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*”A Beautiful Mind”:* A Rhetoric Speech Analysis John Nash delivered his acceptance address after receiving the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. In his speech, he aims to inform his audience after his lifetime of pursuits, what he concluded are logic and reason. John Nash began his speech with a personal belief that is common with most scientists saying “I’ve always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason. ” By doing so, he establishes common ground with his audience in which they can relate to.
Here he captured their attention by saying “I’ve always”, by using past tense, it implied that what he has found is contrary to that. In his next statement “But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask,” it proves what was disguised in his opening statement, but that only recently he has found his answer. “What truly is logic? ” and “Who decides reason? ” by stating these two questions that have led him to think otherwise, opposite to his original belief, it directs the audience to ponder about what he has found that is opposite to what is commonly believed in logics and reason.
The use of “quest” in his next statement, emphasis a great deal of work and hardship for the conclusion he is about to make. It gives credibility to what he is about to say. “My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical and the delusional… and back” He further emphasis this work and hardship by the stating not one but three of what can be called three properties of the world or to be exact reality.
He used parallelism by the use of the word “the”, this was important for the audience since it was necessary (as he is speaking to scientist) to show that the three properties were of equal importance. Also the employment of “Back” in his sentence calls magnitude to his credibility. It establishes ethos. Subsequently, John Nash concludes what he has found. Parallelism was utilized by the usage of “Most” to give meaning and weight to what he has concluded in his pursuits and that it had uttermost significance to his career and to his life. My” was used to establish that his discovery had equal impact on his career and life. The result of his quest is stated as “It is only in the mysterious equation of love that any logic or reason can be found” gives prominence that without love nothing can be done. That love is necessary for any logic and reason to be concluded. And here John Nash allows the audience to draw their own conclusion of what love allows us to do. He appeals to pathos of every individual’s understanding of love.
Since it is necessary in an acceptance address to thank a person and furthermore as evidence to his discovery, he thanks his wife without the direct use of wife, but with the repetition of the word “You” it raises speculation on whom is “You” maintaining the audience’s attention. “You” also in his concluding remarks and in conjunction to his earlier statements establishes that indeed without his “You”, he wouldn’t have a career or a life; she is indeed all his reasons.