John F. Kennedy was regarded as one of the most beloved presidents in United States history. His speech “Ich bin ein Berliner” was considered famous during the Cold War, aiding to impact its severity. Kennedy wanted to give support to Germany during the difficult time of war, and he expressed this in his speech. He was able to connect with and move the people of Berlin and give them faith.
Despite language barriers, Kennedy was able to reach out to the people of Berlin through his use of repetition, parallelism, diction, and pathos. Through his use of these rhetorical and literary devices, his purposes of hope and unification came through to his audience during a time of loss and war. Kennedy began his speech with the use of repetition
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The title itself “Ich bin ein” is the most important example as he uses German to help cross the language barrier and reach the people listening. He wanted to show himself as an ally, as they would listen and understand what he had to say better. He also used words such as “distinguished”, “besieged”, “vitality”, “vivid”, “indivisible”, and “enslaved.” These words provided the listeners an understanding of what he told them regarding communism, the wall, and the war. To give the people faith in the time of the Cold War, Kennedy used pathos to deliver it and convince them that they shouldn’t lose it. Although used throughout his speech, the most direct use of pathos was when he tells of how the wall was a “vivid demonstration of the failures of the Communist system.” He appealed to the emotions of his audience by describing how the wall was “an offense against humanity” and how it tragically was “separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.” He wanted the people of Berlin to gain hope back and used this device to make them understand that they would become unified once