John F Kennedy Inaugural Address Similes

War Speeches Post Seminar Response

John F Kennedy was the president of the United States during the Cold War, a time when American and the former Soviet Union had major military and political tension, and the fear of nuclear warfare was extremely prevalent. Kennedy capitalized on the nation’s distress and focused his Inaugural Speech on this fear in order to get the American population to support his plan of creating worldwide peace. Throughout his speech he utilized similes to make the American population reflect on their actions. He used similes frequently throughout the address to capture the audience's attention and to draw them to imagine the horrors of what the world can prevail. In order to apprise the American public about what atrocities

Kennedy utilized this phrase to draw an image to the message that his whole speech is riding on. He wanted to warn the public that America currently is not well liked in the eyes of communist nations, therefore we have to be extra careful about our actions. One mistake can anger these nations and activate nuclear warfare. President Kennedy instills the same fear through the implication of simile not only with the American public but with nations around the world as well. He pleads for peace, “before the powers of destruction unleashed by the science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction”(2). He mentions this in his speech because nuclear warfare is not just an American problem, but a worldwide problem as well since it can eradicate entire populations. The “dark powers of

The repetition incorporated throughout this speech is to reiterate his position on the cold war. Repetition is implemented to engrave an idea into people’s minds so that they truly understand the importance of the topic. Throughout John F. Kennedy’s speech he repeats the line, “Let both sides” (3). This repetition means that he desires an agreement to be formed between both fighting sides and eventually unity. He rather be allied with the enemies than be constantly fighting. He rather have America “invoke the wonders of Science instead of its terrors” (3) America and its enemies “Together [can].... explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce” (3). His dream is to witness the world together as one, working to accomplish a common goal. Kennedy recognized that if the country united with other countries instead of destroying them on the battlefield, they could accomplish further development than discovering things on their own. A remarkable amount more in science can be accomplished when the focus is on the development of medicines and the exploration, rather than to the creation of deadly nuclear weapons. His goal was to have the American population desire an end to the constant fighting with foreign countries and with that yearning, he wanted them to support his