Boston Strong

When a crisis happens in the United states, there is one person that our nation looks to for answers and that is the President. Through confusion and pain, presidential leadership is there to guide us towards hope and unity. Their voices are vital in times of tragedy and what they say in those moments can be the determining factor in moving American people together as one or not. On April 18th, 2013, just three days after the Boston bombing, President Obama gave his remarks at the Interfaith Prayer Service located at Cathedral of the Holy Cross. By using the Pentadic Cycle, I was able to address his motives more. By doing so, I looked at the five elements or terms: act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose. Now instead of looking at the perpetrators as the one's doing the rule breaking behavior, I decided to do something a little different and focus on the people of Boston instead because that's really what Obama's message was about. The act that I decided to go with were the people of Boston who refused to let the evilness of others stop them from running their race. The agent or character caught up in this form of behavior were the ones who were injured, died, and the ones who risked their lives to help. The Agency is their "feet" and how they got back up and moved forward despite the tragedy surrounding them. The scene of this was in the heart of downtown Boston where the race happens every year. The purpose in this is to show how Bostonian's will continue to run in the face of trial. After analyzing these elements, I decided to choose my ratio to be Agency/Purpose. By them using their feet to get back up after being knocked down by the tragic situation they were encountered with, their purpose was to stand up against evil. They did not want what the perpetrators wanted to use as a means to destory them end up taking their joy and perserverance away. They are a city that is strong and will continue to move forward together no matter what is thrown at them.