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Rhetorical Analysis Of Robert Kennedy's Speech

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Robert Kennedy’s speech was given during a campaign rally in 1968, he broke the news to a crowd of supporters that MLK had been killed. This speech was analyzed through a PDF copy of the text. The purpose of RFK’s speech is to inform the audience of MLK’s death, create a sense of comfort and calmness. RFK includes a quote from the poet Aeschylus “In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our despair, against our will comes wisdom through the awful grace of God”(24-30). RFK used this quote to say people may want to stay angry and bitter, but anger will eventually be replaced with wisdom and understanding no matter how much they try to fight it. Kennedy recognizes his audience as Americans, but especially …show more content…

In this line, RFK is obviously referring to his brother JFK and implies that he is no stranger to death. The words “white man” show he is addressing the African American community since MLK was killed by a white man, and they were affected the most by MLK’s death. Kennedy’s medium is a speech because it provides a strong sense of intimacy. Kennedy takes advantage of this intimacy, with a direct call to action: “So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer” (35). RFK urged his audience to return home peacefully rather than lash out violently. RFK takes an optimistic stance, he states: “What we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion to others” (32-33). This quote recognizes the impact of MLK’s death, and advocates for the audience to act peacefully because RFK still believes in the civil rights movement.The tone throughout the speech is honest, instead of cowering away from the idea of revenge he confronts it. For example, he says “For those of you who are black ­­considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible ­­ you can be filled with bitterness… and a desire for

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In his speech Kennedy uses different rhetorical devices to unify the citizens of both the United States and the world. Kennedy was giving this speech after winning by a very small margin of votes so he was trying to unite the people of the United States and show he was the correct choice for the president. This speech was given during the Cold War so he was trying to connect the people around the whole world and establish peace. Kennedy was able to unify the people and try to establish peace while at the same time making himself seem like a very competent leader. In his speech Kennedy tries to build his credibility as a personable leader by creating ethos.

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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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His motivation was in using the speech to restore the faith and peace in America, since he knew racial tensions were high and now even higher. Robert states “But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond and go beyond these rather difficult times” (kennedy).He said this to show to the people that even though

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Analysis: He first begins his speech with raising awareness and not shying away from the vulgar and disturbing actions of hatred that were allowed at the time. He does not shy away from using the word “death”, which for obvious reasons, has a negative connotation associated with it. He continues the speech by addressing the issues that the world is currently facing. He addresses 3 main issues of war, racial segregation and injustices and

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On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was in Indianapolis for a campaign stop, when he received news that Martin Luther King was killed, causing Kennedy to write and deliver a speech regarding the assassination. This speech was succinct but not only was it about the assassination, it was also to tell the people there is still wisdom and hope in this time of turmoil. To reach this purpose, he first builds up his ethos, uses pathos to add mood and hope, and unifies the people. The combination of these elements makes it a very powerful and memorable speech. Robert F. Kennedy builds his credibility by relating his personal experience and knowledge of what the audience is feeling to the current events.

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Robert began his speech with giving the rough news on Martin Luther King’s death. People reacted with gasps and cries, so Robert started to explain Martin’s goal and how he died pushing for a change. Robert connected his point of unity by asking the audience to not resort to hatred and violence, but to follow Martin’s dream of unity and peace. He explained how the country has gone through hard times and has always recovered and how there will be more hard

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John F. Kennedy uses literary devices to capture the attention of the audience, sets himself equal to his audience getting their attention and support, and uses the christian religion to strike the emotions and gain the support of his audience. Kennedy uses many literary devices to catch the attention of his audience. One of these devices is repetition. One example of repetition that Kennedy uses is, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

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The series of essays in the novel “Profiles in Courage” by John F. Kennedy all demonstrate the single, truly rare character trait of courage through the actions of senators. The story of Edmund G. Ross undoubtedly portrays courage by his collected and determined demeanor in voting to avoid national corruption through a single phrase. Kennedy, through writing, is able to tell the brave story of Ross in the role of the shy, weak, underdog senator who makes a single decision that would destroy his political life, but save America from corruption. In “Profiles in Courage”, John F. Kennedy successfully uses his structures of his ideas and his detail placement of descriptive phrases, and words which set the tone and rhetorical devices that persuades the

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Throughout the speech, RFK refers to everyone as, “we”. He doesn’t separate himself, he considers himself an equal to his audience as a more friendly and inviting way to speak. Throughout RFK’s speech, he communicates that he is 100% with the audience. RFK doesn’t let MLK’s visions and ideologies die with him. Robert said,”Martin

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On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called “I have a dream.” This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. He displays a great amount of pathos, logos, and ethos in his speech. Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audience’s emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. He shows logos by giving a sense of hope to the people that better things will come in time.

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Another practice MLK uses throughout his speech is the wide use of anaphors. To influence his audience efficaciously he mentions “I have a dream”, “One hundred years later”, “let the freedom ring” due which the audience gain a preserving feeling. The intense use of anaphora elevates his speech and make his speech more powerful, memorable and quotable. The tone being used by MLK is informatory. His tone possess an essence of argumentation and description.

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