On January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech that he would be remembered for forever. The speech seemed nothing grand or extravagant. It seemed quite simple. However, when one looked further into the speech, there were many hidden forms of literature; many simple things not seen as important that make the speech powerful. Kennedy’s speech was known for its eloquence and call-to-duty: “Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.” Rather than reassuring American citizens that everything would be okay, the President emphasized the struggles that were to come and outlined exactly what he needed to be done by the citizens. John F. Kennedy’s speech was strongly written with many examples of parallelism …show more content…
He spoke to the entire group as if he was speaking to each person individually. Kennedy rhetorically asked his audience what they could do for their country. Pathos is also appealed to through figures of speech. Kennedy used connections such as “tyranny and iron,” “power and tiger,” and “poverty and chains” as strong sources of emotional persuasion. He appealed to ethos by offering America as a partner with the “citizens of the world” to champion the “freedom of man.” Ethos is also appealed to because Kennedy was elected the President of the United States. The President repeatedly referred to himself and the citizens as “we.” This showed that he did not think lowly of the average person. Kennedy appealed to logos by providing facts about the country and freedoms of the …show more content…
These figures of speech elevated the speech to a grand style. The imagery of the “beachhead of cooperation” pushing back the “jungle of suspicion” was very vivid and precise. These imagery details helped the reader to picture and feel the cooperation and confusion felt by Kennedy at the time. Kennedy used an anaphora by repeating “let both sides” at the beginning of three consecutive paragraphs. This anaphora helped explain that the two sides, though separate, are equal. This repetition also drew special attention to the lines and helped the speech flow powerfully. John F. Kennedy repetitively stated “we pledge” and “we shall” to express the nation was one and was determined to accomplish great