The inaugural address of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, better known simply as JFK, is often held as one of the greatest examples of his skill as an orator. In his inaugural address, President Kennedy calls on the American people as well as the people and powers of the world to embrace in a spirit of cooperation the problems which confronted the world in the 1960’s. In his inaugural address, President Kennedy makes extensive use of three rhetorical devices— antithesis, alliteration, and simplicity— to convey to the American people and to the world the goals he hoped to accomplish during his presidency. President Kennedy uses the rhetorical device of antithesis heavily in his inaugural address. He mainly uses antithesis to contrast the dark shadow under which the world is cloaked because of the Cold War and the hope which his new administration seeks to offer. One of the best examples of President Kennedy’s use of antithesis can be found in arguably the most famous line of his inaugural address, "And so, my fellow Americans; ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,”(Kennedy 3). President Kennedy effectively uses antithesis to express his …show more content…
President Kennedy’s use of alliteration cements his words and phrases in the mind of his audience and further helps them to stay attuned to his speech. In one line from his speech Kennedy uses alliteration a total of four times: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty,” (Kennedy 1). In this example of alliteration, Kennedy conveys to his audience that his administration, and the nation, will remain strong and free in the face on any
Jake McKervey ENGL1010 Zach Largey 3/2/15 Paper #3 Rhetorical Analysis of JFK’s Inaugural Address On January 20th, 1961, the President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy gave his Inaugural Address. A speech that he started writing in mid-November of the previous year. Slowly but surely putting a speech together that will long be remembered. Kennedy knew that his speech needed empowering because this moment can be a defining moment in a president’s term of office.
Inaugural Adresses are always extremely important and pave the way for the start of presidency. JFK library analyzed his speech and his use of Rhetorical devices. For example, “The speeches of modern presidents share some commonalities in referencing American history, the importance of the occasion, and hope for the future. Each president, however, has faced the particular challenges of his time and put his own distinctive rhetorical stamp on the address.” This quote shows that editing a presidential speech is extremely difficult and yet so important.
In John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address Kennedy uses rhetorical strategies such as; diction, syntax, tone, and figurative language. Kennedys uses these elements to achieve the purpose in which was trying to be reached to the audience. The purpose of Kennedy's inaugural address was to inspire the citizens of America. Kennedy evoked a sense of security and a spirit of idealism which reassured Americans of their nation's strengths and inspired them to serve their country and the world.
President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, gave his inaugural address on Friday, January 20, 1961. President Kennedy addressed all people in the world in his speech, but his primary audience was American citizens. The purpose of Kennedy’s speech was to raise confidence within Americans that they had elected the best president, and also to form unity. He encouraged countries, states, and different political parties to unite for the greater good. President Kennedy was able to convince his audience that he could be trusted to help them create unity through his outstanding use of ethos and his use of allness, alliteration, consonance, and assonance.
In a time where many countries of the world were unsettled and feared another atomic bomb explosion, President John F. Kennedy was sworn into office on January 20, 1961 on a cold winter afternoon. He then proceeded to give an inaugural address that would last through the ages and inspire people not only in America, but also people around the world to unite together and achieve peace. His speech was eloquent and smooth, because of his use of many rhetorical strategies. He uses diction, appeals, parallelism and other literary devices all throughout the speech. President Kennedy wise use of diction greatly helped him appeal to the audiences.
With this tension in mind, Kennedy sought to unite the divided country and reinvigorate patriotism in the new generation of Americans. He accomplished this task through using diction, rhetorical tropes, and modes of persuasion in his inaugural address when he took the office. Despite his young age, Kennedy confidently takes the presidential office by using archaic and abstract diction in his inaugural address. Wanting to assure his country that he is a leader who his country can trust, Kennedy implements words such as “asunder”, “forebears”, and “anew” to set a formal and old-fashioned tone to
As President Kennedy enters office he gives an speech on the celebration of freedom; symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning of a new nation. Kennedy rises for the opportunity for persuasion after his inauguration has been addressed and he scarcely beats nixon. President Kennedy uses his authority for persuasion to bring the american people together under his power. The president uses the experience of war,poverty,and the desire for peace to develop an emotional appeal between the U.S and the world population. In this speech Kennedy uses ethos,pathos,logos,as well as other rhetorical devices to convince the audience.
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.
In 1961, during the Cold War, John F. Kennedy addressed not only America, but all nations in his inaugural address. As the 35th president to be sworn into office, Kennedy was the first Catholic and youngest president to be elected. When giving his speech, he provided his audience with reassurance for the future to come, even with so much change. Throughout his speech, Kennedy relies on the use of antithesis to provide a sense of unity to the public. By strategically depending on antithesis during his inaugural address, John F. Kennedy was able to bring his audience together by emphasizing the importance of unification between all.
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.
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…”
For my rhetorical analysis, I will be analyzing Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961, by John. F. Kennedy. Kennedy was trying to rally all of America in the quest for freedom, as well as getting other nations to rally in the cause. In one moment in Kennedy’s speech he had said ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”, which was to let people know that if they wanted to make a change, they had to get involved. Kennedy also emphasizes that his victory of presidency is a “celebration of freedom” that symbolizes the end of old, and the start of new change.
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, with aplomb, 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 throughout his presidency. These speeches are always powerful in meaning, and President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s speech is no different.
In fact, Kennedy accomplished his goal and is still remembered today, as the best speech ever written and delivered. Kennedy presents his speech with strong Aristotelian appeals of ethos, pathos and the stylistic devices of alliteration and antithesis. Kennedy accomplished what every speaker strives for and surpassed it by capturing the hearts of the audience and inspiring the people’s trust. Ethos is a very important rhetorical device in speeches because it establishes a sense of credibility and trustworthiness with the audience. Ethos permits the audience to feel a sense of trust that is missing in some people’s speeches.
In his inaugural speech on January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy steps forward to the podium and, in front of millions of people, delivers a very motivational, uplifting but, serious speech. After taking the oath to become the 35th president of the United States of America, Kennedy proceeds to talk to the citizens of America as he outlines the programs of the future, as well as arouses a sense of security and a spirit of idealism. With the use of many rhetorical devices, pathos and very simple language, John F. Kennedy was able to successfully deliver his message, not just to America, but to the whole world. After analyzing Kennedy’s speech, the first thing that really stands out is Kennedy’s use of rhetorical devices, but more specifically,