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Rhetorical analysis on john f kennedy's inaugural address
Speech analysis of john f. kennedy's inaugral address
U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses
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On an important day in 1961, John F. Kennedy delivered a speech to the people all over the US and around the world that still gets quoted today. He made this speech to unite and make everyone come together. In his speech he used various examples of ethos, pathos and logos that really helped the speech and people come together. He as president would write the speeches himself and wouldn’t let others write it for him and is praised by many people because of that. John F. Kennedy didn’t use a lot of ethos but the ones he used were very good because it got the point across clearly.
Jake McKervey ENGL1010 Zach Largey 3/2/15 Paper #3 Rhetorical Analysis of JFK’s Inaugural Address On January 20th, 1961, the President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy gave his Inaugural Address. A speech that he started writing in mid-November of the previous year. Slowly but surely putting a speech together that will long be remembered. Kennedy knew that his speech needed empowering because this moment can be a defining moment in a president’s term of office.
Kennedy uses many rhetorical devices in his speech to help ease the citizen’s minds while maintaining a conversational tone a well as a clear and compelling structure. One example of a rhetorical device that JFK uses is anaphora. The purpose of his use of anaphora is to add significance to his message. He begins numerous paragraphs with the phrases “To those old allies…. To those new states….
Kennedy’s inaugural address signifies the legacy of hope that his presidency created. This is done through the use of anaphora and imagery. In Kennedy’s inauguration address, he uses anaphora to bring political parties together behind common goals. While describing his expectations for the nation during his presidency, he says, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations” (Kennedy 3).
Freedom Is Ringing We are inspired by great speeches because of the way they are rhetorically crafted to make us feel. The best speeches are not the ones that are informational, it’s the ones that tug at our heartstrings. John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, Martin L. King ’s I Have a Dream Speech, and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms State of the Union Address use a variety of literary devices in their speech to motivate and cajole their audiences to defend our liberties.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Junior’s, speech at his inaugural address in 1961 is undeniably a masterpiece of the persuasive arts. Although the speech is short as such speeches go, and although its main persuasive device is pathos alone, the masterful skill with which Kennedy’s speech is written makes it one of the most moving and effective political speeches to date. Kennedy’s vivid use of diction and metaphor, as well as his extremely memorable syntax, are particularly strong and successful. Every intelligent debater, speech-writer, and generally argumentative person knows that there are three main techniques which can be used to manipulate an audience and engage them in the speaker’s topic and purpose: ethos, logos, and pathos.
This connects the younger generation of Americans and the older generation. He unites them under one goal and one purpose by using antithesis, ignoring their differences, and prepares them for what’s there to come in the future. He uses ethos quite effectively to re-establish his personal character. It was well known that Kennedy was a very religious man, and he reinforces this concept by citing the Lord’s name several times, as well as alluding to
Oziel Rios S. Nambiar English 1302. SP3 12 February 2018 Kennedy Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis On Friday, January of 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered a speech to the citizens of the United States of America and the world. Kennedy made a speech that he knew would be remembered for many years to come even after his presidential term.
Rhetorical Analysis Former Illinois State Senator and soon to be Forty-fourth president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, recounts what happened in the past to make America what is today and how he intends to maintain the ideas of America’s founding fathers throughout his term of presidency. His intended audience of the first inaugural address is the citizens of America and his purpose was to comfort them about the past and encourage the future of America. He creates a patriotic and empowering tone in order to appeal to pathos. His diction throughout the speech illustrates patriotism, allusions, and anaphoras. Obama opens his speech by discussing the views of our forebears and documents and how we have followed through with those views.
Born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate before becoming the 35th president in 1961. Looking into Kennedy’s presidency, as far as domestic affairs, he had only a few tangible accomplishments that stood out due to his abrupt end. On the other hand, without a doubt, his administration was seen as a time of a youthful glamour, rising hopes, and dynamic leadership at home and abroad. In 1961, when delivering his inaugural address, he had stated, “The torch has been passed”. In other words, this meant that it is now their turn to establish a new era of American society who will “assure the survival and success of liberty”.
On January 20, 1961, forty-three-year-old John F, Kennedy delivered his inaugural address in Washington D.C after being sworn in as the thirty-fifth United States President. He memorably captured the attention of the entire nation with one of the finest speeches written to date, tugging on the heartstrings and logistically addressing the worries of many Americans. Making his point clear and comprehendible, Kennedy reached larger audiences than his predecessors, bringing a sense of calmness to the public during the height of the Cold War, national talk of communism, and the impending fear of nuclear attacks. He took austere consideration to the chaos erupting both internationally and nationally by instilling a sense of union amongst Americans in attempts to creating lasting peace. Utilizing a fearless rhythm of persuasiveness and motivational tactics, Kennedy connects to his audience through emotional
He displays personification in his speech by quoting,”Now the summons us again-not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need;not as to call to battle ,but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle rejoicing in hope.” This quote uses a trumpet to symbolize a call for serenity and not warfare. The trumpet shows the struggle between poverty,tyranny, and war itself to find happiness and promise in the world. Finally, Kennedy uses repetition in lines 15-28 stating “Let both sides” to display a need for
John F. Kennedy uses literary devices to capture the attention of the audience, sets himself equal to his audience getting their attention and support, and uses the christian religion to strike the emotions and gain the support of his audience. Kennedy uses many literary devices to catch the attention of his audience. One of these devices is repetition. One example of repetition that Kennedy uses is, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
His diction is very inclusive; he commences his speech with several uses of the words ‘we’ and ‘our’, which makes way for inclusivity. JFK is blurring the distinction between citizen and superior governor by including the people in his proclamation. While describing the hardships and challenges that the country is facing, Kennedy mentions how imperative the occasion is on a global level; in the midst of the Cold War, he reminds his audience of the importance of uniting. Through the use of the lexical field of danger — words such as: ‘defiance’, ‘serious’, ‘risk’, and ‘sacrifice’ — he creates a feeling of tension and urgency, and engages his audience to the concern. To conclude his speech, the President mentions self-guilt on the part of the country on how they had not displayed the “sense of business responsibility” that they should have, a rhetorical strategy that approximates the audience to the government.
He used rhetorical devices such as anaphora, parallel structure, and rhetorical questions to appeal to the listener and future reader’s sense of pathos. In Kennedy’s address to the nation, he used anaphora to trigger an emotional response from the listener. He gives the listener a sense of safety under his control, as he wants to “Let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear.
