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English 101 “Commencement Speech on Kindness” by George Saunders
English Composition I (ENGL& 101)
Edmonds Community College
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Janny Yan Dan Hurley English 101 11 October 2017 The Voice of Kindness “Commencement Speech on Kindness” by George Saunders is an essay that addresses our human nature of selfishness, and the struggles of acting kind. He then casually discusses how it is a human default setting to feel self-centered and selfish, even though we all try to be selfless and kinder. Which makes acts of kindness harder to come by. Saunders then shares his intuition on how as we get older we become kinder and put others before us, for the sake of love: “If you have kids that will be a huge moment in your process of self-diminishment. You really won’t care what happens to YOU, as long as they benefit” (Saunders 158). He then proposes to the graduating class that they may become kind over time, but they must overcome the selfishness to, “speed it along.” No matter the, “ambitious things-” in life they might do, they must keep acts of kindness in mind. While discussing the important topic of kindness he speaks with a passion that clearly presents his laid back and intellectual persona. His use of language and side comments is what brought his persona to life. Causal and humorous stories are displayed all over his speech. Saunders uses humor to relieve tension in his speech before and after he discusses a topic that is more on the serious side. Even when he speaks of topics that are serious he does not speak with a stern tone; however, he speaks with a tone of an intellectual. This intuitive tone he presents draws the audience in and makes it seem that what he has to say is worth
hearing. Certain side comments that Saunders uses includes jokes. His humor lightens up the room, especially with stories from his past: “skinny-dipping in a river in Sumatra, a little buzzed, and looking up and seeing like 300 monkeys sitting on a pipeline, pooping down into the river, the river in which I was swimming, with my mouth open, naked?”(Saunders 156). It is not common to hear someone giving a speech to hundreds of university graduates about ludicrous acts such as skinny-dipping, along with the word choice of, “monkey poop.” This informal story and humorous persona signals to everyone that this speech is not as bleak or serious as they thought it would be. Jokes may be the highlighting points in Saunders speech and persona, but the really important parts of his persona are the little things that show he is just as laid-back as everyone. The little side comments, the little foreshadowing that he confers are like small tokens of joy for the audience. When he points out the three reason on why humans are not kinder he mentions in the third reason that, “we’re permanent (death is real, o., sure-for you, but not for me)” (Saunders 157). He explains that this one reason why we aren’t kind, we are all naïve and arrogant in some. Knowing that we shouldn’t be naïve and be more kind to others, Saunders would hope for the audience to take his advice and be kind. Ending the speech he does the very thing that he asked the audience not to do, he makes a comment on how he would still be alive in 80 years: “And someday, in 80 years, when you’re 100, and I’m 134, and we’re both so kind and loving we’re nearly unbearable, drop me a line, let me know how your life has been” (Saunders 158). When the audience though that Saunders was all business while
his laid back side and intellectual side. No matter the abundant amount of jokes Saunders makes he was able to show that his advice comes from intuitive experience. Persona is the keystone to every piece of writing. Persona is displayed through tone, word-choice, and literary devices. All these aspects in creating a persona are also what captivates audience into wanting more.
Works Cited Saunders, George. “Commencement Speech on Kindness.” Literature for Composition, edited by Sylvan Barnet et al., Longman, 2017, pp. 156-58. 9/10 INTRODUCTION: Fine, engaging summary/context leads reader to the thesis. Fine use a quote here too. · Engages reader with a clear strategy · Includes author, title, genre · Offers context/ summary of text
9/10 THESIS: Assessment of persona is clearly announced, and is provocative—and arguable. · Offers a clear assessment of persona. · Is clear, focused, supportable, and worthy
9/10 QUOTES: Quotes are relevant, well integrated, and introduced correctly for the most part throughout. Good. A bit more context for each quote would be welcome, however. · Introduced and integrated correctly · Significance and context is clear · Well chosen
26/30 BODY PARAGRAPHS: Body paragraphs offer insight into the essay, and clearly analyze Saunders’ persona with focus and insight. Work is well organized, bbit too general. Try to be more precise in content, and especially wiut the writing does tend to be a th your language.
· Discussion of literature is written in present tense · Analysis advances and supports thesis · Body paragraphs are focused on a single idea
- 5/5 CONCLUSION: Fine closure. · · Offers closureRefers back to thesis
4/5 INSIGHT: Well done. · Analysis goes beyond the familiar, easy observations · Argument/analysis references rhetorical strategy and language.
5/5 MLA DOCUMENTATION: All good. · · In-text citationsWorks cited
23/25 MECHANICS GRADEsentence boundaries and shifts detract.: Writing is general, but clear and focused throughout. Minor concerns with
· Punctuation · Word Choice
90 /100 OVERALL GRADE (A = > 96%; A- = 94% - 90%; B+ =89% - 85%; B = 84 - 80%; C+ = 79 - 75%; C =74 - 70%, D+ = 69% -67%; D = 66% - 65%; F = < 65%)
English 101 “Commencement Speech on Kindness” by George Saunders
Course: English Composition I (ENGL& 101)
University: Edmonds Community College
