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Rhetorical Analysis Of Jfk Inaugural Address

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In his Inaugural speech, John F. Kennedy celebrates his election as president of the United States as well as addressing the many issues that plagued the world at the time. He calls upon the American people to take action for and support friendship and alliance with other countries, and advocates for the peaceful resolution of current conflicts. Kennedy also addresses the turbulence caused by the Cold War, unifying the audience to strive for a better tomorrow. Kennedy begins his speech with an allusion to the Cold War, highlighting that the world has changed significantly and acknowledging the power that mankind has to both better the world and destroy it (“Inaugural Address”). He then challenges the tyranny, discrimination, and oppression that is taking place in other countries, pledging his support for those …show more content…

Through the facet of common conflict, President Kennedy unifies the audience and gets them emotionally invested in creating change. Moreover, JFK makes an address specifically to those under the iron grip of tyranny by saying “To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves,” in turn eliciting a powerful emotional connection with the audience (“Inauguration Speech”). Kennedy chose a string of words to describe those facing hardships that evokes an emotion of hopelessness and severe distress within the listeners; Kennedy’s utilization of the phrase “we” also assists in unifying the audience of the speech together to provide support and aid to these suffering countries. This unification of moral responsibility has proven to be an effective strategy in supplying a helping hand during times of political turbulence. For instance, approximately ten years earlier in 1950, the Korean War

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