Perspectives

In what follows, we will look at the wider context of the remarks by President Obama at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela and at similar speeches, to give you a broader perspective on the spee…

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Current issues

Barrack Obama mentions several current issues that the world is facing today in his speech (ll. 158-166). Two of them are poverty and disease. Think of examples of poor countries or where diseases have a big negative impact on the population. For example, the top three poorest countries in the world are the Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi , according to World Atlas. Furthermore, most of the 10 poorest countries in the world are on the African continent. Poverty is also linked with higher chances of disease. For example,…

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Textual perspective

In your analysis of Barack Obama’s speech at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela, you can consider comparing the speech with other relevant speeches.

For example, you can look at a speech Obama alludes to in lines 76-83, “I Am Prepared to Die”, delivered by Nelson Mandela during his 1964 trial. Both speeches share similar rhetorical devices such as allusion, repetition, and analogy. At the same time, they also share the theme of racial equali…