ipl-logo

Pathos In Jfk Inaugural Address

1153 Words5 Pages

President John F. Kennedy, in his 1961 inaugural address, speaks to the nation about the importance of America’s sacred liberty. He speaks of the nation’s forefathers and the groundwork that the framers laid out for their descendants. Kennedy describes in detail all that America stands for and all that she’ll do to protect her own people’s liberty and the liberty of her allies. Kennedy employs many rhetorical strategies and certainly uses them to his advantage. The style of Kennedy’s speech is formal but easy to understand. This simplistic style is clear but impactful. Kennedy’s main message and goal is to win the trust of the American people. The whole purpose of the speech is to inform of the plans for the future of the country and to persuade Americans to …show more content…

he talks about helping the other half of the world and says “...but because it is right.” This statement deeply connects with the audience's emotions because it shows love for the rest of the world. This strategy uses pathos and uses them very effectively and makes his message palpable to his listeners. Getting people to trust that under Kennedy’s administration he will care for foreign people also subliminal conveys the message that he would help his people too. Kennedy does an excellent job of utilizing pathos to his advantage. Another example of Kennedy’s usage of pathos is, “The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.” He uses very descriptive wording and evokes much emotion in the audience because of the tragic incidents of those who have lost their lives. These strategies provoke people to take action. Hearing of the people who have given everything for their country loves people to do more. Kennedy can use this to help to unite the nation. Although this may not be an obvious reason for including this in his speech, it certainly serves the purpose of uniting the people and stirring their emotions toward

Show More
Related
1037 Words | 5 Pages

On a cold day in 1961, John F. Kennedy delivered a speech that will live on in fame, to unite everyone in the world. JFK did not use his close victory as a bragging point or talk about his crowd size, but he expertly crafted his speech to address the crowd in a tone of unity, and hope. His speech features a strong appeal not only to his ethics but our ethics as a country to come together. JFK also displays powerful emotion through his many call to actions to help the country. His implementation of logical arguments are used to convince the audience to take a stand and make a difference.

Read More
493 Words | 2 Pages

He completes his conference by mentioning his first public speech as president. He recalls both asking the same audience “what [they] would do for [their] country” (108) and finding the answer to his inquiry. His inauguration was remembered and praised for its echoes of patriotism. The audience took pride in the United States, and would feel inspired by Kennedy’s call to action. With his connections to events and conflicts in American history, Kennedy develops a sense of unification and trust in his

Read More
422 Words | 2 Pages

JFK Rhetorical Analysis Essay Although John F. Kennedy begins his infamous inaugural speech by explaining his welcoming as president as being a celebration of freedom, he transforms it into a call for global unity, reaching not only the citizens of the United States, but of the world, which inspired American Citizens. By contemplating the problems restricting global unity, Kennedy addresses solutions to fix them, and how his proposed plan would not be completed within his term, but something to be worked for until it is achieved. During the time period in which Kennedy delivered his speech the country was in the midst of the Cold War with Russia. The American people needed a leader, and he was there to deliver.

Read More
961 Words | 4 Pages

The following rhetorical question from John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Inaugural address is debatably one of most recognizable quotes in American history. “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country” (Kennedy). He uses this rhetorical question to end the graciously written speech and leaves the reader pondering the answer with a call to

Read More
140 Words | 1 Pages

Newly elected president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, addresses the American people in his inauguration speech that aimed to unite the a nation divided by the recent presidential election. Kennedy’s fervid tone emphasizes his intentions on coalescing his constituents. The patriotic diction prevalent in the inauguration speech of 1961 advances Kennedy’s purpose by igniting a flame in the American spirit; words such as: “liberty,” “freedom,” “rights,” and “hope,” are all classic archetypes portrayed in American culture and was therefore subsidized on. The then President could have capitalized on more elaborate words, but did not due to his desire to reach the mass populace.

