preview

Rhetorical Devices In Jfk Inaugural Speech

Decent Essays

John F Kennedy, 35th president of the United States Of America, in his inaugural speech, vocalizes his ideas for the country and its future through the use of many rhetorical devices such as diction, metaphors, ethos and rhetorical question to convince the people he is fit for the job of president. During the height of the cold war, John F. Kennedy was given the burden of solving the obstacle of the U.S.S.R. The gap between the presidential candidates was microscopic with John F Kennedy getting 49.72% of the votes and Nixon 49.55% of the votes. Most people believed that The now democratic president would get eaten alive in Russian negotiations and was unfit for the presidency. These factors made the speech that much more intense because he had to assure and calm the people who were in high doubt that JFK was the right person for the job. This is why he used these subtle but successful tactics to win the favor of the people and convince them to not only support him, but become active participants in their democracy. The first rhetorical devices John F Kennedy uses are patriotic diction and metaphors. He uses words such as “liberty” as well as “freedom” to get the people to accept that what JFK is proposing is based on the ideals that the nation was founded on. Identically, Kennedy uses metaphors like “casting off the chains of poverty” to stress to the citizens of the United States that he wants the nation and the citizens to prosper, and he will not go on with the condition of the current nation. When people subconsciously analyze the sentences and language that Kennedy uses, it makes them react with positive patriotic emotions and hope because they all love their country. Kennedy also uses the metaphor “the trumpet summons us again” to put a sense of obligation on the listeners at home and challenge them to take action for their country and to obligate them to interact with the administration. By calling them to action with the trumpet, Kennedy reinforces the patriotic diction, and invites citizens to take an active role in the world around them, and to make a positive difference accross the globe. Furthermore, In Kennedy’s speech, he asks them to “abolish all forms of human poverty” to get the

Get Access