alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government-‐every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never
surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
The purpose of this speech was most likely: A.A declaration of independence
B. The setting of a new agenda for the nation C. An inspirational battle cry
D. The pillorying of a public enemy
From context, you should have figured out that this speech was given sometime during WWII. Knowing this, you can easily scratch A -‐-‐ this isn’t a declaration of independence so much as a call to war. B is also uninspiring -‐-‐ while Churchill is setting an agenda of war for the nation with his insistence that “we shall not flag or fail…. we shall fight on the seas and oceans…” his passionate declamation is at odds with the dry, corporate tone of B. C is certainly correct, as evidenced by Churchill’s
obvious passion and fiery language (“we shall never surrender… even if… this Island… were subjugated… then our empire beyond the seas would carry on the struggle…”) Clearly, he is attempting to inspire his people and assure them of their victory over the Nazis. And while he clearly has no love for the Nazi regime, this speech is less concerned with pillorying (criticizing) this public enemy than inspiring the British population.
Every text, even the driest one, has some kind of purpose; sometimes, as with this text, paying attention to the intended audience will also help you to understand the purpose of a text. This speech was given at the House of Commons but likely
broadcast on the wireless, so it’s safe to assume that the audience was the entire population of England. When the audience is that large, the writer’s purpose will clearly be different from the his/her purpose when addressing a small, intimate gathering.
For example, try to assess the audience and the purpose of the following excerpt, given by First Lady Michelle Obama at the Brookings Institute in December 2014:
And then there are the issues of quality and value, which are similarly complex. As you know, when deciding whether it’s worth sending their girls to school, parents aren’t just asking themselves, will this be a good experience for my daughter, they’re calculating what those school fees will mean for their family’s food budget, they’re contemplating the loss of household help that is critical to the survival of that family. So they want to see real evidence that their
daughter is learning real, marketable skills –-‐ things like literacy, numeracy, vocational skills that will help her provide for herself and, ultimately, her family.
That’s the kind of bar that we need to clear as we move forward. Because in our work to educate girls, especially adolescent girls, we’re often asking families to do what seems to be in the exact opposite of their daughters’ and their families’
best interests. Often, we’re asking them to change or disregard some of their most strongly held values and traditions.
So, yes, we need more infrastructure. We need more resources. And, yes, we need more good laws and policies -‐– those are absolutely the necessary building blocks for change. But we also need buy-‐in from those families and those
communities. We need parents to actually believe that their daughters are as worthy of an education as their sons, and that sending girls to school is a good investment for their future.
And that might take some real effort on the ground to actually understand people’s concerns, to gain their trust, to determine what resources they need to make the sacrifice of educating their daughters.
What is First Lady Obama’s purpose in giving this talk?
A. To inform the nation about a major problem facing girls and women