Read More
641 Words | 3 Pages

“To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. . . and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside” (para. 8). Kennedy reminds the populace of their beginnings when they were still just thirteen small colonies, and how those thirteen colonies banded together and rose to defeat the British. This brings a strong feeling of nationalism to the american public through his use of history.

Read More
541 Words | 3 Pages

This point is evidenced in the following quote: “I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.” As a person who has also suffered from the distorting pain of losing a family member, Robert Kennedy moves the audience to believe him and sees him as part of them for they have the similar experience. The use of ethos brings Robert Kennedy to get close with the audience and gets stronger attention from them. Also included in this speech, pathos reveals the essence of the emotion appeal and the value in Robert Kennedy’s that: “we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love.”

Read More
1295 Words | 6 Pages

Kennedy uses a tone that connects him to the audience and makes him seem like a powerful figure but also like one who greatly cares about each and every citizen. For example, he says “In this serious hour in our nation's history, when we are confronted with grave crises in Berlin and Southeast Asia, when we are devoting our energies to economic recovery and stability, when we are” He uses a tone of understanding and sympathy, to show that he is in the same boat as the average American. He also uses specific words in this excerpt like our and we, these words in a sense make him just as much responsible as the average American, which in turn creates a mutual appreciation. Many Americans will look at this and think of the president as a true representation of their country. Furthermore, he says, “If this rise in the cost of steel is imitated by the rest of the industry, instead of rescinded, it would increase the cost of homes, autos, appliances, and most other items for every American family.”

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

Kennedy aimed to garner the trust of those yet to support him. He manages to win needed favor through different rhetorical strategies while also instilling enough trust to persuade them towards his ideas. This great leader had an idea of how to mend his turbulent country. He planned to unite America towards civil duty through inspiration and hope. With this plan in mind, he called on his fellow Americans everywhere "to assure the survival and success of liberty."

Read More
941 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
1119 Words | 5 Pages

He used Americans shared backgrounds and their core values to strengthen his call to duty as well as connect the country as one. His call to action is based on the three rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos. He has appealed emotionally to the audience with patriotism, hope, and justice for all humans. Kennedy uses the contrast of feelings such as pride and fear and pity, which works very well to convey his call to action. He then utilized these negative emotions of pity felt by the audience for parts of the world that have people living in “huts and villages” as they try to remove “the chains of poverty” which push people further into his call to duty (Kennedy).

Read More
1157 Words | 5 Pages

Kennedy addresses what Americans can do as a country. Kennedy says “To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bond of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required…because it is right.” In this sentence Kennedy shows that it is the logical action to help those struggling around the world. He shows that it is the logical action for human beings to stick together in the world. This makes Kennedy’s audience want to do what is right and make a difference.

Read More
990 Words | 4 Pages

he is appealing to the people and making them feel like they are in control of their country and decide the next big thing. now Kennedy was christen and used that in his speech use words such as:” the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God”. and “let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.” I believe this is another use of pathos by appealing to christens by making them know that he is also a christen(also he is the first catholic president)and that they can also trust him. referring to hyperbole the sentences mentioning God have exaggeration in them “Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind?

Read More
587 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
580 Words | 3 Pages

His diction is very inclusive; he commences his speech with several uses of the words ‘we’ and ‘our’, which makes way for inclusivity. JFK is blurring the distinction between citizen and superior governor by including the people in his proclamation. While describing the hardships and challenges that the country is facing, Kennedy mentions how imperative the occasion is on a global level; in the midst of the Cold War, he reminds his audience of the importance of uniting. Through the use of the lexical field of danger — words such as: ‘defiance’, ‘serious’, ‘risk’, and ‘sacrifice’ — he creates a feeling of tension and urgency, and engages his audience to the concern. To conclude his speech, the President mentions self-guilt on the part of the country on how they had not displayed the “sense of business responsibility” that they should have, a rhetorical strategy that approximates the audience to the government.

Read More

More about Pathos In Jfk Inaugural Address

Open Document