Last week I wrote a Critical Discourse Analysis on Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. This past week, the Democratic National Convention took place in Philadelphia and aired on television. I will be analyzing Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech to look more closely at the words and phrases that she uses and gain additional meaning from her speech. Here is what I found after both listening to the hour-long speech and reading through the entire speech afterwards.
Thank You
Much of the beginning parts of Clinton’s speech is spent thanking people and acknowledging the accomplishments and strides forward made by the people in office who have served before and alongside her in different ways. Saying thank you, even in a grand way such as at the DNC shows humility to audience members. But I think spending so much time thanking people drives home one of Clinton’s biggest messages of this speech: togetherness. She could not have even conceived of being President one day without the help and support of her family and without the people who inspired her to want to make a difference in the world.
Come Together
One of the main words that is repeated throughout Hillary Clinton’s speech is the word “together.” She says, while referencing the speech made by Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention, that there is no way that America’s problems can be fixed by one person. Not by Donald Trump, not by Hillary Clinton or by anyone who is claiming to be working alone. Problems like systemic racism and making a living wage are not problems that can be quickly solved with the flick of a wrist or the swish of a pen on a pending law in the oval office. Clinton emphasizes the togetherness that must occur between the U.S. executive office and the hundreds of communities that it serves daily. Those with a lot of power and those with not so much power must come together to make great and lasting change. Phrases like, “...Out of many, we are one” and “... We are stronger together” help drive this point home.
The words “Join us” are repeated six times towards the end of her speech, one after the other. Clinton names issues like women’s healthcare, domestic industry, healthcare, and others. Her message is to bring people together for one cause that affects everyone-- those who are directly affected by these issues, those who are close to these issues, and those who can afford to do something about it. Repeating “join us” is a call to action. Another reminder that nothing can be done alone.
America Is Great… But We Can Make It Better
This message is in response to Trump’s political slogan “Make America Great Again,” alluding towards the perception that America was once a great country but has now really suffered and is no longer a place worth feeling pride for. Clinton does not hide the fact that she disagrees with Trump. This is only one of those times when she is open about her opposition to her political opponent. She talks about the strides that Obama has made during his time as President of the United States. She speaks very highly of Obama and vows to continue and improve on the work that was started between 2008 and 2016. But Clinton is not blind to the realities that face many of U.S. residents. She acknowledges that there is still much to be done.
Take Trump Down A Notch
A big conversation in this speech is about qualities that make up a good president. Clinton takes a few moments throughout her speech to talk about some of Trump’s RNC talking points and about his character. She talks about how he doesn’t have concrete plans behind his ideas and that he has a hairpin trigger temper. Two very critical things that can completely wreck a Presidency and hurt the country. Clinton brings this up not just at Trump’s expense (who doesn’t like to scoff at the things Trump says?), but by bringing this up, she is pointing out that running for President isn’t something to be done virtually on a whim and yes, there are indeed qualifications. She uses this as a way to talk about her experiences and give her reasons for running for President. This is telling us that she is here to stay whether we like it or not because has already been in the public eye in policy for a long time already. And that should mean something to us.
The tone and message of each of these speeches is very different-- opposite in fact. Hillary’s speech has a more positive view of the U.S. we live in now and it is also grounded in reality. She knows what is going on in the world and knows that there is work to be done, but feels very strongly that these problems can, with enough care and time, can be fixed. That is what Hillary Clinton’s speech has for us.
