With the two essays being speeches, audience has a big
impact on the way they were worded and spoken. Wallace’s speech was to a class
of graduating seniors. When he presented the speech, he was much more personal
even though he was blunt in what he was telling his audience. If he would have
presented his speech the way Morrison presented hers he would have lost his
audience since it really would have not meant much to them. To connect to the
audience, he connected his speech to a life story that would be important toe
the graduates in years to follow their special day. Morrison’s speech however
had a much more mature audience, and her speech was a little more complex. When
you give a speech about language and fill it with examples from the world, younger
people would not understand where the idea is formed from. Giving a Nobel
commencement speech, you have a standard to uphold. Wallace was there to give a
lesson to his audience, Morrison was there to prove a point in which she had
reached through study. Both essays where thought provoking in their own ways,
and even though they were given to different audiences, they were presenting a
point in which both audiences could connect with.
I agree that a big difference between the speeches was the audience that they were being presented to different audiences but also how they were written. For example, in "This is Water" was more personal so that it could appeal to the students and keep their attention. As to if this speech were written in the same manner as Morrison's speech, I feel as if it would of been too complicated to try to understand the meaning. The vocabulary in Morrison's speech was meant to capture those who have an interest in languages. However both speeches make point that a choice is given, whether it be about a situation or keeping a language going.
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