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John F Kennedy Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address uses many rhetorical techniques to persuade his audience that he is credible enough to fulfill the role of being the youngest president of the United States, and to prove to the world that his term would be of change and hope. The main arguments in this essay are a strong appeal to ethics not only his, but ours as a country bonded through common values, and emotional and logical arguments. Kennedy has a call to action that is shown throughout his address. This call to action has a plea to his ethics and morals and to the audiences as well. Furthermore, his use of a logical argument is used with powerful emotions throughout his address that allows this call to action to be effective in unifying the American people. Kennedy’s goal for his speech was to bring together all of the American people. There were many serious issues that needed to be addressed. For example, he states that his presidential ceremony should be the beginning of change. Kennedy said, “Proud of our heritage” Kennedy was able to unite the American people together by referencing the heritage of the American people by showing …show more content…

He does this by referring to allies that happen to share common beliefs with the people of the United States. For example, “cultural and spiritual origins” accomplish these shared beliefs, and he offers a request not a pledge, but a request to the many different people around the world. He continues to develop his theme of unification by sharing with his audience the common cultures and goals that other countries around the world have. He called the different people around the world “citizens of the world”. This shows the world especially the Soviet Union that the United States does not exclude anyone. Kennedy then unites us all together using shared ethos to accomplish the same shared goals as a world and not as separate

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(Lines 23-24). By asking these questions, he manipulates his audience into a sense of agreement, since it would be almost considered un-American to object to his rhetorical question. For instance, who would object a more fruitful life for mankind? The sense of unity is continued with his syntax. Some examples of amalgamated language are, “My fellow citizens” and his repeated use of “we”.

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In a time where many countries of the world were unsettled and feared another atomic bomb explosion, President John F. Kennedy was sworn into office on January 20, 1961 on a cold winter afternoon. He then proceeded to give an inaugural address that would last through the ages and inspire people not only in America, but also people around the world to unite together and achieve peace. His speech was eloquent and smooth, because of his use of many rhetorical strategies. He uses diction, appeals, parallelism and other literary devices all throughout the speech. President Kennedy wise use of diction greatly helped him appeal to the audiences.

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy commonly called simply by his initials “JFK”, delivered the 35th presidential inauguration address on January 20th of 1961. This speech was extremely powerful and comforting that the entire nation turned an ear to hear the words of their new leader. During this time period, America was in the middle of a racial battle within their borders, fighting Communism and the Cold War across the ocean, and overall worried about the chance that another completely devastating war could break out at any time. What Kennedy’s speech did was address these issues and give the citizens of the United States hope for the future. It employed a strong appeal to ethos, pathos, and logos; which is why people continue to talk about it even to

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By using we, us and our he includes everyone and unifies the citizens of the United States and the world. Kennedy says “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed...” He is saying that the old generation had passed their ideas on to the new generation who are willing to sacrifice so that their rights are not taken from them. By saying “friend and foe alike” he is bringing everyone together and not letting them be different just because they are a friend or a foe. Additionally by describing traits of all the Americans, he unifies the citizens of America because all were tempered by war and proud of their heritage so it allows citizens to bond of common history.

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Kennedy wisely sticks to using pathos throughout his entire speech, rather than relying on his then-minimal ethos or allowing his stirring speech to become bogged down by logos represented by the dull facts and figures of statistics. As a very young President just starting his first term, Kennedy lacks the reputation and reliability that an older, more experienced politician might have available. While it is true that most of the nation had seen him on television during the Nixon-Kennedy Presidential debates, those debates were the near-total of the people’s exposure to the dashing young President, and a pretty face does not a solid political reputation make! However, no matter how dashing and heroic he might have appeared to be in those

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While the speech's respectful eloquence is appropriate for the occasion of an inauguration, its youthful energy and look to the future make it distinctly John F. Kennedy's. His young & charismatic image strongly appealed to the United State's newer use of media at the time, enhancing his public persona each appearance he made. With the use of a multitude of rhetorical strategies such as repetition, archaic diction, & tone, Kennedy formulated a speech worthy of embodying his form. During his inauguration, Kennedy was able to fulfill his purpose of truly constructing a speech of his own figure, that as well represents his goals for the future of America.

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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.

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In his call to action, he indicated that his administration would be the beginning of change for the betterment of humanity and will need to continue on. He states that this generation will lead America to join in the effort to assure the “survival and success of liberty” (Kennedy). We as Americans believe in liberty and justice for all people; we are all descendants of the soldiers who fought in the revolutionary war to stand united in upholding such principles. Having this same background, President Kennedy brings more to the unification of the citizens of the United States. As stated previously, Kennedy further brings a connection to the audience through a civic call to duty, which is directed to everyone.

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Rhetorical Analysis: Robert F. Kennedy on the Death of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1968, Robert F. Kennedy speech on the Death of Martin Luther King Jr. gave Americans a lot to consider when it came to racial inequality. The speech consists of new information about Martin Luther King Jr that would start more violence in America. However, Robert F. Kennedy goal of the speech was to keep peace between the two races and continue human rights in a havoc situation. Robert F. Kennedy states his purpose of the speech directly.

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On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was in Indianapolis for a campaign stop, when he received news that Martin Luther King was killed, causing Kennedy to write and deliver a speech regarding the assassination. This speech was succinct but not only was it about the assassination, it was also to tell the people there is still wisdom and hope in this time of turmoil. To reach this purpose, he first builds up his ethos, uses pathos to add mood and hope, and unifies the people. The combination of these elements makes it a very powerful and memorable speech. Robert F. Kennedy builds his credibility by relating his personal experience and knowledge of what the audience is feeling to the current events.

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John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address On Friday, January 20, 1961 John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as 35th President of the United States. In his Inaugural Address President Kennedy delivered a speech to unite and celebrate the peaceful transition of power that stands to this day as one of the most powerful addresses in modern history. Widely considered a call to action, President Kennedy challenged the American people to move beyond the precincts of the past to make a difference to move the world into an era of peace and prosperity. His promise to the other states on the world stage was no less spectacular when he swore “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,

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John F. Kennedy discusses and analyzes on how the nation differs from the past and present day in that time period. Kennedy narrators on the division and war in the the world to appeal to the audience patriotism by using pathos and logos. In this speech President Kennedy states “to thoses who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request; that both sides begin the quest for peace, before the dark power of destruction unleashed.” He uses this quote to obtain a logical appeal to the appeal to the people. Kennedy uses logos to show that he wants the nation to come together and be humble together in one peace.

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With such a simple statement, the audience is able to see that by coming together to face bigger challenges they can do a lot more than they would be able to do if they were divided. Kennedy makes many remarks on how key being united is because he can see how divided the country is close to becoming. Even as John F. Kennedy’s speech progresses, he always refers back to how the audience needs

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Lastly Kennedy states, “ My fellow citizens of the world; ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” In this famous quote from Kennedy’s inaugural speech, he says that together, the people of America can do

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He also says, “…United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder” (Kennedy 7). Similar to the last quote, Kennedy implies that all nations need to work together and not apart. Kennedy has another line in the speech where he make a reference from Isaiah 58:6 from the Bible, he again, talks about uniting on earth (Kennedy 19). It is clear what Kennedy’s intention and meaning in his speech.

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