Throughout history speeches have influenced masses of people to take action. These speeches have gone down in history and are still admired today. The reason for success is in the quality of the speech, which can be determined by the beginning, and the end of the speech as well as the response of the audience towards the speech.
The beginning of a speech is crucial to grab the audience’s attention. Captain Beatty makes an effort to begin his speech as lightly as possible and as comfortably as possible. He begins by sort of teasing Montag about being sick and not wanting to take the day off. Next, Beatty lets Montag know it is not his first time to direct to firemen having doubts about the job when he says, “ Every fireman, sooner or later, hits this. They only need understanding, to know how the wheels run… only fire chiefs remember it now. I’ll let you in on it.” He lets Montag know that his job is to inform him enough so he can understand the importance of being a fireman. Captain Beatty’s speech begins similarly to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech made in 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. began at a somewhat light note, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” He also let his audience know that there is a purpose to his speech, which is to promote Negro freedom in the United States. Both speakers were directing a sore topic and made a distinguished effort to both, get the point across and have an attentive audience for the rest of the speech.
The end of a speech is probably more important than the speech because it should leave the audience inspired to take action. Beatty ends by emphasizing his point by saying, “The important thing for you to remember, is we’re the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo… We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought… We depend on you. I don’t think you realize how important you are, we are, to our happy world as it stands now.” He reminds Montag of his purpose and of his importance. It leaves him thinking about what he does, as he makes a decision about his future. Like Captain Beatty, Charlie Chaplin ends in a thought and action provoking thought. Charlie Chaplin tells his audience that they are fighting for a worthy cause, “ Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us...
