Jon Stewart An Anylisis

Jon Stewart, an author, speaker, political satirist, comedian, actor and graduate from The College of William and Mary, took the time to address the graduating class of 2004 from William and Mary. The commencement address was a time for Stewart to express gratitude for receiving and honorary doctorate from the college. The speech was full of political satire, jokes about the university and some pure fact about life that every college student needs to hear upon graduation. For Stewart, addressing the graduating class was a chance to let them know that "college is something you complete. Life is something you experience" (p 204). This was one of the many ideas Stewart addresses in his commencement speech.

Jon Stewart starts off his speech by letting everyone at William and Mary know that there are far better candidates for the doctorate and to be allowed to speak at graduation. He states "I have to say I believe we can do better. And I believe we should" (p202). The fact that he is an alumnus with a highly visible role is clearly not enough in Stewart's mind to be granted the right to give a speech of such magnitude, and he makes sure that this point is clearly made even though he does appreciate the honor. Also, Stewart points out how the idea of a college degree and education in general is devalued by today's society. As seen in the current job market individuals with graduate degrees looking for find out they are only going to be making twenty thousand dollars a year. These are people who have poured years into their education and are getting only a small degree more than a full time fry cook. Stewart drives this point home when he states "is a piece of parchment that in truth has been so devalued by our instant gratification culture as to have been rendered meaningless" (p202). Stewart does move on from the depressing aspect of graduating college to a slightly less depressing topic of how this current generation can fix the world.

The world according to Stewart is broken, meaning that his generation has successfully messed up the world in what we see as beyond repair. The problems that he is inadvertently addressing are those of health care, the War on Terror, education, and overall economic standing. The current political system is dragging down moral and causing the world to become "broken," as Stewart puts it. Although he is clearly being facetious, this statement it does hold some truth because of the current state the country is in. With the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11th and the current war in Iraq the world is broken. The