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"Explore how time and place are used in the prescribed speeches to shape the audience's understanding of how knowledge of the past sheds light on the present" - HSC 2013

Speeches form an interpretation of historical events and values which are moulded around the speaker's opinions and ideology. Paul Keating's 'Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier' 1993 and Noel Pearson's 'An Australian History for Us All' 1996, demonstrate a contrast between how a historical and contextual understanding of these speeches helps create the necessary apperception on the given audience to convey the speaker's message appropriately. Despite the fact that both speeches were given in the mid 1990s, they were addressed to different types of …show more content…

As his speech did not withhold any potential controversy, the content and context of it was widely understood and appreciated by his audience.

'Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier', was addressed by Paul Keating as an individual, as well as the Australian Prime Minister, the representative of the entire nation. The purpose was to pay respect to Australians who had fallen in battle with the dedication of a monument, without glorifying or celebrating Australia's participation in war. As it was addressed to a mixed audience, the wider Australian community, the themes remained universal, to be easily appreciated with minimal knowledge and understanding of Australia and it's history in war. "This unknown Australian is not interred here to glorify war over peace; ... or of one generation above any that has or will come later" reflects on Keating's anti-war perspective which is contextually proven, as he was well known for being extremely critical of war and Australia's participation in it as an ally. Without the knowledge of Keating's anti-war ethics, the speech was often thought to celebrate war and Australia's participation in it, thus creating a divided reception of the speech by the audience. Despite this, Keating had substantial social respect because of his title as prime minister, which resulted in the audience readily accepting his point of view.

The concepts of war and peace are the overarching themes in Pearson's 'An

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