President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, gave his inaugural address on Friday, January 20, 1961. President Kennedy addressed all people in the world in his speech, but his primary audience was American citizens. The purpose of Kennedy’s speech was to raise confidence within Americans that they had elected the best president, and also to form unity. He encouraged countries, states, and different political parties to unite for the greater good. President Kennedy was able to convince his audience that he could be trusted to help them create unity through his outstanding use of ethos and his use of allness, alliteration, consonance, and assonance. In his inaugural address, President Kennedy uses ethos throughout his entire speech. He first establishes ethos by appealing to the patriotism of Americans. “[B]orn in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage” (511). When Kennedy reminds Americans of their forefathers and all of the sacrifices they went through, it brings a patriotic mood into his speech. As a result of telling his audience that they, the new generation of Americans, have the torch (511), the audience acquires a sense of initiative. Kennedy knows that he cannot change the world on his own, he needs all of the people in …show more content…
Kennedy’s inaugural address. Several examples of alliteration he uses are “man holds in his mortal hands” (511), “pay any price, bear any burden” (511),“break the bonds of mass misery” (511), and “lead the land we love” (513). Kennedy uses consonance when he says “whether it wishes us well or ill”(511). Assonance is found in the phrase “the steady spread of the deadly atom” (512). The rhetorical devices alliteration, consonance, and assonance each help to build President Kennedy's speech immensely. By using these rhetorical devices, he is able to captivate the audience's attention while getting his message across