Juxtaposition In John F. Kennedy's Speech

In the wake of World War II, the American morale was ravaged by fears of communist pervading American values and security. This was deepened by the Eisenhower administration’s inability to address and placate American concerns towards the expansion of communism, the apparently immutable precipice of nuclear war, and the displacement of democracy. The Cold War served as distinguishing feature in the American ethos and served as a defining moment in American

John F. Kennedy gave a speech in 1962 ,during the aftermath of a recession, in regards to the steel companies increase in steel prices. He spoke out as one of the people, he spoke for the consumers as well as the American citizens affected by the recent recession. Kennedy made sure to shame the steel companies, with his strict yet disappointed tone, for not standing by their duties to help and be fair to the consumers. John F. Kennedy’s tone,in his speech regarding the increase in steel prices, shifts from anger to disappointment by using parallelism and , in order to speak about the ongoing unfair placement of power.

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms- and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.”(16) JFK uses parallelism, phrases in the statements that are repeated and identical in structure, in this quote to introduce the idea of justice and liberty between the nations. When he applies parallelism as a rhetorical device, he uses it to build up the thought of what we can accomplish together as a world instead of against each other. He stacks these motivational statements up to catch the audience's attention, in order to fulfill the purpose for his speech which is to create unity. In these five stanzas of parallelism, he confronts the world with an option between war and peace, no matter if they are an enemy or ally. Using unity as an argument he makes the audience question their stance in the world since his strong statement destroys individual nationalism, instead it creates a culturally unified country filled with justice and nationalism on a larger scale. We also see John F. Kennedy using a pathos approach throughout his

John F. Kennedy’s was known as a very patriotic person, and that would raise the question why. Well, the answer can simply be found in his inauguration speech. He gave the speech to bolster the fighting spirit and act as an inspiration for the Americans. How he does this is interestingly simple by smart actually. He used a plethora of stylistic devices extensively in his speech. However, he has proven his strength and resourcefulness especially in his usage of stylistic devices such as antithesis, parallelism, pathos, and ethos, and these are his stylistic devices of strength he possesses. He easily uses them to gain his advantage from the audience and he is capable of fully expressing his message in a patriotic fashion. One of the examples of this usage of antithesis is when Kennedy is referring to “a new generation of Americans” where he flat-out, vividly shows the separation between the old and the new breed of Americans through this technique. He utilizes antithesis once more when he uses the lines, “Symbolizes an end as well as a beginning…….”. As well as, “signifies renewal as well as change….” for the same reasons as stated previously. This antithesis is used to solidify, and band the young and the old people together and make them work together to achieve Kennedy’s ambition of creating the perfect and powerful nation, where his people would be united with brotherhood under one purpose, seeing themselves as equal beings, setting their differences aside and this

By using we, us and our he includes everyone and unifies the citizens of the United States and the world. Kennedy says “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed...” He is saying that the old generation had passed their ideas on to the new generation who are willing to sacrifice so that their rights are not taken from them. By saying “friend and foe alike” he is bringing everyone together and not letting them be different just because they are a friend or a foe. Additionally by describing traits of all the Americans, he unifies the citizens of America because all were tempered by war and proud of their heritage so it allows citizens to bond of common history. The torch being passed to a new generation is a metaphor which Kennedy uses to show that the original colonists’ ideals were not beginning forgotten but instead carried

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.

In 1962, in the midst of the international space race, steel prices in the U.S. began to rise. In this speech delivered by John F. Kennedy, he claims that there is no justification for these increasing steel prices through the use of logos and pathos.

On April 10, 1962, steel companies raised the prices by 3.5 percent of their products. President John F. Kennedy had tried to maintain steel prices at a stable rate. President John F. Kennedy, known for his diligence and persuasion, held a news conference about the hikes in steel prices. President John F. Kennedy, in his speech, uses rhetorical strategies such as diction, emotional appeals, and a persuasive tone to convince Americans that steel companies are declining the standards to maintain stable prices.

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.

The Inaugural speech by John F. Kennedy is a landmark type of speech that was given to the American populace in order to inspire confidence and to provoke them to take immediate action. His speech made extensive use of rhetorical devices in order to successfully express his goals. His stylistic devices include antithesis, parallelism, and varying structure flows in order to attract attention and to show what his service will accomplish. Kennedy details “a new generation of Americans” by contrasting old and new with his antithesis. He states, “Symbolizes an end as well as a beginning” and “signifies renewal as well as change” in order to do so. This connects the younger generation of Americans and the older generation. He unites them under one goal and one purpose by using antithesis, ignoring their differences, and prepares them for what’s there to come in the future.

In 1962 President John F. Kennedy held a press conference in which he informed the audience on his stance for the rising steel prices. Kennedy not only wanted to inform the audience, he wanted to get them on his side of the argument. He wanted to show the audience that the rising steel prices were going to have a negative impact on the nation. To do this Kennedy used some of the rhetoric strategies and tools. He used periodic sentences, anaphora, and diction. By using these strategies Kennedy was able to put emphasis in his speech. He effectively showed the audience Hayes viewpoint on the rising steel prices through his word choice.

“Like our soldiers and sailors in all parts of the world they are meeting freedom's challenge on the firing line, and I salute them for their honor and their courage.” John F. Kennedy appeals to the audience by establishing himself as a respectable man, producing credibility. He demonstrates appreciation to “our soldiers and sailors” for protecting our freedoms and establishes a common ground that Kennedy and his audience are the Americans.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Junior’s, speech at his inaugural address in 1961 is undeniably a masterpiece of the persuasive arts. Although the speech is short as such speeches go, and although its main persuasive device is pathos alone, the masterful skill with which Kennedy’s speech is written makes it one of the most moving and effective political speeches to date. Kennedy’s vivid use of diction and metaphor, as well as his extremely memorable syntax, are particularly strong and successful.

On Friday, January 20, 1961 John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as 35th President of the United States. In his Inaugural Address President Kennedy delivered a speech to unite and celebrate the peaceful transition of power that stands to this day as one of the most powerful addresses in modern history. Widely considered a call to action, President Kennedy challenged the American people to move beyond the precincts of the past to make a difference to move the world into an era of peace and prosperity. His promise to the other states on the world stage was no less spectacular when he swore “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,