ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of Jfk Speech

622 Words3 Pages

“The secret of being a bore is to tell everything,” as honored French writer, Voltaire, remarks. In this regard, President John F. Kennedy in his news conference on April 11, 1962 confronted the increased prices of steel from the nation’s largest steel companies despite calling for stable prices and wages multiple times. Through the use of a hypothetical situation, colorful listing, and a shift in focus from the steel controversy to the people, Kennedy is able to indirectly express his anger while simultaneously initiating a call-to-action, demanding a change in steel prices. During Kennedy’s speech, Kennedy implements a hypothetical situation, hinting at the impending doom the steel prices would lead to. Kennedy often uses the anaphora “it would” when describing the hypothetical scenario: “It …show more content…

Kennedy’s excessive use of “would” demonstrates his certainty that the increased steel prices would “seriously handicap” the country’s advancements– suggesting to steel companies that raising steel prices would not only have a negative impact on current events, but also future events. As a result of listing information, Kennedy compares the potential future of prices in America to the current status of prices in order to bring attention to the audience. Throughout the speech, Kennedy listed multiple lines of background information ranging from past declines and material prices to potential prices and declines in the future. For instance, Kennedy mentions the possibility of steel output “rising so fast that labor costs per ton of steel can actually be expected to decline in the next twelve months.” By emphasizing and including the phrase, Kennedy brings attention to the issue because of how close the decline is to the current

Show More
Related
509 Words | 3 Pages

On April 10, 1962, the United States’ largest steel companies raised their prices by 3.5 percent. The people of the nation were unhappy and had wondered why this change had occurred. I compare this to when gas prices go up; no one is happy when gas prices raise. Some figure that we already spend enough. Kennedy uses a number of rhetorical devices in his speech which help to justice the reasons behind the raised prices.

Read More
549 Words | 3 Pages

At the start of the recession steel prices increased by almost 6 dollars a ton. President Kennedy addressed the issue on April 11th, 1962 at a news conference. During this conference President Kennedy stated on line 5 that this was “wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance of the public interest”. Throughout the conference President Kennedy uses many rhetorical techniques such as using an ethical appeal through shared values, diction through a somber tone and word choice, and an emotional appeal to illuminate the issues that increased steel prices have caused. President Kennedy also uses intelligent, formal fiction through this speech regarding the increase in steel prices.

Read More
639 Words | 3 Pages

On April 10, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech in which he attacked steel companies for raising the price of steel by three and a half percent. America had just climbed out of a recession, and President Kennedy believed that having stable prices and wages would help America recover. President Kennedy uses alliteration, anaphora, repetition, logos, and ethos to vilify steel corporations for their abuse of power and questionable ethics. John F. Kennedy uses alliteration to commence his speech. He repeats words that start with the letter “s”: “simultaneous… States Steel… steel … steel…”

Read More
802 Words | 4 Pages

Kennedy says in his news conference," 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. It would increase the cost of machinery and tools to every American businessman and farmer. It would seriously handicap our efforts to prevent an inflationary spiral from eating up the pensions of our older citizens, and our new gains in purchasing power"(line 23-31) This shows that when the decline of the companies it will seriously handicap the American people due to the large increase in prices. This is also shown in, "And it would surely handicap our efforts to induce other industries and unions adopt responsible price and wage policies"(line 43-45)

Read More
511 Words | 3 Pages

Kennedy begins his commentary by acknowledging the seriousness and significance of the United States’ economic position. He creates a logical argument that steel companies should lower their steel prices because the raise in steel prices is not in the public’s best interest by giving some examples of sacrifices made by everyday American citizens. When giving examples of sacrifices made by

Read More
451 Words | 2 Pages

The United States’ President, John F. Kennedy, in response to the nation’s largest steel companies raising their prices (1962), asserts that there is “no justification for an increase in steel prices” (Line 46-47). President Kennedy supports this claim with logos, formal diction, and ethos. During this time, America recently escaped a recession and their economy was looking to rebuild and attempting to gain strength. Consequently, John F. Kennedy demands that the steel companies must lower their prices in regards to the wellbeing of the United States. His goal is to attack the steel companies, so it is obvious that they must change their prices.

