陆辰霖
江苏省前黄高级中学国际分校213161
TheunconditionalsurrenderspeechisoneofthefamousspeechesaddressedbyJapaneseEmperorHirohito.IthappenedaftertheWorldWarIIrelatingtothesituationonthebattlefieldthatUSAdroppedbombsonJapan.TherewasacrucialfactorthatgaverisetoJapantosettlefortermsandwithdraw.Fromthetranscript,it’sobviousthatit’sapersuasivespeech,whichincludesplentyofemotivelanguages.Oneoftheelementsofrhetoricalsituationsisaudiencedefinedaspeoplewhoreceivetheknowledgeorareinfectedbymessages.Specifically,nationsinvolvedintheWarandthecitizensinJapanaretheaudience.Inthefewnextparagraphs,Iwilldiscussthetextandillustratesometypicalexamplesaboutthepurposewhytheemperorchosetosurrender.Analyzingthethreerhetoricalappeals:Ethos,Pathos,Logosaswellasemotivelanguageswhichareexertingmasterlyinthisspeechwillhelpusgathermorevaluableinformation.
Inthisspeech,theEmperorclaimedthatJapanwouldsurrenderandadmittedthatitbroughtaboutgreatsufferingtothepeopleduringtheperiod.Therearemanyevidencesshowingwhytheyeventuallymadesuchadecision.
Intheentirespeech,theemperordoesn’tmentiontheword“surrender”owingtothatthismaylethimfeelquiteshameandlose-face.Inthesecondparagraph,theemperorsaid“Tostriveforthecommonprosperityandhappinessofallnationsaswellasthesecurityandwell-beingofoursubjectsisthesolemnobligationwhichhasbeenhandeddownbyourimperialancestorsandwhichliesclosetoourheart.”Apparently,toconsolecitizensandescapefromtruceless,theemperorproposesthefirstpurposethatcanbeusedtostabilizethetensions.Structuringthissentenceinthebeginningmeansthathewouldliketototallyconvincehisnationandmanifestswhyhewagedthewaratthispoint.Therhetoricalproofappliesinthistranscriptisconsiderableartfulwhichbelongstoanemotionalappeal;aimingatpersuadingtheaudiencebyappealingtotheiremotion.Hirohitousedpathostoinvokesympathyinhiscitizens.Likewise,“Moreover,theenemyhasbeguntoemployanewandthemostcruelbomb,thepowerofwhichtododamageis,indeed,incalculable,takingthetollofmanyinnocentlives.”Through“incalculable”,“innocentlives”,Hirohitohasreflectedstrongemotion.BombhasdoneenormousdestructiontoJapansothatpeoplewereinoverwhelmingpain.ItbecomesthemostdirectreasonthatacceleratesJapan’sfailure.However,theemperorcitedthefactalsorepresentsthathewantedtheaudiencetorealizewhatoccurredduringthewaranddrawpityfromcitizenscertainly.Inotherwords,thesewouldgenerateangerfromthemaswellascontemplatewhethersuchhorribleactionmadebyJapancanbeforgivenwhentheaudiencesarelisteningtothisnews.Soforsuchasentence,arepresentativeemotivelanguageisadoptedtobringaboutwholebunchoffeelingsalsocalledpathos.
RhetoricalincludesEthos,PathosandLogos;IhaveintroducedPathos,now,wewillcontinuewithlogosandEthos.Backtothefifthparagraph,“Butnowthewarhaslastedforfouryears”and“Thedevotedserviceofouronehundredmillionpeople”.
Simply,Emperorcollectednumberstoremindusthatthefightinglifehaslastedforsuchlongtimethatcausedthelossofpropertyaswellasthemilitarypower.Itutilizesfactsandstatisticstoexplainreasonswhytheydecidedtotruceatthistimeandwasdesperateforpeaceaswell.Consequently,inlinewiththisdefinition,it’seasytonoticethisbelongstoLogos.
Aftertheseparagraphs,theemperorbegantoreflectontheunadvisablethinghehaddone,froinstance,whathemadewascommonpeoplebecominghomeless,manysoldiersdyinginthewar.Hestatedthismaynothappenifhehadmadecorrectdecisionsanddidn’tcrownoutothercountries.Forinstance,“leadyouastrayandcauseyoutolosetheconfidenceoftheworld”.Peoplecomprehendthattheemperorhasrealizedhehaslostsincerityandintegritytotheworld.
Nonetheless,Japanalsopointedoutpositivedirectiontotheirwayadvancedthatencouragesitscitizenstoagreatextent.“Tobedevotedtoconstructionforthefuture”,“evenfirminitsfaithintheimperishabilityofitssacredland.”Speakingoftheemperor,surrenderwasthefundamentalconsequencetotakeplaceowingtothebetterfuturesothatJapanwillsurviveforeverafterwards.It’sapparenttoseethatJapantookintoaccountthesafetyandstabilizationofitsowncountrywithoutmentioningothercountries,sotheintendedpurposecanbeseenclearlybythesewordswhichsupportforthemselvesandreconstructforJapan.
Inaddition,thelastactHirohitodidwastoconvinceaudiencethathewoulddobetterinhandingstateaffairs.“Andmindfulofitsheavyburdenofresponsibility,andofthelongroadbeforeit”“sothatyoumayenhancetheinnategloryoftheimperialstateandkeeppacewiththeprogressoftheworld.”ThesepertaintoEthossincetheyareethicalappealtellinghiscitizensthatheiscredibleandisworthlisteningto.
Afterthespeech,thereisahandwritingbyHirohitoandavideopreservedbymanyyears.Althoughthetoneisalwaysmonotonousandexpressionless,itisstillaperfectfitinthatkindofatmosphere.Furthermore,throughthevideoswasblackandwhite,itlookedauthentic.Thus,thewritingandvideoofthespeechshowEthosaswell.
Aboveall,byunderstandingthe5RhetoricalSituationsandclassifying3RhetoricalAppealswithexamples.Wegraduallycomprehendthateverysentencehasastrongeffect.Emotivelanguagemakesthisspeechhavesuchanexcellentaffectintheworld,andtheJapanesepeople.