Question

"Obama's Speech at
Selma, 2015"
by Barack Obama
We know the march is not yet over. We know the race
is not yet won. We know that reaching that blessed
destination where we are judged, all of us, by the
content of our character requires admitting as much,
facing up to the truth.
Remarks by President Barack Obama at the 50th
Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches
Use the passage to answer the question.
Select the correct answers from the lists to
identify the rhetorical device used in the passage
and describe its purpose.

Answer 1

Rhetorical device: Anaphora (repetition of "We know") / parallelism.

Purpose: The repeated phrase creates rhythm and emphasis, reinforcing that the struggle isn’t finished and calling the audience to a shared recognition and responsibility — it builds urgency and moral weight to persuade listeners to keep working for equality.