Read More
483 Words | 2 Pages

President John F. Kennedy, in a news conference held on April 11, 1962, asserts that the rising prices in steel are beginning to threaten the welfare of the American citizens. He reminds the people of the events going on at the time in America, and then lists the possible solutions that could be done to prevent the rise in steel prices, and the hope that they will be brought back down. Throughout the speech, he uses logic to lay out the problem and the potential solutions, as well as a calm tone and ethos when discussing where he is getting his information from and who is working on the solution. His intended audience is the members of a news conference, and he hopes to appear calm and in control. Kennedy begins his speech by listing statistics,

Read More
583 Words | 3 Pages

During the recession in 1962, US steel companies greatly raised their prices. Many people at this time voiced their opinion on the issue. In the April 11th new conference in 1962, current president to the time, John F. Kennedy addresses this hike in steel prices. His commentary criticizes the steel companies as evidenced when he establishes his own credibility and as he appeals to the public’s emotions. By mentioning notable people, President Kennedy establishes his own credibility while portraying his criticism toward steel companies.

Read More
649 Words | 3 Pages

In President John F. Kennedy's commentary (April 10, 1962) regarding the hike in steel prices, he argues there is no justifiable reason for the United States steel companies to increase the price of steel, as steel plays such a large part of American society and would impact most of the U.S. industries. Kennedy uses a disappointed tone, logical and statistical reasoning, and emotional connections to the American people to express his stance on the rise in the price of steel. His goal is to convince the steel companies that they should not raise the prices, as well as convince the big steel companies to consider the country as a whole. The president is writing to the largest steel companies in the United States in response to their 3.5 percent increase in the

Read More
515 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1960’s America was fighting multiple wars at once, creating a huge strain on the American economy. In John F. Kennedy’s speech to the country regarding steel prices, civilians rallied in support of the President’s message thus uniting people in a cause they believed in. Kennedy discredited steel executives and conveyed an Us vs. Them mentality in order to lower the exorbitant steel prices. In the beginning Kennedy outwardly shamed the steel executives in order to force the industry leaders into lowering their price which would have ultimately stabilized the economy.

Read More
589 Words | 3 Pages

In 1962, the United States was in the middle of the Vietnam War and fresh out of a recession. Things were definitely not going very well when, all of a sudden, steel prices rose by almost 4 percent. Then President, John F. Kennedy, was very incensed by the sudden decision and wrote a very passionate speech about it. In his speech he talks about the irresponsibility of steel companies, using rhetorical devices to argue his points. He uses the points in his speech to convince his audience that rising steel prices are not in their best interest.

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

He want his audience to disapprove with the steel companies plans. These facts convince the audience that Kennedy is right that the steel companies should not increase the steel prices because of the recession. The numerous statistics shows how unbalance the economy is and support Kennedy’s plan to stabilize the steel prices. In conclusion, Kennedy use of diction, emotional appeals, and a persuasive tone convince Americans to change their opinion and despise the steel companies. He want his nation attention to rally them up to look down upon the steel corporations.

Read More
580 Words | 3 Pages

In 1962, in the midst of the international space race, steel prices in the U.S. began to rise. In this speech delivered by John F. Kennedy, he claims that there is no justification for these increasing steel prices through the use of logos and pathos. Whilst attempting to convince and create reason for steel companies to reduce their prices, JFK employs the use of logic-best argumentation in order to convey his message. However, at times, because his audience isn't merely citizens of the country but also executives of the steel companies, the line between pathos and logos is subtle, for he appeals to the emotions general American public through the use of verifiable data.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

As America entered and went through dark economic tensions, President Kennedy strived for stable prices and wages. After the largest steel companies raised steel prices by 3.5 percent, Kennedy gave a speech in response. In the speech, Kennedy calls out the steel companies for actions that were “wholly unjustifiable” and “irresponsibly defiant” to the American people. He appeals to the audience’s emotion, uses repetition, and applies logic to achieve his goal in persuading the companies to lower steel prices.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

Every time the phrase “it would” is repeated the audience recognizes the repetition causing them to keep the focus on the points Kennedy wanted to make. All of the points Kennedy wanted to make happened to be against the actions of the steel industry. This again helps link all of Kennedy’s ideas into one clear section. Similarly using the phrase more difficult, in mind 85 Kennedy uses the rhetorical strategy of anaphora. With the phrase more difficult Kennedy is able to list some of the economic conflicts created by the increase in steel prices.

Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis Of Jfk Speech

Open Document