Intention

In this part, we will consider what Michelle Obama’s intention was when delivering her speech during the Democratic National Convention in 2008.

Michelle Obama’s main intention is to convince the general audience that her husband should be elected President of the US. She intends to convince the general audience to vote for her husband, while presenting Barack Obama’s personal and work background.

Michelle Obama’s intention is to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream - the ideal that through hard work, every American gets the same opportunities in life. When she talks about her and her husband’s modest beginnings, she suggests that everyone could have the same opportunities to grow, as long as the nation allows it: “He was raised by grandparents who were working-class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did.” (ll. 58-61);

She relies on repetition when she mentions the word “dream” seven times in her speech and reinforces the idea that hard work and sacrifice helped her understand the American Dream: ...