandala’s life, such as the struggle for freedom and racial equality.

The speaker’s formal and official intention with the speech is that of every eulogy – to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela and his life: “It is hard to eulogize any man (...) How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.” (ll. 13-19)

To achieve this, Obama uses ethos. He reminds the audience why Mandela was a great leader and about his legacy which places Mandela in a position of authority and legitimacy: “And like America’s Founding Fathers, he would erect a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations – a commitment to democracy and rule of law ratified not only by his election…” (ll. 33-36)

Obama’s tribute to Mandela is intensified by the analogies he makes between Mandela and other great leaders like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or Abraham Lincoln (ll. 23-31).

He also uses pathos, when he talks about Mandela’s childhood or the har...