Rhetorical Analysis: Kennedy's Inaugural Speech

“For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” This quote from the 35th president of the United States set a precedent of greatness for our country. The man who set such a precedent was John F. Kennedy. A very persuasive and well-read man, when he gave his inaugural address, our nation and the world knew we were in good hands. JFK not only was well-read, he gave moving speeches. He used rhetorical devices such as anaphora, parallel structure, and rhetorical questions to appeal to the listener and future reader’s sense of 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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

John F. Kennedy was known for his charming, charismatic, and relatable personality which significantly attributed to him winning the presidency in 1960. These admirable characteristics of his were easily seen in his speeches as U.S. senator and as president, in which it was apparent he not only had the charm, but also incorporated his personal values into his administration as a public servent. One speech in particular which highlights this fact is his “City Upon a Hill” speech.

Robert Kennedy’s speech was given during a campaign rally in 1968, he broke the news to a crowd of supporters that MLK had been killed. This speech was analyzed through a PDF copy of the text.

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.

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 uses the words we twenty eight times, us twelve times and our twenty one times.

Billy Joel is a musician and he is giving the commencement speech at Berklee College of Music in 1993. Berklee College of Music is the largest contemporary music college in the world. Billy Joel is an amazing singer and songwriter so even though he did not attend this college, it is still an honor to be able to speak there. His commencement speech has plenty of rhetorical literary devices such as ethos, logos, pathos, parallelism, antithesis, as well allusions. There are other literary devices such as metaphors, rhetorical questions, and similes.

We are inspired by great speeches because of the way they are rhetorically crafted to make us feel. The best speeches are not the ones that are informational, it’s the ones that tug at our heartstrings. John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, Martin L. King’s I Have a Dream Speech, and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms State of the Union Address use a variety of literary devices in their speech to motivate and cajole their audiences to defend our liberties.

The power of persuasion is one that has proved its influence all throughout the history of humanity, convincing the masses to think as one body. This talent is not without practice or order however, even those talented with influence must be organized and eloquently sew their words together to prove a point. Only arguments that can appeal to all are able to be successful. In President John F. Kennedy’s Speech “Peace Speech”, examples of Aristotle's Modes of Persuasion are used. Kennedy uses the appeal of his credibility (Ethos), emotion (Pathos), and logic (Logos) to support his argument against war.

The Gone to the Moon Speech was written by John F. Kennedy and announced on the day of May 25, 1961. The speech was given the title Gone to the Moon because Kennedy wanted the first man to be sent to the moon and surface the moon in achievement. It was the foundational standpoint for technology to advance. JFK uses logos, ethos, and pathos to relay his statement in a unique way to connect with the audience. It was the “official” start of the era of new technology.

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.