COLUMBINE MEMORIAL ADDRESS
GIVEN BY AL GORE
Lucas Harden
4th bock-English
4/10/13
BACKGROUND
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Al Gore was born March 31 st,1948 in Washington D.C
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Has served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate
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Graduated from Harvard with a high honors degree in Government in June 1969
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Al Gore enlisted in the army during the Vietnam war, after basic training he was assigned
as a military journalist
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Also studied Philosophy and Phenomenology at Vanderbilt University in 1974
THE COLUMBINE MEMORIAL ADDRESS
GIVEN 4/25/99
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There wasn’t a video of him giving the speech that I could find…
ME GIVING THE COLUMBINE
MEMORIAL ADDRESS
SOAPSTONE- SUBJECT
• SUBJECT- The subject was the Columbine High School shooting. It was also about
the families and victims of the shooting.
•
“ At Columbine High School last week, this great goodness was expressed in the bravery
of the teachers who risked their own lives to protect the lives of their students.”
•
“To the families of all those who died here, I say: You are not alone: the heart of America
aches with yours. We hold your agony in the center of our prayers. The entire nation is a
community of shock, of love, and of grief. May you feel the embrace of the hundreds of
millions who weep with you.”
SOAPSTONE- OCCASION
• OCCASION- The occasion was a Memorial service held for the twelve students
and one teacher that lost their life in the shooting at Columbine High School.
•
“The nation mourned the loss of 12 Columbine High School students and a teacher
Sunday as more than 70,000 people gathered in Littleton for a memorial.”
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“In words, songs, prayers and embraces, the thousands of people at the memorial service
-- more than twice as many as were expected -- tried to come to terms with the killings. In
the audience, parents held their children close in a sea of umbrellas, flowers and blue and
white balloons -- the colors of Columbine High.”
SOAPSTONE- AUDIENCE
• AUDIENCE- The audience was the families, staff, and victims of the Columbine
High shooting. The audience is also parents and grandparents in the rest of the United
States.
•
“To the families of all those who died here, I say: You are not alone: the heart of America
aches with yours. We hold your agony in the center of our prayers. The entire nation is a
community of shock, of love, and of grief.”
•
This quote is directed at the families of the victims
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“All adults in this nation must take on the challenge of creating in all of God's children a
clean heart, and a right spirit within”
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“If you are a parent, your children need your attention. If you are a grandparent, they need
your time.”
SOAPSTONE- PURPOSE
• PURPOSE- The purpose of the speech was to persuade parents and families of the
victims to want stricter gun laws. Al Gore also wants more discipline.
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“We must replace a culture of violence and mayhem with one of values and meaning. It is
too easy for a young child to get a gun -- and everywhere we look, there are too many
lessons in how to use one. We can do something about that.”
•
“We need more discipline and character in our schools, and more alternatives to crime
and drugs. We can do something about that. We need to look for the earliest signs of
trouble -- and teach our children to resolve their differences with reason and conscience,
not with flashes of passion.”
SOAPSTONE- SPEAKER
• SPEAKER- The speaker is Al Gore. He is giving the Columbine Memorial Address
on April 25, 1999 in Columbine, CO.
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“I would be misleading you if I said I understand this. I don't. Why human beings do evil, I
do not understand. Why bad things happen to good people, I do not understand”
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For now, I know only that my heart weeps with you, and with you I yearn that we may
come through this dark passage a stronger and more caring people. For I believe, with all
my heart, that "Earth has no sorrows that Heaven cannot heal."
SOAPSTONE- TONE
• TONE- The tone of the speech was over all sorrowful. It was also in a way
persuasive and serious.
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“We hold your agony in the center of our prayers. The entire nation is a community of
shock, of love, and of grief. May you feel the embrace of the hundreds of millions who
weep with you.”
•
"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
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“Parents, we can stop the violence and the hate. In a culture rife with violence -- where
too many young people place too little value on a human life -- we can rise up and say no
more. We have seen enough violence in our schools. We must replace a culture of
violence and mayhem with one of values and meaning.”
ANALYSIS SENTENCE
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“I believe the best antidote to vulgarity and brutality is the power of a better example, of
love over indifference. In the words of Henry Drummond, "the power of a higher affection."
The human heart responds to goodness. I believe this. I wouldn't think life worth living if it
weren't so.”
