Rhetorical Devices In Jfk Inaugural Address

566 Words3 Pages

John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address was delivered on January 20th, 1961 in Washington, D.C. His inaugural address is filled with multiple rhetorical devices to accomplish his visions not only applied to him, but to the American people a vision of bringing peace with other countries and becoming one. Kennedy provides parallelism, appeal to logic, appeal to emotion, and antithesis to express unity. Kennedy uses parallelism to illustrate his points. He repeats “Let both sides” in his speech to unite Americans as a country. In his address he wants his nation to “ pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty”. He uses parallelism to make his speech stand out and to place an order of importance. He wants America to know that they can trust him because he is just like them. Also, it gives him a chance to share his visions for the country as a whole, “ together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce.” This shows what he wants for the country by doing it together. …show more content…

In his speech he says, “ people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery” to relate with countries with poverty . He appeals to veterans and their families “ the graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe” to represent patriotism. He uses strong words like “we”, “us”, and “together” to create a connection with him and America. He alludes to God, “asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own” to sense equality under

Open Document