John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1961 – a time full of uncertainty. In order to assure America that he was the right person for the job, he had to deliver an Inaugural Address that would comfort the American people, assuring them that they made the right decision in electing him. He did just that. The first Roman Catholic President delivered his Inaugural Address with powerful words that not only assured Americans who voted for him that they made the right decision, but also swayed the opinions of Americans who did not. Kennedy’s use of parallelisms in his Inaugural Address, specifically anaphora and antithesis, enables him to effectively inform America of his intentions as President and prove that he is the right man for the job. Kennedy …show more content…
By using anaphora, he adds rhythm to his speech, making it more interesting, and easier to remember. When Kennedy reiterated “to those old allies… to those new states… to those people,” he appeals to the emotions of the audience. By doing so, he persuades, inspires and motivates them. In these lines, Kennedy pledges that he will do anything to assure the survival and success of liberty, achieving his purpose by informing his audience of his intentions as President. Kennedy uses anaphora again when he recognizes the widespread anxiety and uncertainty in Americans because of the start of the Cold War. He repeats “let both sides” four times, to optimistically provide comfort. He provides comfort by talking about the future, and his plans to deal with the current strained relations; thus, further achieving his purpose of persuading his audience that he was the correct choice to lead their country. Kennedy wanted to make the audience understand that his intensions were righteous. He opined that “united there is little we [America] cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we [America] can do.” This arrangement of clauses side by side makes them similar in form – parallelism – and creates consistency to balances his ideas. Because of the repetition this line uses, it makes it more memorable to the audience, instilling his bona fide intentions and making America proud of their decision