Analysis

The commencement speech “Bernie Sanders to Brooklyn College Graduates: Don’t ‘Allow Demagogues to Divide Us’ ” explores the topics of inequality and discrimination. Sanders focuses on economic inequality caused by the gap between the very rich and the rest of the people in the US.

The speaker of the speech is Democratic politician Bernie Sanders, who is known for opposing economic inequality. Throughout the speech, he comes across as knowledgeable and trustworthy, and he tries to connect with his audience through personal stories.

The audience of the speech are the graduates of Brooklyn College, the families, and professors who attended the ceremony. In the speech, Sanders targets all Americans as potential receivers, mentioning different categories of people such as the poor, the middle class, the rich, or people belonging to different backgrounds and religions.

The exam assignment requires you to focus on how Sanders engages the audience. Language features and devices are essential tools through which Sanders engages his audience and gets them interested in the topic he is exploring, making them more likely to accept his views and arguments. The language of the speech is occasionally dramatic, often including words that generate negative images in connection to inequality.

We also help you work out what is Sanders' intention with this speech.

The speech is delivered in the context of the Brooklyn College graduation ceremony in 2017, but also in response to circumstances in the US related to economic inequality, discrimination, and the interference of business interests in politics.

You can find the entire analysis of Bernie Sanders' commencement address in the next pages.

Further help

Do you want additional help with analysis of non-fiction? See our general guide to non-fiction analysis.