After learning about President Obama's experience as a community organizer in Chicago, the third and final section of his autobiography is entitled "Kenya". Obama travels back to his father's nation or origin to find out more about the man that he could only admire from afar but never really knew. In Nairobi, Obama meets his grandmother and his extended family. He feels hopelessly entangled in family politics and sees clearly that his father was not a perfect man, as Obama growing up had been lead to believe. In the end, Obama is not disappointed with his search, he merely has even more questions. The autobiography has an epilogue, where Obama returns to Kenya with Mrs.Obama, and he is optimistic that things will change for the better.
One of the most important rhetorical devices used in this autobiography is flashbacks. Throughout both the "Kenya" and "Chicago" section Obama uses extensive flashbacks into the lives of his mother and father. Although they no longer play the same central role in the autobiography in later chapters as they did in the beginning, Obama is continually influenced by his quest to discover his identity through the past of his parents.
The audience for this autobiography, the American public, will probably find it easy to connect to the autobiography. Particularly in the "Kenya" section, Obama seems to focus more on dialogue and action rather than description, emphasizing similarities in thought rather than differences because of the African backdrop. However, he does use Swahili terms at times.
I think that Obama did achieve his purpose of showing that he has seen more than the average political candidate. From "Origins" to "Kenya", there is a sense that by belonging to two worlds and thus uncertain of where he fits, President Barack Obama has gone on an incredible journey.
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