Mason Schultz Essays (1533 words) - Charles De Gaulle, Chivalry

Mason Schultz Dr. Mauk ENG 223 27 September 2017 "Appeal of June 18th" World War II was beginning to take shape and Nazi Germany had occupied Poland and now have its sights set on France. In June of 1940, it was clear that France was losing their grip on their country. Refusing to sign a settlement, the Prime Minister, at the time, Paul Reynaud was forced to step down. He was succeeded by Marshal Philippe Petain who immediately made it his mission to seek an accommodation with Germany that would ensure Frances survival. General Charles de Gaulle, who was the leader of the Free French Forces, was disgusted by this decision to simply give in to Germany's demands. General de Gaulle escaped to England on June 15. ("Charles de Gaulle speech." BBC News, BBC, 17 June 2010, www.bbc.com/news/10339678.) It was this escape that provided him with the opportunity to speak to the people of France in an effort to reassure them of his intentions and that they will win their country back. General de Gaulle delivered this particular speech on June 18, 1940. At the time t he most valid source of information was the radio, and more specifically, the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC). This speech came just fourteen days after Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave his famous "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech, which was also broadcast over BBC radio to the whole of Great Britain. This created a legitimate forum for General de Gaulle to deliver his speech. Churchill provides de Gaulle an introduction which builds de Gaulle's ethos with the listeners. De Gaulle needed to send a message to not only his country of France, but to Germany as well. De Gaulle clearly stated that he would not give in. This served as a rallying call for the people of France to stand up for themselves and for their interests. There are several presuppositions, or common knowledge ideas, throughout de Gaulle's speech. General de Gaulle was able to speak to the public freely as the General of the Free French Forces, who were exiled soldiers who did not align themselves with the decisions of the French Government. Here are a few of the assumptions that are present in General de Gaulle's speech: The French Government acted cowardly in their surrender. Collective resistance has power. Invading forces are fundamentally bad. The German Army is a growing threat to world freedom that must be stopped. France is not alone in this fight. (England and the United States will align with them) One should serve their country if they are able. The flame of French resistance can never be extinguished. Some of the above presuppositions are stated directly in de Gaulle's speech which reinforce the shared beliefs between de Gaulle and his audience. All of these presuppositions are crucial to understanding why General de Gaulle is giving this address to the Free French Forces and the people of Great Britain. The German army presented a very real threat to all of Europe. De Gaulle uses these accepted facts to explain the exigence of why they needed to not give up and fight back. If every country that Germany encountered simply accepted defeat, then soon they would cross into England and conquer them as well. The sense of occasion and the presuppositions make it possible for de Gaulle to achieve discourse with his audience. The main discourse of General de Gaulle's speech focused on deliberative discourse. His speech is all about what needs to happen immediately and reinforces the fact that France is not alone in their fight. He implores anyone able to fight to take up arms and fight for the liberation of France. He also invites anyone with engineering prowess to help design new machines to combat the German tanks. He states very plainly that "The destiny of the world is here." This is not only France's fight. It now involves the entire world. There is also an element of epideictic discourse in General de Gaulle's speech. This discourse is usually described as the praise-or-blame discourse. General de Gaulle speaks out about his disdain with the French government, and their decision to give in to Germany's demands: "The leaders who, for many years, were at the