省级精品课程
《高级英语》第三版第一册
制作人：唐 青
Lesson Ten A More Perfect Union
-- Barack Hussein Obama
Objectives of Lesson 10
• Familiarize students with the background of
the speech;
• Enable students to understand Obama’s views;
• Help students to appreciate the speech: lexical,
syntactical and rhetorical features.
Segregation
•. Racial segregation in the United States has
meant the physical separation and provision of
separate facilities (especially during the Jim
Crow era), but it can also refer to other
manifestations of racial discrimination such as
separation of roles within an institution, such as
the United States Armed Forces up to the
1950s when black units were typically
separated from white units but were led by
white officers .
Para 60: conclusion
1
Para 27-33
2
Para 34-38
3
Para 39-42
4
Para 43-59
Obama outlines the historical development of
racial discrimination and the suffering of
the older generation.
Obama analyses the anger among certain
segments of white America.
Obama analyses what was wrong with Wright
and what the black community and the white
community should do to solve the race issue.
Obama points out two solutions to solve the issue
and he brings about a story of a black.
Part One：
What results in the anger of the black?
Segregations (para 27, 28)
Legalized discrimination ( para 29)
A lack of economic opportunity among black men (para 30)
…
Text analysis
As William Faulkner once wrote: “ the past isn’t dead and
buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” (para 27)
The influence of what happened in previous times has not
disappeared . Such influences can still be seen.
Jim Crow: 黑人 （贬义词）
Traditional discrimination against or segregation of blacks .
Background
William Faulkner was born in a
distinguished family in Jackson,
Mississippi. Faulkner wrote 19
novels and nearly a hundred
short stories. Major works
include: The Sound and the Fury
(1929), As I Lay Dying (1930),
Light in August (1932). In 1950
Faulkner won the Nobel Prize
for literature.
Text analysis
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools;…
between today’s black and white students. (para 28):
This is one –sentence paragraph describing the existence of
school segregation fifty years after Warren’s Court decision
to make segregation unconstitutional, and pointing out that
inferior education in segregated schools is the cause of the
poor performance of some black students.
Text analysis
Legalized discrimination: (para 29)
It is kind of discriminatory practices that are protected by
law.
What legalized discrimination did the African Americans
suffer?
They were not allowed to have housing in some white areas;
business loans or FHA insured loans were denied on
consideration of race, and unions and certain professions
were not open to blacks.
Text analysis
A lack of economic opportunity among black men…
contributed to the erosion of black families. (para 30)
Contributed to the erosion of black families: the use of
“contribute”, “erosion” softens the bluntness of the
statement---helped to bring about the breaking up of the
black families.
Text analysis
But for all those…in one way or another, by discrimination.
(para 32)
Scratched and clawed: dug with one’s nails and claws—
fought really hard.
Make it: to succeed in a particular activity.
Out of those who worked or struggled very hard to climb
the social ladder, many did not succeed. They were defeated
in life’s struggle, as a result of racial discrimination.
Text analysis
And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday
morning , in the pulpit and in the pews. (para 33)
In the pulpit and in the pews: rhetorical devices of
metonymy and alliteration. “pulpit and pew” standing for
the priest and the church congregations.
Text analysis
Section one (para 27-33):
Obama outlines the historical development of racial
discrimination and the sufferings of the older generation.
Then he pointed out the anger is real though if may not be
shown so often. One of the places is shown in black church
services. The difference of sermons and response of the
congregations.
Text analysis
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white
community. (para 34)
This statement serves as a transition, leading to the analysis
of the anger among certain segments of white America.
Text analysis
Their experience is … they built it from scratch. (para 34)
From scratch: from a point where nothing has been done.
They’ve built it from scratch: they succeed in establishing
themselves in American society all through their own effort.
Text analysis
Political landscape (para 35):
By the end of the 1970s, liberalism had run its course and
people felt that it could no longer solve domestic and
foreign policy issues. People blamed this on affirmative
action and on social welfare and they were worried about
crime and refused to discuss racial inequality. This led to
the election of Reagan and the dominance of conservatism
for more than 25 years.
Text analysis
For the African –American community…victims of our past.
(para 39)
What should the African –American community do then?
We should face and handle bravely the legacy of racial
injustice of the past while at the same time should not feel
wronged all the time.
Section 3
According to Obama, what is wrong with Wright?
Wright fails to see the change that has taken place in the
U.S. , and the progress that has been made. To Wright, the
society is static, nothing fundamental has changed and the
country is still burdened by the past. (para 41)
What solutions should both the black and the white adopt
to solve the race issue?
They should find common spirit they share and the
government’s policies must be built on such spirit. (para 43)
Section 4
What are two options to solve the race issue, according to
Obama?
One option is to follow a campaign approach that breeds
division, and conflict and cynicism. (para 44)
The second option : the American people, black and white,
Asian and Hispanic and Native American, unite and reject
the politics that produces division and conflict. (para 47)
This time…(para 48)
This time… (para 49)
This time… (para 50)
Section 4
At the end of para 58, Obama brings up racial unity. In
para 59, he further points out that this recognition of
common goals and common stakes might not bring about
change but it is the starting point.
In para 60, Obama brings this idea of starting point back
to the signing of the constitution to show that this is where
the perfection begins. The ending echoes the title and the
beginning , making a perfect completion.
Summary
1） The approach of the speech
He put the race issue in the context of perfecting the union,
in the context of upholding the U.S. Constitution, the job of
a president.
A historical approach puts the race issue, the legacy of
slavery, in the course of historical development.
He adopted an approach in a straightforward way, facing
the doubts in the minds of voters and the arguments of
blacks and whites. He described his relationship with
Wright and condemned Wright’s statements but pointed
out the other side of Wright and the influence of the church.
Summary
2) Personal Touches
In the speech, Obama talked about his personal experience,
his relation with Wright and the story of Ashley Baia. These
personal touches make the speech more human,
establishing a closer relationship between the speaker and
the audience. This is the practice of many public speakers.