Pathos In Jfk Inaugural Address

JFK was a unique president in various regards. As 35th president he was the first Catholic and youngest president. Even though he had won the election which gives him a sense of ethos, he had won by the closest margin in history, so for those reasons he had to prove himself a little more than everyone else. This inaugural address marked the start of his tenure as president which was unfortunately cut short to less than the 1000 days he mentions in his speech. This time period was incredibly important because America was in a cold war abroad and a civil rights movement at home. If the cards were not played properly it could lead to increased tensions with the “Iron Tyranny” (Kennedy) as he alludes to the USSR as in his speech. It could also

He repeats phrases such as, “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” (Kennedy). This makes the audience emotional for change because they see this opportunity. Kennedy phrases this theme like a metaphor of a torch. The torch represents the ability of it to be passed and the flame represents a new beginning. This hot, fiery flicker of hope is being put on this fresh new generation, which relates more to JFK as he is young. He refers to this new generation as he is part of it. His predecessor was the oldest president of the time and him being the youngest gives supporting logos to the new generation being given this torch of power. This theme also ties in with another repeated theme which is a call to action of unity. This is shown when he says, “United there is little we cannot do… Divided there is little we can do” (Kennedy). So he is saying with collective pronouns, that we have to work together to achieve a common goal. He does this by first addressing a positive connotation of an endless altruistic society. Then he uses the fear mongering device of negative connotation. This scares the public with a chance of stagnation, and makes these listeners more inclined to follow the president’s lead and join his call for action. This theme is also a reference to the latin phrase that is considered the motto of the United States of America, e pluribus unum. The phrase means ‘of many, one’ which is

After a speech where much of it is negative he wants to end on a positive note. He uses this emotive warm language to give hope to the listener. Kennedy also continues to reference the torch that is being passed on, and now the torch is right in front of him and he uses words in the last quote such as, ‘energy’, ‘light’, ‘glow’, and ‘fire’. This is explaining to the American people that the fire is real and it is sitting in front of them. All they have to do to reap the blessings of it is to work together and follow the lead of the new hopeful president. 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