•
This sentence is saying that even though there are horrible acts of violence and the
terrible things people do, he still believes that there is hope if people become more caring
towards one another.
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“More than ever I realize that every one of us is responsible for the children of our culture.
There are children who are hungering for their parents to become more involved in their
schools, and to fill the spiritual void in their lives.”
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This sentence is explaining his reasoning behind wanting more discipline. He’s saying
that this is happening all over, its not just the Columbine shooting. If parents were more
understanding and spent more time with their children they would learn to be loving
instead of being filled with hate and rage.
THEME OF THE COLUMBINE ADDRESS
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The overall theme of the Columbine Memorial Address was to stop violence and make
stricter gun laws.
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“Parents, we can stop the violence and the hate. In a culture rife with violence -- where
too many young people place too little value on a human life -- we can rise up and say no
more.”
•
This was directed to get parents attention and get them to unite and stop violence,
starting with the younger generation.
•
“It is too easy for a young child to get a gun -- and everywhere we look, there are too
many lessons in how to use one. We can do something about that.”
•
Al Gore inconspicuously tries to get an emotional rise out of the audience by saying that
“kids get guns to easily, and they use them for violence. The evidence is all around us”
PATHOS
• PATHOS•
“I believe the best antidote to vulgarity and brutality is the power of a better example, of
love over indifference. In the words of Henry Drummond, "the power of a higher affection."
The human heart responds to goodness. I believe this. I wouldn't think life worth living if it
weren't so.”
•
This is expressing pathos by showing hope in a dark time. He knows that everyone is full
of sorrow and loss, but he is trying to make them hopeful. He also used graphic words to
make the audience practically see hope right in front of them.
ETHOS
• ETHOS•
But I am reminded of the words of a sage writer who said:
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"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."
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"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
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"Earth has no sorrows that Heaven cannot heal.“
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These are all examples of Ethos because Al Gore provided SEVERAL different quotes in
his speech, showing that he knew what he was talking about. It shows that he knows what
he’s talking about because not only did he say what he had to say, but he also had a
quote/verse to put emphasis on his points.
LOGOS
• LOGOS•
“…We must replace a culture of violence and mayhem with one of values and meaning. It
is too easy for a young child to get a gun -- and everywhere we look, there are too many
lessons in how to use one. We can do something about that.”
•
This is common sense because if young people are getting guns and using them for
violence then obviously we need to do something to stop it.
•
“We need to look for the earliest signs of trouble -- and teach our children to resolve their
differences with reason and conscience”
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A troubled person is more likely to do something dangerous and violent than anybody
else. Therefore if they can find people that need help and teach them to find safer ways to
channel their anger we should take the opportunity.
REPETITION
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“I would be misleading you if I said I understand this. I don't. Why human beings do evil, I
do not understand. Why bad things happen to good people, I do not understand.”
•
Al Gore uses the phrase “I do not understand”. This is trying to make him seem like an
average person. He is saying that he, just like everyone else, doesn’t understand why
people commit such horrible acts, like the Columbine shooting.
POWERFUL LINES
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“More than ever I realize that every one of us is responsible for the children of our culture.
There are children who are hungering for their parents to become more involved in their
schools, and to fill the spiritual void in their lives.”
•
“I believe the best antidote to vulgarity and brutality is the power of a better example, of
love over indifference. In the words of Henry Drummond, "the power of a higher affection."
The human heart responds to goodness. I believe this. I wouldn't think life worth living if it
weren't so.”
•
“We need to look for the earliest signs of trouble -- and teach our children to resolve their
differences with reason and conscience, not with flashes of passion. We can do
something about that.”
LITERARY DEVICES
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“Now, as we are brought to our knees in the shock of this moment, what say we? What
say we into the open muzzle of this tragedy cocked and aimed at our hearts?”
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This is an example of both hyperbole and a metaphor. He is comparing the tragedy of the
shooting as a gun that shot everyone in their heart as well, for they also feel injured by
the loss.
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Its hyperbole because nobody was really brought to their knees by the shock of the
moment, he is just saying that it was a horrible thing to have happened and everyone is
shocked and hurt by the events that took place.
AFTER THE SPEECH?
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The only thing I could find that Al Gore did after this speech was run for president again in
2000, he lost to George W. Bush
WORKS CITED
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http://www.cnn.com/US/9904/25/shooting.memorial/index.html?_s=PM:US
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http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/algorecolumbine.htm
QUESTIONS?