Clare Boothe Luce Speech Analysis Essay Example

In her speech to the Women's National Press Club, Clare Boothe Luce issued very clear and direct criticism towards the American press. Despite the critical nature of her speech, Luce was able to deliver her message to a responsive and understanding audience through her use of rhetorical devices. By carefully curating and controlling her syntax and ethos (appeal to credibility) throughout the speech, Clare Boothe Luce was able to clearly deliver her message while maintaining the audience's responsiveness and reception to criticism.

Throughout the excerpt, Luce uses ethos - the appeal to one's credibility - to dilute any aggression or disdain towards her criticism from the audience. Rather than establishing herself as a journalist or drawing attention to her own achievements and abilities, Luce points the audience's attention towards the reason why she is there - her invitation by the audience. Early within the excerpt, Luce says "I stand here at this rostrum invited to throw rocks at you. You have asked me to tell you what’s wrong with you— the American press." It is here that she first reminds the audience of her credibility - her invitation. While ethos is most often used in appeals featuring detailing of a speaker's past experiences or role in some movement/organization, ethos is the appeal to one's credibility - period. In this context, though Clare Boothe Luce was herself a journalist (among other things), her strongest claim to credibility in this context is the fact that she was invited by the audience to deliver criticism of their actions and the American media as a whole. Luce later reaffirms this by stating "I ask you only to remember that I am not a volunteer for this subject tonight. You asked for it!" In this quote, Luce not only restates her claim to credibility (ethos), but also delivers the second sentence in a joke-like manner. Her use of ethos is a tool to disarm the aggression one may face while giving direct criticism to an audience. This is done because, had she not done it, much of the audience may very well have not listened to her at all, but rather tuned her out as "overly critical." Luce's control of ethos made the audience perceive her as someone worthy of giving criticism, and therefore allowed her to deliver her message while maintaining reception to criticism.

Luce is able to utilize and coordinate syntax carefully to clearly present her message in an honest and direct fashion. In her speech, perhaps Luce's best use of syntax control is through the types of sentences she presents to the audience. Primarily, Luce uses declarative sentences while speaking. While this may seem like the obvious choice in criticism, STOP it is a very deliberate one in Luce's control over the audience. Declarative sentences are very similar to exclamatory sentences - they present a message boldly and assertively - commanding the audience's attention and forcing one to hear their message. However, the difference between declarative and exclamatory sentences is incredibly important. While exclamatory sentences are aggressive, blunt, and can be taken as hostile, declarative sentences share the directness but mitigate the hostility. For example, on the topic of good journalism, Luce states "On a working, finite level it is the effort to achieve illuminating candor in print and to strip away cant. It is the effort to do this not only in matters of state, diplomacy, and politics but also in every smaller aspect of life that touches the public interest or engages proper public curiosity." This is a prime example of the use of declarative sentences despite the fact that it isn't criticism because it establishes what Luce is saying as fact by asserting it to a passive crowd. Using declarative sentences, she is able to draw her audience into her message (which further draws into her credibility and attraction), while simultaneously not inflaming the aggressions or any tensions due to the criticism which she is giving. Should Luce have instead used exclamatory sentences, the reaction of the audience may have been to tune her out all together. The use of declarative sentences is also important because Luce uses it not just for criticism, but also for praise. In each instance of criticism in the excerpt, though limited, Luce gives the audience praise as well. For example, Luce states "For the plain fact is that the U. S. daily press today is not inspiringly good;" This is a clear statement of criticism in which Luce notifies the audience of a major shortcoming of their own - the fact that their daily press is not inspiringly good to the average person. Immediately after this, however, she essentially alleviates portions of the figurative 'pain' from the criticism by stating "it is just far and away the best press in the world." This compliment/praise immediately after the criticism softens her message, and makes her appear far more neutral and fair to the audience she's criticizing, therefore allowing their minds to be far more receptive to her message, and makes her delivery effective in conveying her meaning.

In conclusion, Clare Boothe Luce's careful control of ethos and syntax allows her to best convey her criticism by mitigating the audience's reaction and assertively stating her point from a position of authority. Through ethos, Luce establishes her credibility and places the reasoning behind the criticism on the audience. This is in conjunction with her control of syntax, which mitigates audience response and allows her to effectively delegate both criticism and praise. Cooperatively, these rhetorical devices allow Luce to criticize her audience effectively communicate her message.