The text presented is a speech drive in 1988 by Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. This speech marked the starting point of her campaign against the Burmese Military Regime. The text is recognised as a Political Speech due to the political language being presented such as revolution, freedom, democracy and human right. Due to the fact that this speech was "the beginning of her staunch campaign" we can conclude that the target audience are the Burmese citizens, although the writing is very generalised, allowing the audience to be multifocal. Additionally, this is evident when she states "It is for such moral courage that he will always be loved and respected in Burma". It is agreed that even though she is presenting from a general awareness, she is still targeting the Burmese citizens by linking her father's political stance and his "worthiness as a leader". Suu Kyi wishes to achieve through persuasion in what evolution in tales of which is changing one's mindset other than only changing political policies. We can see that throughout the political speech Aung Saan Suu Kyi explains the oppressed are controlled by fear however, more importantly, she is explaining a way out; to change the "spirits" and mind set. This analysis will focus on Aung San Suu Kyi use of literary devices and contextual analysis.
Furthermore, Suu Kyi uses literary devices such as an allusion and repetition to grab the audience through her own perspective of the issue. At the end of the third paragraph, Suu Kyi introduces a brief reverence to Mahatma Gandhi to assist her in presenting what can be possible if Burma were to change their mindset. She also describes her father; Aung San who is known by the Burmese citizens as a nationalist hero. Even though they both have completely different personalities, they both had a common mindset in the sense that the spirit for truth and justice; of which they both strived for. Aung San Suu Kyi states " The words used by Jawaharlal Nehru to describe Mahatma Gandhi could well be applied to Aung San". This allusion is a powerful diction as it attracts the audience in understanding the importance of truth. On top of this, Suu Kyi uses ethos as she introduces Mahatma Gandhi and her own father; both known to be nationalist heroes of their time to convince the audience of her opinions. The final literary devices used by Suu Kyi is repetition where she states "Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure." Aung San Suu Kyi is emphasising the word "fear" as it is fear that presses the people; the fear of consequences is the reason why people are afraid to stand up for truth.
The tone that Aung San Suu Kyi presents in the political speech is urgency; the tone in urgency to changes one's mindset through fearless, non-violent persuasion. She states in the 6th paragraph "Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be describe as 'grace under pressure' - grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure". The tone is informative and opinionated in a sense that help the audience see her own opinions from her own perspective. Though looking at it based on the content, we view this as fearlessness is not a one off instance, it is one's continued and constant believe in truth and justice.
In conclusion, we can see that Aung San Suu Kyi is following in the footsteps of her father; Aung San, who is known as a nationalist her in Burma. Her first speech in 1988 uses literary devices such as ethos, allusion and repetition to pursue and connive the target audience (Burmese citizens) to take action and stand up for truth and justice. Their beliefs can be assed as it can relief people from their fear. Through the use of inspirational, yet culturally connected events (Gandhi and her father; Aung San), Aung Suu San Kyi was able to compare their stuffs to that of another (Gandhi) that has succeeded. Hence, trying to inspire her own people's struggle to continue.
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