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Compare And Contrast The Patton Speech And The Address To The Troops At Tilbury

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The Patton speech and the Address to the Troops at Tilbury are some of the most influential and impactful war speeches of all time. During these times of war, crisis and desperation, how do the speakers address the fears and hopes of their men? Under similar circumstances, what appeal would best address your own fears and hopes? The Patton speech and the Address to the Troops at Tilbury were both written for different purposes and were equally effective in conveying their message to the targeted audience. This success has been reached through the use of the speakers tone and well organized structure of the speech. Through close readings of both texts, the reader can identify different target audience and purpose between the two. In …show more content…

This can be seen in his use of explicit and vulgar language, for example: “An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, and fights as a team……The bilious bastards who write that stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real battle than they do about fucking. And we have the best team—we have the finest food and equipment…..Why, by God, I actually pity these poor bastards we're going up against.” Through Patton's language, the audience can grasp how strongly he emphasizes masculinity. To him, a man is fearless, strong-willed and will never quit. He repeats words such as “true” and “real” to emphasize that masculinity is more than gender, it is how one acts on a battlefield. Patton refers to masculinity several times throughout his speech, through the use and repetition of words such as “he”,”man” and “manhood”. Not only is masculinity seen a something important in battle, but he also describes it as a key characteristic of a “real” man and American citizen. This serves to motivate the men to be true to their country and to those around them because anyone who fails to live up to this ideal is an outsider, a coward and a disgrace to their battalion and country. His passion and importance upon the question of a mans masculinity makes his tone very intimidating and …show more content…

He began with references to America, “Americans love to fight, traditionally…” Patton ends the speech on a similar note. However, instead of going back to the old ideals of America, he looks to the future. He tells of how the soldiers will be honored when the battle is fought and won. He tries to make them believe that they will see home again and will live long into old age. His positive view of the outcomes allows the soldiers to look forward to going home to a country free from conflict. Instead of being disgraced for being cowards, these soldiers will be proud to say they fought in the war. “There is one great thing… you men…be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again…..you can look him straight in the eye and say, "Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie

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