John F Kennedy Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

John F. Kennedy will always be remembered for two things; his triumphant inauguration and his tragic assassination. After being sworn in, Kennedy gave the traditional inaugural speech. He addressed America, as well as the rest of the world, to inform them what his intentions were during his presidency. By referencing current events such as the Cold War, he was able to identify dilemmas in need of a remedy. Kennedy's overall message was meant to inspire his nation and convey strength and hope to the world abroad. At the beginning of his speech, Kennedy condensed his message. He stated the problems in need of fixing during his presidency while also proposing solutions for them. By doing this, Kennedy was able to evoke confidence from Americans that he will follow through with his claims. Kennedy used anaphora, allusions, and emotional appeal to create an effective argument in the first half of his inaugural speech.

There are many things that a speech must contain to make it a well written and spoken speech. John F. Kennedy 's speech he gave on September 12th 1962, titled “Address at Rice University on the Nation 's Space Efforts”, better known as “We Choose to go to the Moon” contains many of the important factors of a successful speech. Kennedy used rhetorical strategies and skills to help him influence the American people to help accomplish the major goal of reaching the moon. Kennedy did not only want to reach the moon, but he wanted to be the first country to do so. President Kennedy effectively told the objective he found important by using ethos, pathos and kairos throughout his speech to help get the support of the people. By using these three rhetorical strategies Kennedy gave a moving speech.

Throughout Kennedy’s speech you can see many different types of these devices first off, I would like to bring your attention to parallelism. The definition of Parallelism is “Uses of words or phrases in a similar structure”. In his speech he come right out of the gate in the first 5-6 paragraphs and begins to show this. For example on Page (283) Kennedy says, “To those who old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty for old faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of co-operative (SAS) ventures. Divided, there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder”. Furthermore he then directly goes into his next statement by saying “To those”. I also think that one of the man reasons his speech captivated not only America's people but many other nations, was due to how he connected with the audience.

In John F Kennedy’s “Inaugural address”, he tries to bring the nation together by speaking confidently and powerful. Kennedy’s vigorous use of rhetorical devices including Antithesis, Reasoning, Emotional Appeal, Allusion, and Anaphora that contribute to the success of his speech. JFK uses these rhetorical devices to convey his ambitions and hopes for america as a nation in a whole. Also hoping for a pledge of peace; that we do not show weakness. In his hopes of coming together our acts individually would make us look and be stronger. Kennedy used his speech as a way to draw all of the audience in by pulling us together.

President John F. Kennedy uses a wide range of rhetorical devices, and punctuation to make his tone clear, compelling, and friendly. Such rhetorical devices are: anaphoras, allusions, and metonymy. JFK uses these devices in his speech to establish a connection with the American people, and other international leaders.

As a person who was known for his ability to speak publicly, and communicate comprehensible meanings while inspiring the people of his nation, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) gave his inaugural address on January 20th, 1961 in Washington D.C.. JFK was widely distinguished for his ability to use rhetoric in front of the masses, and in mass media. Like many authors and penman, President Kennedy implemented huge doses of rhetorical strategies in his speech, focusing on the appeals of Aristotle: ethos, logos and pathos. Ethos is used to convince the audience of the author’s credibility, logos is an appeal through the use of logic and reasoning, while pathos is an emotional appeal (Gayle et al). JFK applied all these rhetorical appeals

In 1962 President John F. Kennedy gave a speech about the rising steel prices. Throughout his speech he uses many kinds of rhetorical strategies; some include, anaphora , alliteration, and rhetorical appeals. By using these three rhetorical strategies Kennedy's speech was able to be connected to the audience very well.

One of the most influential presidents in United States history, John F. Kennedy was a brilliant politician and public speaker. In his inaugural address, he sparked hope around the world by discussing the hardships faced by all of society in the present time and then leaving them with a message of freedom, power, and hope. This measure of impact is not achieved easily; Kennedy masterfully utilized the art of rhetoric to emphasize his message and win the hearts of his people. In the middle of the speech, he discusses the dangers of the modern world and his drive toward international peace and cooperation. These messages are stressed through his use of charismatic language to signify his vision of a new and better world.

For instance, parallelism such as the statement, “whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, hear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe,” gives flavor to the speech by pointing out opposite words within a single sentence but still making it work. A few antimetaboles are used in the speech, such as “let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate” and “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” make the speech more effective by twisting around the order of the words, or syntax, to get people to realize a point. Additionally, what makes Kennedy’s speech so effective is that he can transition from a simple sentence to a more complex, meaningful one in a matter of lines of the speech. In accordance to the diction, the words in his speech (freedom, poverty, devotion, and loyalty) are considered abstract. This is because they all convey a tone of desire and significant qualities held by friends. They strengthen and add more feeling to the speech as well. However, the archaic words, such as writ and forebears, are used in a manner to bring in the old language as well as the new, therefore there is sophistication as well as understanding. Kennedy also uses juxtaposition when he says, “peaceful revolution,” and this adds spice to the speech because of the contradiction of the two powerful words. Yet

President Kennedy utilizes rhetorical appeals and a variety of figurative language to formally express his beliefs and goals in a strong and eloquent manner.

Metaphors are very prevalent throughout the entire speech of JFK. A metaphor is a comparison, or an analogy, that states one thing is anther. The earliest use of metaphor by JFK was about a torch. “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” (Kennedy, 2). This gives us a good idea of how Kennedy felt about someone his age becoming president. He felt that it was a new era in American history and he was the leading the way on a new movement towards a better America. A torch is used to light the way on a path that is yet to be traveled, just as Kennedy had been given the power to lead the way for our country down the unlit path and decide for us whether or not we will prosper.

How does John F. Kennedy use rhetorical elements of logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade his audience? In his speech, President Kennedy explains to his audience about the rhetorical elements of the ethos by saying that “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom – symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning – signifying renewal, as well as change.” (Kennedy) This statement was inspired by President Thomas Jefferson's speeches which of the followed with a highly contested election in the American that similar Kennedy and Nixon, the President Kennedy tried to make sure to address everything before they calling a person who is winning the elected in American, but he don't want to win his elected for the Democratic Party.

Kennedy begins his speech expressing how “the world is very different” from what it used to be. He uses multiple rhetorical strategies that express and describe how he is going to lead their “very different” country by providing his audience with a sense of community. For example, Kennedy applies juxtaposition to his phrase, “United there is little we cannot do… Divided there is little we can do…” to compare what America can and can’t do when everyone is united. During the time when Kennedy was elected president, the Cold War was at peak of its period. He bravely announced 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,” using the rhetorical strategy asyndeton. He uses this particular mechanism to attract his audience and give emphasis to the ideas he wants to communicate. He starts the phrase off with “we,” as he wishes to convey to his listeners that we are going to pay any price, that we are going to bear any burden, that

John F. Kennedy once said, “I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President, who happens also to be a Catholic.” In this single sentence, he uses a method of Aristotle’s persuasive speech making. One of the greatest examples of using rhetorical strategies is indeed John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address of 1961. John F. Kennedy uses diction, syntax, and Aristotle’s method of persuasion in his inaugural address that not only made it uniquely his own, but made it undoubtedly one of the best, emotion tugging, speeches ever.

The distinctive voices, inherent in any text, are intended to have an impact on the audience. Significant voices are influenced by the values and beliefs of the composer, as well as cultural, political and historical content. Composers use a range of language tools and features to successfully covey messages to their audience. John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s Address to the Plenary Session, Earth Summit and Charlie Chaplin’s Let us all unite, all provide excellent examples of a distinctive voice. Each of these distinctive voices is formed through the use of emotive language, tone, repetition and rhetorical devices.