Joe Biden Meme — Practice Analyzing Digital Rhetoric
This meme of Delaware’s kingpin, the one and only Joe Biden, was created with a specific audience in mind: Joe Biden enthusiasts. Many UD students and Delaware residents alike pride themselves on having met Biden, or simply fawning over Biden and his ice creaming eating tendencies. For an audience at UD, students and alumni would regard this meme with pride — Vice President Joe Biden not only attended UD but also is a very active alumnus who continually impacts the university at large. Students typically regard their university as the best and pride themselves on where they attend. So, if UD students are the receptive audience to this meme, they are immediately more prideful of Joe Biden and his choice to not attend a haughty-taughty Ivy League…

The creator of this meme appeals to the audience’s pathos by using an image to convey their message; an image where Biden looks dignified and cool, unbothered that he did not attend an Ivy League. The meme was published in 2012 — he was in office at this time. So, the Kairos of this meme was timely and made sense for when it was created. Yet, if it was circulated today, it could have even more significance to a specific audience (UD) since he has been more influential on campus over the past few years.

