“Jackie Robinson was the first ever African american to play in major league baseball”.(history on the net) His dedication and love of the game inspired him to prove everyone wrong. The name calling,thrown items, and potential fights didn’t stop Jackie from conquering what he wanted. To this day, the African american race dominates in sports around the world. He was a man who never gave up, through thick or thin he strived for what he believed in. He was the start to something great. In Jackie Robinson's speech “this I believe”, he uses a great use of Logos,Pathos, and Repetition, to make this story very effective.
The logos portion of this story is weak, but it adds flavor making the story more diverse and puts the story into category. In his first sentence of the story “at the beginning of the World Series of 1947” … “the National Anthem was played” … “this time, it’s being played for me”. It gives you a clear image of that first day, in Major League Baseball for Robinson. Even though the speech gives you little logos. I feel that it was effective. It tells you how he felt to stand in front of millions of people and listen to the national anthem play. Jackie Robinson was discriminated throughout every game, but as he proved to the people more and more, Jackie Robinson became a part of the franchise. “ A talented and versatile player” (history) Robinson was no joke.
The Pathos portion of this speech is by far the strongest portion of persuasion. In Jackie’s speech from his third to sixth paragraphs, he talks about humans being imperfect. Jackie says, “everyone has handicaps, stumbling blocks, or procedures of some kind.” As Robinson goes on he covers the country's biggest problems to try and connect with his audience. Throughout the story Robinson pushes the word “Hope.” He had hope that this battle was something he could fight,conquer,and win. He had hope that “With free minds and hearts at work,their was probability of improvement.” In his speech he continues to say we are a “free society” hinting that everyone should be treated equally. He also brings up his children and says he reminds them that in the long run their is always hope. Jackie Robinson was a man who lived off hope. His words, “separate but equal”(history) helped to created the civil rights movement. “ the Negroes had a style of play called tricky baseball” (history)The dodgers manager Leo Durocher says,”This guy didn’t just come to play. He came to beat ya.” Jackie Robinson poured his heart into the people on April 4th,1952. The pathos in this speech made it what it was. A good speech. He showed the people his passion for the sport and tried to gain respect from his crowd. Jackie's Robinson’s quote, “ I’m not concerned with you liking or disliking me...all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”(Brainy Quote). Is symbolized to give him the equal respect he deserves. Pathos is a skill Jackie Robinson is talented at.
Finally, Jackie Robinson repeatedly uses repetition in his speech. “Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable.”( literary devices) He repeatedly says standout words that are important to him to try and persuade his audience. Once he says the word he wants to repeat, he follows with it in the next sentence and then the next, repeatedly slamming it into your brain. Him along with many other public speakers tend to use reception. Jackie says,”I believe in the human race.I believe in the warm heart.I believe in man’s integrity. I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that the society can remain good” He’s using repetition to get through to you on what he believes in. Jackie also states, “My fight was against the barriers that kept Negroes out of baseball. This was the area where I found imperfection, and where I was best able to fight. And I fought because I know it was not doomed to be a losing fight. It couldn’t be a losing fight not when it took place in a free society.” In this statement Jackie is pounding into the audiences head that he had to fight for what he believed in.
To conclude, Jackie Robinson's speech “I believe” uses Logos, Pathos, and repetition. He uses all three to make his speech effective. He use of logos shows you what it was like to stand on the field and listen to the national be played in front of the entire world. He uses Pathos to tell you how he feels about his topic and how he should be treated equally. Finally he uses repetition,he uses repetition to make an idea more clearer and memorable. On Jackie Robinson's debut game he hits 4 balls and one home run to lead his team to victory.” Robinson and the Royals win the 1946 international title over the Louisville colonels.”(sports illustrated) Jackie Robinson also hits a .349 batting average that year making him the league's best batting average.Robinson goes on to win 5 World series in his career and hitting 137 home runs.