How Does John F Kennedy Use Language In his Inaugural Address

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In 1961, John F. Kennedy took the oath in office to become the nation's 35th president which made him the first Roman Catholic president. Along with taking the oath in office, he made a speech that still to this day has made an impact on our lives. He sought to inspire our nation. With the respectful eloquence John F. Kennedy(JFK) uses in his inaugural address he makes it his own applying emotion and power to his speech. One thing JFK does in his inaugural address, is he appeals to the emotion of his audience. For example, when he states “we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends” this is shown to be emotion because he wanted the audience to know that he is loyal to them, that loyalty still lies there. He uses the repetition of the word “pledge” as a rhetorical …show more content…

He uses this power and strength in his speech to appeal to the emotions of the American people. Along with the use of appealing to emotion, repetition, and reiteration, another rhetorical device JFK uses in his speech is antithesis. Antithesis means to compare two things, while putting them next to each other in a sentence. JFK shows this in his speech multiple times, one being when he says “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”. He is putting two opposite things next to each other, to make a rhetorical point. Even though this quote can be interpreted and dissected many different ways, every meaning will appeal to someone.

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