Bushra Zaman
English 360 Section 1
Essay #3
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Every year at Carnegie Mellon University, professors are asked to give what is called their Last Lecture, a kind of adieu to students, words of last advice. For Professor Randy Pausch this goodbye, and advice, was quite real. Pausch was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer, and with so little time left, his Last Lecture had become a sinking reality. But instead of taking the expected reaction and shutting down, Pausch decided to do something proactive, for others, as well as for his own family. With three small children and a wife at home, Pausch wanted to leave something behind, showing his ongoing love and hopes and dreams for them. In doing so, the rhetoric of “The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” relied upon philosophy and humanity, playing into the hopes and dreams of others, and engaging his audience on a truly personal level.
While one may think that Pausch’s Last Lecture is only affective due to his personal appeal and the philosophic approach, looking deeper one can see that his rhetoric is affective in and of itself. To the ancient rhetoricians, premise was of high importance. The premise would set the stage for the argument, and during such times, scientific proof behind the premise ensured that it was acceptable and rang true. At the beginning of the lecture, Randy Pausch displays an image of all of his cancerous tumors, stating that, “My dad always told me if there’s an elephant in the room introduce them. If you look at my CAT scans there’s approximately ten tumors in my liver and the doctors told me approximately three to six months of good health left. That was a month ago so you can do the math” (Pausch).By showing the actual photographic evidence of the cancer in his body, Pausch is not only showing the audience the inevitability of his diagnosis, but he also shows that it is indeed scientifically real and he is not attempting to hoodwink those he is acknowledging.
The story of Pausch’s childhood dreams, and how he went about securing them, is, as a whole, a play on words. And it is because of this that one can see him using an abundance of tropes and figures to playfully prove his point. The very first trope which hooks his audience in, is his use of irony: “If I don’t seem as depressed or morose as I should be, um, sorry to disappoint you, and I assure you I’m not in denial” (Pausch).While most would say that it is natural for a person to be upset by such a diagnosis, Pausch has a somewhat humoristic awareness of this, and warrants the audience of this awareness as well. Another trope used in the Lecture is the play on sound and sense. Randy Pausch states that one of his dreams was to win large stuffed animals. Showing the audience that this was true, and that he had made sure of it, he had brought out onto the stage the various stuffed animals he had won. A figure that is easily seen by all in the lecture is the use of climax. Pausch first gives a list of his childhood dreams, and then goes on to show how he had accomplished each, or in some cases, how they had tied in to his career as an educator.
While Pausch draws upon ancient devices in his lecture, one can also see hints of 19th century rhetoric throughout his work. More specifically, one can see evidence of Richard Whatley’s rhetoric in Pausch’s work. Whatley’s main concern over rhetoric was its inability to change in the last few eras; he believed that the 19th century would surely bring about change. And with this change, rhetoric would form its reliance upon science. One of his core beliefs was that science and logic were the foundations of argument. This can also be seen in Pausch’s lecture, beginning with his premise of his cancerous images. By showing the scientific photographic evidence of his disease, combined with the statement that he is not in denial, Pausch shows that what he is doing is simply logical. He is aware of the scientific evidence behind his disease, even the audience is aware, but he is not stopping his life. By continuing with treatment and lectures, Pausch is doing the logical thing and showing that life does not stop, because it literally hasn’t; he is not dead yet, and he will go on living until he is. Another Whatley belief seen in “The Last Lecture,” is that scientific knowledge is based on reasoning. One of his childhood dreams was to be in zero gravity. While teaching at Carnegie Mellon University he and his team had done a project that enabled his team the chance to be in zero gravity. Unfortunately this did not include him, being the faculty advisor, so he signed on to the project for a different position. Pausch changed the reasoning in order to obtain his childhood dream.
The lens of modern rhetoric can also be used to analyze Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture”. During the modern era rhetoric had truly began to develop and a true theory of language was conceptualized. This theory stated that the importance of written and spoken word was still high, pertaining to everyday life, ensuring that people could properly communicate in their jobs and careers especially. When delving deeper into the speaker’s lecture, one can see that this is truly the center of Pausch’s lecture. He speaks about how to achieve one’s childhood dreams, and in doing so, Pausch had to truly persuade and argue for himself, showing people how exactly he would accomplish them. Modern rhetoric also vouches for the importance of education, showing the importance of logic and its application to different areas. Pausch displays this idea throughout his lecture. Firstly speaking about how many of his dreams had somehow been connected to his career as a computer science professor, and throughout the virtual reality program he had developed. But another crucial highlight in his lecture pertaining to this specific idea of modern rhetoric, is the importance of mentors and students towards one another. While Pausch had a mentor that he had relied upon since he was a student, he also had students of his own that he had looked up to. Many of them had not only inspired him, but had continued the dreams of virtual reality work that they had shared. Modern rhetoric also sheds light upon the headway of the emergence of women. It was during this time period that women had truly begun to have a voice and had begun to voice their true opinions in public. Implicitly seen in Pausch’s lecture is that one of the students that had inspired him was a woman; and in choosing computer science as her path, she continued the virtual reality Alice project Pausch had started. After his death the university had chosen to memorialize his memory by offering a scholarship in his name to women in computer science.
Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” is a display of words and emotions spoken by a man with little time left, but not in denial. Instead, Pausch had chosen to give his Last Lecture as a message to all those he loved and those he undoubtedly inspired. While the lecture truly plays into the personal level, engaging the audience by truly conversing with them, it also holds true to the art of rhetoric. Pausch is heard using various concepts, from both the ancient and modern eras. What may possibly make his speech modern and viable, is his use of technology tied into his premise that life after diagnosis can go on.
Works Cited
Pausch, Randy, perf.Randy Pausch Last Lecture: How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams.Carnegie Mellon University, 2007.Web.14 Nov 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment