Welty vs. Gandhi — A Father's Anxiety Before the Podium
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet and Will debate the choice between using a Eudora Welty quote or a Gandhi quote in the commencement speech, reflecting on the speech's theme of creativity.
Will reassures Bartlet that the speech is strong but acknowledges it won't address Bartlet's personal concern about Zoey leaving for France.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Neutral and professional; a functional presence focused on ceremony rather than personal stakes.
Provides the voice-over introduction calling the President and Georgetown's president forward, formally converting the private rehearsal into a public moment and cueing audience attention.
- • Announce the procession correctly and clearly
- • Signal the audience to focus on the stage
- • Ceremonial announcements organize public attention
- • Protocol matters in formal events
Professional calm; focused on logistics rather than sentiment.
An aide approaches, addresses the President formally, places something on him (mic/ceremonial pin) and cues him to proceed, moving the moment from private prep to public action.
- • Ensure the President is properly prepared and mic'd for the speech
- • Keep the ceremony on schedule and run smooth transitions
- • Ceremonial protocol must be followed
- • The President needs support from staff to perform publicly
Surface composure and professional focus; privately anxious and protective about his daughter — uses humor to deflect and steady himself.
Standing at the top of the staircase, Bartlet huddles over final edits, sparring lightly about quote choice, masking paternal anxiety with wry humor before accepting a cue and descending to deliver the address.
- • Finalize and polish the commencement speech
- • Maintain ceremonial composure while managing private worry about Zoey
- • Project presidential steadiness for the public procession
- • Words and literary choices shape the tone of an address
- • Public duty must continue even when private life threatens disruption
- • A light joke can hide or diffuse real anxiety
Celebratory and expectant — focused on ritual and honor rather than the President's private anxieties.
The assembled crowd applauds and cheers as Bartlet and the Chancellor descend and walk out, providing the supportive public frame against which Bartlet's private concern is juxtaposed.
- • Receive the commencement address
- • Celebrate graduates and honored guests
- • Ceremonial pageantry reinforces communal values
- • The President is a figure to be applauded at such events
Not an emotional participant — functions as a rhetorical presence influencing tone.
Referenced by Bartlet and Will as the alternative literary voice for the speech; her work is invoked as a tonal choice that would shape the address differently than Gandhi's quote.
- • Provide phrasing that can humanize or localize the speech
- • Offer a literary register compatible with Bartlet's persona
- • American literary sources can better match certain rhetorical frames
- • Quotation choice materially affects audience reception
Not emotionally present; functions as a rhetorical benchmark for universality and activism.
Referenced as the existing quote option — the Gandhi line is discussed for suitability and cultural tone, creating a contrast with Welty as potential phrasing.
- • Offer a concise, universal moral call for graduates
- • Anchor the speech in a familiar, motivational aphorism
- • Certain quotations carry cross-cultural weight
- • Familiar moral aphorisms can be effective in commencement addresses
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Zoey's compact camera is pulled out and used to snap a candid picture of her father as he prepares to walk out, creating a private visual memory in the midst of public ritual.
The TelePrompter sits waiting at the podium as an unused procedural device; it is discussed by the Chancellor and Bartlet as an option but ultimately not employed, emphasizing Bartlet's off-script approach.
Bartlet jokes about having parts of the speech on crumpled napkins in his pocket; they function symbolically as his informal, intimate notes and proof of a practiced, human readiness behind the formal speech.
The double doors function as the physical threshold Bartlet and the Chancellor pass through from private stair landing to the public stage, marking the transition from preparation to performance.
Pomp and Circumstance swells as the procession descends and exits, providing the ceremonial soundtrack that cloaks Bartlet's private anxieties in public ritual and cadence.
Bartlet holds the speech folder while he and Will make last-minute edits, using it as the primary written script and tangible anchor for his prepared remarks.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Georgetown Building is the broader architectural host for the exchange, containing both the private landing and the public forum; it frames the ceremony's institutional gravity against personal moments.
The top of the Georgetown staircase serves as an intimate preparation space where Bartlet and his aide finalize tone and lines; it is both backstage and a threshold, allowing a last private exchange before public exposure.
The ceremony front area is the public-facing stage where Bartlet will perform; it is where the crowd receives him and where the private tension must be converted into a composed address.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Georgetown University hosts and orchestrates the commencement ceremony, represented by the Chancellor and institutional protocol; the university frames the event as both academic ritual and a stage for presidential visibility.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet and Will's debate over the speech's theme continues as they prepare."
"Bartlet's decision to change his speech's focus is debated with Will during preparation."
"Bartlet and Will's debate over the speech's theme continues as they prepare."
"The commencement ceremony leads to Bartlet's speech and Zoey's photo."
"The aide's interruption leads directly to Bartlet's speech logistics."
"The aide's interruption leads directly to Bartlet's speech logistics."
"Bartlet's personal gift to Abbey contrasts with his public responsibilities during the commencement speech."
"Bartlet and Will's debate over the speech's theme continues as they prepare."
"Bartlet and Will's debate over the speech's theme continues as they prepare."
"The aide's interruption leads directly to Bartlet's speech logistics."
"The aide's interruption leads directly to Bartlet's speech logistics."
"Zoey's photo of her father contrasts with her confused feelings for Charlie."
"Zoey's photo of her father contrasts with her confused feelings for Charlie."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: What do you think about using the Eudora Welty quote instead of the Gandhi?"
"WILL: Sir, this speech is about creativity and in my judgement, it's a home run. Now, what it isn't is a speech that will convince Zoey not to go to France tomorrow."
"BARTLET: Well, let's write that one."