Topic

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech at the Republican National Convention is a political speech delivered during the 2004 electoral campaign, which focuses on immigration, living the American Dream, and the war against terrorism, considering the principles of the Republican Par…

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Immigration and the American Dream

The main topics of his speech are immigration and the American Dream (which is generally defined as the belief in the idea that everyone should have an equal opportunity to achieve success regardless of birth or class).

To explore the topic of immigration and how the US gives immigrants the opportunity to live the American Dream, Schwarzenegger uses his own story: “To think that a once scrawny boy from Austria could grow up to become Governor of the State of Californ…

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The War on Terror

Part of the speech is also focused on President George W. Bush’s War on Terror, which was a hot topic at the time of the speech. The War on Terror was declared by George W. Bush following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon. After the attacks, the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan where the terrorist group al-Qaeda (assumed responsible for the attacks) was hiding. Later on, the US also invaded Iraq under the assumption that it was developing nuclear weapons and f…

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Argumentation

In this speech, the speaker conveys his views and arguments using direct argumentation. This means that he is explicit about his position on the topics he explores.

This is noticeable from the beginning of the speech when he explicitly announces his intentions: “Tonight, I want to talk to you about why I'm even more proud to be an American -- why I am proud to be a Republican, and why I believe that this country is in good hands.” (ll. 28-31)

As the speech progresses, the speaker is very straightforward about what he believ…