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Rhetorical Analysis: Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech
Of all the successful entrepreneurs, inventors and powerful individuals in
history, one name cannot be ignored: the co-founder and former CEO of Apple
computers and former CEO of Pixar Animations, Steve Jobs. Although he never
graduated from college, he pursued a career that would change the world of
technology. During his life and after his death, he was admired for his creative mind
and revolutionary ideas. On June 12, 2005, Jobs gave a commencement speech to the
graduating class of Stanford University. His appeal to basic human emotions and
examples of life stories and struggles communicated an influential message to the
graduating class on finding their purpose in the world.
Jobs begins by explaining the story of his underprivileged childhood. He was
adopted to uneducated parents and lived on the 5¢ deposits from returned Coke
bottles throughout college. Although he lacked a college degree, his drive for success
paved his path throughout his life. His company, which started as two people in a
garage, grew into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees in just 10 years.
Jobs would have never envisioned his success to be this great. Through his example,
Jobs strived to explain to the graduating class how uncertainty about the future is
acceptable, because it will all connect back together in the end.
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Jobs’ word choice and sentence structure make it easy for the audience to
understand, as he uses simple yet powerful language to convey certain messages.
This can be seen at the beginning of his speech where he says, “I want to tell
you three stories of my life. That’s it. No big deal.” He then goes on with his first
story about “connecting the dots,” and describes his early years and family situation.
Jobs continues his speech in chronological order to avoid confusion and show his
progression as an individual. His stories are not only interesting, but provide us
with important life lessons.
The sequences of events in his life are relatable on a personal level, which
appeal to an emotional part of his audience. Jobs shares an intimate part of his life
with the students. His simple statement, “About a year ago I was diagnosed with
cancer” creates an emotional atmosphere as the students begin to feel sympathetic.
Another example of his use of pathos is when he stresses the fact that everyone has
only a small amount of time on this earth. He states, “Your time is limited, so don’t
waste it living someone else’s life.” This blunt remark expresses his feelings on life
and the importance of making the most of it. Jobs’ remarks on death are particularly
effective on influencing the graduating class because most of the students can relate
to him. Many have experienced death sometime during their life, whether it is a
friend or relative.
Jobs’ credibility and history is what makes his speech truly effective. He
cofounded Apple, Inc., a revolutionary computer company with advanced software,
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innovative hardware, attractive styling and mobile devices that appeal to a mass
audience. Apple is now the highest valued company in the world. He also changed
the world of children’s films with his influential animation studio, Pixar. It seems as
if Steve Jobs has gained quite a bit of knowledge with his experiences throughout his
life: emotionally, physically, and financially. The students at Stanford University—a
prestigious school with highly intelligent individuals and national recognition—are
the perfect audience for Jobs’ message as they strive to pursue a successful career.
Although limited, Jobs incorporates logos into his speech by using reasoning.
After explaining a calligraphy course he took in college, he says, “If I had never
dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple
typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. If I had never dropped out, I would have
never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have
the wonderful typography that they do.” This example of logic helps solidify Jobs’
claim that you “can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them
looking backwards.”
The idea of failure is also addressed in his speech when he talks about how
he got fired from Apple. Jobs was initially distraught, but he viewed this event as an
opportunity rather than a setback. He started a new company, NeXT, as well as
Pixar. When he returned to Apple, he was able to incorporate his skills learned at
Pixar into their animation technology. This story might be one that the students
need to hear as they begin their career and are afraid of failure. He emphasizes the
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advantages of failure and how it motivates you to be even more successful than you
were before. This part of the speech relates back to pathos because his message
appeals to the emotions of almost anyone. Failure is something we all encounter,
and Steve Jobs proves that you can overcome failure and be even greater than you
were before.
Steve Jobs’ commencement speech was one that will be remembered forever,
not only by the 2005 graduating class, but also by anyone else who may listen to it.
Using ethos, pathos, and logos, he created a tremendously influential message, one
that touched the heart as well as motivated. He was able to relate to his audience by
addressing topics that everyone has dealt with before, such as death, failure and
uncertainty. Using these tactics, he presented a message that will be an inspiration
for individuals for years to come.
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Bibliography
Jobs, S. (2005, June 14). 'You've Got To Find What You Love,' Jobs says.