Rhetorical Devices In Jfk Inaugural Address

Amidst the cheers and excitement of the spectators the newly elected president placed his hand on the Bible and with conviction articulated the presidential oath of office. Then he situated himself at the podium and continued on to outline his plan for the nation during his presidency. The presidential inaugural address has been a cornerstone of America’s history since George Washington first delivered one after he was unanimously elected president. The inaugural speech’s central purpose is to address the nation about what issues the President will tackle during his presidency. These speeches are always powerful in meaning, and President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s speech is no different.

“Let both sides” be united in a common cause (Paragraphs 16-19). Tactfully, JFK has introduced to America a presidential goal he is seeking to accomplish during his term in office. The effect Kennedy has created by addressing the specific group when speaking of his audience-specific goals creates the inception of trust to build between the new leader and the

To begin, Kennedy uses diction to set the tone and allow the readers to comprehend the ideas within the speech as well. Along with diction comes figurative language which creates the speech to be more emotional and interacting. For example the personification “sister republics” creates an emotional appeal from the audience because many people have or have had the experience of having a sister. This quote also helps the reader to fully comprehend that if “we” as a nation work together “we” can make a difference in America.

Kennedy’s inaugural address. Several examples of alliteration he uses are “man holds in his mortal hands” (511), “pay any price, bear any burden” (511),“break the bonds of mass misery” (511), and “lead the land we love” (513). Kennedy uses consonance when he says “whether it wishes us well or ill”(511). Assonance is found in the phrase “the steady spread of the deadly atom” (512). The rhetorical devices alliteration, consonance, and assonance each help to build President Kennedy's speech immensely.

Kennedy used inclusive diction to express unity throughout his speech. In the Inaugural speech, he addresses his audience as ‘we,’ and used the word ‘our’ to make his claim a common goal for everyone; “Let every nation know, whether

On January 20, 1961, forty-three-year-old John F, Kennedy delivered his inaugural address in Washington D.C after being sworn in as the thirty-fifth United States President. He memorably captured the attention of the entire nation with one of the finest speeches written to date, tugging on the heartstrings and logistically addressing the worries of many Americans. Making his point clear and comprehendible, Kennedy reached larger audiences than his predecessors, bringing a sense of calmness to the public during the height of the Cold War, national talk of communism, and the impending fear of nuclear attacks. He took austere consideration to the chaos erupting both internationally and nationally by instilling a sense of union amongst Americans in attempts to creating lasting peace. Utilizing a fearless rhythm of persuasiveness and motivational tactics, Kennedy connects to his audience through emotional

The Audience and Occasion of RFK’s Remarks Robert F. Kennedy’s speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. was a historical speech that exhibits how a speaker can make strategic decision to confront certain type of audience and occasion. The speech was delivered in a risky situation. When King passed away, Kennedy was about to deliver a campaign speech in a predominantly black district in Indianapolis. Thus, Kennedy had to encounter a challenge where the majority of his audience could be upset to hear the news about King’s death. In this case, understanding his audience and learning the occasion of the speech were two important things in passing this challenge.

John F. Kennedy discusses and analyzes on how the nation differs from the past and present day in that time period. Kennedy narrators on the division and war in the the world to appeal to the audience patriotism by using pathos and logos. In this speech President Kennedy states “to thoses who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request; that both sides begin the quest for peace, before the dark power of destruction unleashed.” He uses this quote to obtain a logical appeal to the appeal to the people. Kennedy uses logos to show that he wants the nation to come together and be humble together in one peace.

He used rhetorical devices such as anaphora, parallel structure, and rhetorical questions to appeal to the listener and future reader’s sense of pathos. In Kennedy’s address to the nation, he used anaphora to trigger an emotional response from the listener. He gives the listener a sense of safety under his control, as he wants to “Let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear.

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.

J.F Kennedy, the president of United States wanted to put the first Americans to the moon-America exploring the moon, so he directed his speech to the people of taxes and Rice University to promote his space exploration program that will help America to be the first country to explore the moon. He believes that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. Throughout J.F Kennedy's speech, the speaker makes effective use of evidence, reasoning, rhetorical elements, and rhetorical devices that together form his argument to gain people support for his space exploration program. J.F Kennedy was trying to prove his point of view by giving examples and using a lot of Rhetorical devices and appeals that would grab the reader's attention

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.

Kennedy realized how easy it was for a country to break apart in a time that they needed to come together. Being sworn into office, he could see the fear of the future in the eyes of the nation and truly wanted to reassure them that by being willing to face change as one, success was possible. Kennedy was able to assertively get his point across by emphasizing how prioritizing unification of the country is by relying on

His diction is very inclusive; he commences his speech with several uses of the words ‘we’ and ‘our’, which makes way for inclusivity. JFK is blurring the distinction between citizen and superior governor by including the people in his proclamation. While describing the hardships and challenges that the country is facing, Kennedy mentions how imperative the occasion is on a global level; in the midst of the Cold War, he reminds his audience of the importance of uniting. Through the use of the lexical field of danger — words such as: ‘defiance’, ‘serious’, ‘risk’, and ‘sacrifice’ — he creates a feeling of tension and urgency, and engages his audience to the concern. To conclude his speech, the President mentions self-guilt on the part of the country on how they had not displayed the “sense of business responsibility” that they should have, a rhetorical strategy that approximates the audience to the government.

He used Americans shared backgrounds and their core values to strengthen his call to duty as well as connect the country as one. His call to action is based on the three rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos. He has appealed emotionally to the audience with patriotism, hope, and justice for all humans. Kennedy uses the contrast of feelings such as pride and fear and pity, which works very well to convey his call to action. He then utilized these negative emotions of pity felt by the audience for parts of the world that have people living in “huts and villages” as they try to remove “the chains of poverty” which push people further into his call to duty (Kennedy).