Rhetorical Analysis Of Jfk Inaugural Address

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In the speech made by John F Kennedy in Jan 20th 1961, he announced his presidency and addressed his agenda for the future of America, and more over, of the world -- the pursuit of peace and liberty inside and outside America. His audiences were his fellow citizens who were Americans and those around the globe, and he surely implied his points powerfully by arguing with a serious tone and meaningful yet powerful diction. The first aspect that makes the speech effective and incisive is the tone of it -- lofty and formal. For example: “Let every nation know... That we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The parallelism of the phrase “... Any...” works as a strong announcement which gives a sense of nobility and invincibility toward America’s pursuit of her ultimate goal -- liberty -- and by appealing to such altitude, JFK successfully enforces his figure as the president and the figure of America to be mighty and unstoppable; meanwhile, the tone also brings a sense of duty and honor ,which …show more content…

In his draft, the word “we” often appears, they not only drag the readers to his point of view, but enforce the sense of geniality to his readers and his allies, and as JFK suggests: “ To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends.” the word “we” again categorizes American people as a whole entity that agrees with him -- neglecting the fact that there are individuals who did not share the point of view -- meanwhile provides a sense of patriotism, and invincible faith to pursuit liberty and peace; on the other hand, it makes his figure steadfast as the president who unites his people to achieve one goal and one goal only --.the pursuit of liberty and