Kamala Harris' Victory Speech

This study guide will help you analyze Kamala Harris’ Victory Speech from 2020. In addition to help for your analysis, you can find a summary of the text and ideas for discussing it. We also help you put the speech in perspective.

Kamala Harris (b. 1964) is an American politician and attorney. She became the 49^th vice president of the United States at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration alongside President Joe Biden. She is the first female vice president in American history, as well as the first African-American and the first Asian American vice president. She delivered her Victory Speech in November 2020 after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election against former President Donald Trump.

Extract

Here, you can read an extract from our study guide:

Pathos

Harris uses pathos to appeal to people’s emotions and deliver her message. For example, she mentions the challenging times American citizens have been going through, their “grief, sorrow, and pain (…) worries and (…) struggles”. This is meant to show citizens that she is aware of their issues and acknowledges their hardships. Moreover, the acknowledgment implies that she will work to improve the current situation for Americans.

Another instance when Harris appeals to people’s emotions is when she mentions the audience’s children:

every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before.

This mention appeals to people’s love for their children and gives them hope that Harris’ election as vice president will set a precedent and will enable their children to have more opportunities to achieve greater things. In this way, the Victory Speech sends a hopeful and celebratory message to the audience.