Essay on Steve Jobs Commencement Speech: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

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Speaker

The Author, Steve Jobs, Jobs, is the -Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, accumulating over 1.2 billion in net worth.

Purpose

Jobs’ mission in sharing his anecdotes is to encourage Stanford graduating students and people, in general, to follow their hearts, do what they love, and strive for greatness, and to remind them that even if they face failures, they can overcome adversity.

Audience

Steve Jobs addresses the audience filled with young, gifted individuals at the commencement ceremony.

Context

Steve Jobs is widely recognized for his perseverance in revolutionizing the world of personal computers and cellphones by introducing iPhones to Mac software, which led to considerable developments that have affected the lives of every one of us. As he speaks in front of graduates, most of them are still searching for what to do with their after graduation, and Jobs, as one of the most intelligent, most prosperous men in the world, is willingly sharing some advice and insight on life.

Exigence

Steve Jobs gave the speech to Stanford’s 2005 college graduates because he wanted to remind them of the importance of staying true to their aspirations and pursuing their passions no matter the outcome. He understands that his audience is filled with young, intelligent individuals, who will enter the workforce and are destined for great things, but eventually, they are likely to face similar adversity or even lose everything they had once worked for and must not lose sight of what their heart says.

Choice

The author uses rhetorical questions to achieve his mission by leading into his speech with a rhetorical question,’ So why did I drop out?’. This immediately catches the attention of the audience because how could one of the most intelligent, most prosperous men in the world achieve such greatness from being a college dropout? In addition, Jobs encourages students through the use of repetition of the same phrases,’ Don’t settle’. By repeating this phrase multiple times, he stresses the importance of wanting the students to strive to be the best they can be and to never give up.

Appeals

While Steve Jobs’s status is a great use to build credibility with the audience(ethos), he skillfully uses intimate anecdotes to provoke the audience’s emotions (Pathos). It is effective because one of the most intelligent, most prosperous men shares that despite the adversity he faced, his success couldn’t have been achieved without failing first. By integrating past experiences with reflections, it persuades the audience to never settle for less, to not give up on their dreams, and their hard work will pay off.

Tone

The tone of speech is very inspirational and uplifting because Jobs motivates college graduates and people, in general, to live life to the fullest. Though at times where the tone of the speech is melancholy during the mentions of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer to facing poverty, it has motivational and heartfelt moments as he was able to pull through the difficulties he was faced with and be successful. 

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