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Rhetorical Analysis Of President Kennedy Speech: Quentin Holbert

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Rhetorical Analysis of President Kennedy Speech: Quentin Holbert In his speech, "A Price Portage Of Steel," President Kennedy denounces the unjustifiable and unnecessary price hikes of steel by the powerful steel industry leaders, whom he refers to as the "Red Barons" of American society. Kennedy employs pathos to appeal to the American people, framing the situation as a threat to their own economy and against the public interest. Furthermore, Kennedy employs historical allusions and a carefully chosen tone to emphasize the gravity of the situation and to appeal to the American people's sense of civic responsibility. Through his speech, Kennedy makes a forceful argument against the proposed steel price increase, contending that it not only
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Kennedy used the tone in which sounded like he was disappointed of the companies. He said “ increasing steel prices by some 6 dollars a ton, constitutes a wholly unjustifiable and irresponsible defiance of the public interest,” he basically said they acted irresponsible in front of the public. He also stated, that them increasing the price of steel was hurting the

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271 Words | 2 Pages

John F. Kennedy gave a speech in 1962 ,during the aftermath of a recession, in regards to the steel companies increase in steel prices. He spoke out as one of the people, he spoke for the consumers as well as the American citizens affected by the recent recession. Kennedy made sure to shame the steel companies, with his strict yet disappointed tone, for not standing by their duties to help and be fair to the consumers. John F. Kennedy’s tone,in his speech regarding the increase in steel prices, shifts from anger to disappointment by using parallelism and , in order to speak about the ongoing unfair placement of power. John F. Kennedy uses parallelism to conceive himself as any other normal American citizen in order to call

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639 Words | 3 Pages

He draws a line between them, the “185 million Americans” (ln 20-21) and a “tiny handful of steel executives” (ln 17) who don’t have a “sense of public responsibility” (ln 19). Kennedy concludes his speech by saying, “Some time ago I asked each American to consider what he would do for his country. I asked the steel companies. In the last 24 hours, we had their answer” (ln 107-110). This jab at the steel companies also helps to make a point that the American people are doing more for their country than the steel companies are.

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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)

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This is the most poignant revelation, as it reveals beyond the nonsensicality of the price hike, the unabashed greed of steel companies. Kennedy aims to give rise to disgust and dismay at this final fact, convincing the public of the immorality of steel companies. Thus, Kennedy utilized logos to prove that steel companies are in the wrong by pointing out how the increase in steel prices negatively impacts Americans, could not be justified by circumstantial reasons, and is simply a move motivated by greed. By rallying Americans against steel companies, Kennedy will gain support for anti-steel company legislature that could decrease steel

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Kennedy first starts off in paragraph 2 by highlighting that America is “devoting… to economic recovery and stability” and then follows up in paragraph 4 by mentioning that the increase in price would result in an extra “one billion dollars” (Sorenson 160, 161). As a result, Kennedy is able to demonstrate that the actions of the steel executives are against the needs of the nation because while “Americans” are hard at work focusing on fixing the economy, the steel executives are jacking up the price of steel making everyone’s lives miserable. Kennedy, however, not only attacks the executive’s lack of upholding their American responsibility, he also hammers their failure to contain any sense of moral obligation. In paragraph 7 Kennedy mentions that steel profits have “exceeded 600 million”, he then goes on to question if the executive’s profits are already so high why bother continuing to raise the prices (Sorenson 161). Not only is the raising of prices illogical it also hurts the American family that Kennedy mentioned earlier in his speech, “it would increase the cost…for every American family” (Sorenson 160).

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Kennedy actually used a lot of facts and statistics to prove his point. He used Metaphor in "We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained…" and "efforts in space from low to high gear". He used juxtaposition in "Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man" and "not because they are easy, but because they are hard", to highlight the differences or similarities between two ideas. Finally, he used facts by stating that "During the next 5 years the National Aeronautics and space Administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area……….. expenses to $60 million a

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In response to the steel companies, who where determined to raise prices, John F. Kennedy speaks to millions of Americans about sacrifice for the country, and once again reminds the country that they are truly the United States of America. Despite being the head of the country, JFK instantly includes himself in with the common American citizen. All throughout Kennedy's speech, rhetoric is used to appeal to the audience, and to show the steel companies that they are being selfish and negatively effecting the united community of America. In the first paragraph, JFK relies heavily on diction to set up his speech and call the audience to listen to him.

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954 Words | 4 Pages

In a poignant speech to the American people, United States President John F. Kennedy calls for stable steel prices in response to the recent three percent increase by major American steel companies. He asserts that the steel industry is harming the American economy through this increase in prices, handicapping the nation’s ability to defend itself in this time of great uncertainty. To further emphasize the negative impact of this change, Kennedy appeals to pathos and logos, using imagery, reasoning, and statistics throughout his speech. These effects aid his purpose of denouncing the steel industry for the injustices done to the American people in its effort to squeeze every penny from their pockets. From the very beginning of his speech,

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922 Words | 4 Pages

To appeal to the crowd and to make his speech compelling, Kennedy used emotional language. Words that sparked emotion in the listener, drove the speech forward and made Kennedy’s conclusions more powerful. One example in the speech is, “what we need in the United States is not

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Also, he is stating to never be afraid and figure out ways to face them. By doing this, Kennedy left a greater impact on people by making his speech more

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589 Words | 3 Pages

Kennedy begins his speech by detailing just how disrespectful to the American people the rise in steel prices is. He lists the war, the soldiers that risk their lives, the international crises, and yet steel companies are still selfish enough to disregard the American people. In paragraphs 2 and 3 he uses emotions, or pathos, to connect with his audience. He shows how the rise of steel prices would affect everyone, and he uses family to arouse feelings in his audience.

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523 Words | 3 Pages

On April 10, 1962, steel companies raised the prices by 3.5 percent of their products. President John F. Kennedy had tried to maintain steel prices at a stable rate. President John F. Kennedy, known for his diligence and persuasion, held a news conference about the hikes in steel prices. President John F. Kennedy, in his speech, uses rhetorical strategies such as diction, emotional appeals, and a persuasive tone to convince Americans that steel companies are declining the standards to maintain stable prices. Kennedy states that the steel companies are a national problem due to the increase of steel prices.

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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.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

In the beginning of his speech Kennedy uses words like “unjustifiable,” and, “a responsible,” to show how he feels about the actions of the leading steel corporations. Later in his speech Kennedy uses the phrase “ruthless disregard of their public responsibilities,” to show his complete disagreement with the steel corporations and their decision to unreasonably raise the steel prices in America. By using negative words Kennedy is able to clearly get his opinion across to the audience of the press conference. In his speech there are many more examples of diction with the way he uses specific words. Most of these words happen to be negatively charged at the Steel Industries.

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