Jfk Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

John F. Kennedy delivered his Inaugural Address in 1961 to the entire nation. He establishes a conversational tone through the use of rhetorical devices. His use of metonymy and asyndeton elicits a feeling of solidarity and unity in the masses who listened to their new President. JFK’s catchy usage of chiasmus institutes compelling structure and an open, friendly attitude. These aspects of his speech were necessary for seeming like an approachable figure instead of the formal, far-away airs that are associated with the title President. Metonymy, asyndeton, and chiasmus were essential actions towards Kennedy’s goal of reaching his audience in a compelling and conversational way.

On snowy, freezing cold January morning in 1961, five hundred thousand people lined Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The temperature was only twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit and eight inches of snow blanketed the ground in the American capitol that morning, causing even more traffic than usual, but that didn’t stop these hundreds of thousands of people from attending John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s inauguration ceremony. Little did they know, they would be hearing one of the most famous and memorable speeches of all time. Out of all forty five presidents, the inaugural address that American citizens would remember more than all the rest was that of John F. Kennedy. But what made it so memorable? After all, each president has given at least one, sometimes even two or more, inaugural address. Kennedy’s speech was neither the most elaborate nor the longest; it had one thousand three hundred and sixty four words and took thirteen minutes and fifty five seconds to read and it used relatively simple language. The importance of the address laid not in the length or the intricacy, but in the theme and the rhetoric. With figurative language, themes of unity and freedom, and appeal to Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, Kennedy’s address became not only one of the most memorable inaugural addresses, but one of the most memorable speeches of all time.

Throughout his inaugural address, Kennedy brings to light the lack of unity throughout the country and the world. He states that “we are the heirs of that first revolution” (¶4) that broke the countries apart, and that the country that stood that day would unite against “those human rights” (¶4) that were promised in the founding of our nation. He connects to his audience by noting significant events in history that everyone knows, such as the founding of our country or the revolutionary war, but that few people truly live by. He awakens in his audience the yearning for connectedness to the birth of our country. On the day he accepted his place as the leader of our country, Kennedy unified his citizens by generating a feeling of

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

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

JFK’s, Inaugural address states President Kennedy’s vision and mission for his term in office. Kennedy discusses important topics such as human rights and foreign affairs, voicing the common belief of hope shared by his audience.

John F. Kennedy entered office with the sole purpose to unite American citizens. These American citizens felt a special bond created between the two parties and they fell in love with him. His inauguration address was one of the most beneficial speeches that we have had the chance of hearing and it was very helpful with Americans during that time period with all the chaos that was going on. In 1961, America was a very timid place. We were still having problems with racism and trying to learn how to be socially correct. This was happening while we were dealing with communism issues internationally, all as we were trying to protect our country. You can probably imagine, people were terrified and didn’t know what to do. The Cold War was peaking and we needed someone to turn this country around. John F. Kennedy, who was recently sworn in as our newest president had a sense of swagger and confidence that people bought into and loved and many people believed that he was going to be the one. His address was quite simple. He wanted the American people to be at peace. He was going to do everything

January 20, 1961 was the day John F. Kennedy became the thirty-fifth president of the United States. During this time, communism came into play around the world , so he encourages Americans to seek hope for a better future for their country. In his famous inaugural speech, Kennedy applies a great use of persuasive language. Moreover, he also adds several personifications, antitheses, ethos, as well as metaphors to strengthen his purpose. President Kennedy’s inaugural speech is very effective because he is assuring to the people of America that there will be peace throughout the world.

In early 1961, the United States of America was enduring racial tensions and inequalities on the home-front, as well as waging war against Communism and the Cold War internationally. Chaos and fear had penetrated the minds of the American people because the Cold War was near its pinnacle; the American people longed for a strong, reassuring leader. John F. Kennedy provided that reassurance in his Inaugural Address. Taking the current national and international turmoil into account, Kennedy sought to persuade the Nation’s people to join in his efforts and unify together in order to achieve peace. The inaugural address is saturated with rhetorical strategies seeking to flatter the American People and utilizes words of encouragement to evoke

President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech, effectively uses rhetorical strategies to address audience members of global concerns, unify listeners, and persuade all to act with him for the promotion and preservation of peace. He gains the audience’s attention not only through the powerful, formal diction used such as forebears, asunder, invective, eradicate, tribulation, but additionally through emotional engagement, or pathos used throughout the speech in order to strengthen each of these points.

Kennedy aims for his speech to be used as a call to duty to unite all of his listeners. There were many pressing issues─ threats to freedom and liberty, existence of poverty and misery, and lack of peace and civility─ that he felt should be rectified. He states that his inauguration should be a beginning of renewal and change, and goes on to connect Americans together. He appeals to the shared background of this proud and disciplined generation of “heirs of our first revolution” and asserts that this generation will prove their patriotic loyalty by leading America to join in the effort to assure the “survival and success of liberty.” All Americans, born here or not, are members of the great American ‘melting pot.’ While we may have different ethnic or racial backgrounds, all who live in this proud country are all people who believe in values such as liberty, freedom, and justice. We are all descendants or supporters of the brave patriots who fought in the revolutionary war to stand for these same principles, and by

John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech used powerful and emotional words such as freedom, new generation, and devotion to symbolize the new life that was ahead of them and the promises he was proposing. Kennedy also used repetition of his promises to show people that he was passionate about them. Throughout his speech, there was differences in sentence variety. The short sentences portrayed authority and pride, while the longer sentences allowed him to elaborate on his ideas. These longer and more complex sentences helped support his main purpose. Along with using strong words, he used words that helped set a formal tone for his speech. Words such as forebears and asunder help the audience recognize the formality and respect in his tone.

On January 20, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave his inaugural address in front of thousands of anticipating Americans. Fear and uncertainty was imbedded in the minds of all Americans as the Cold War neared its climax. The United States were also struggling with racial tensions and social inequalities, leading into the presidential election of 1961. With severe consideration for the ongoing national and international turmoil, President Kennedy sought to invoke a sense of unity in the American people. Furthermore, Kennedy=s inaugural address uses pathos to flatter and influence the emotions of the people, without distracting from the truth and evidence expected from a national leader.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most important American speeches after being sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech was so influential that it seized the nation’s attention, and quotes from it are still clearly remembered by people today. It is considered one of the best speeches ever written and ever delivered. It presents a strong appeal to pathos, ethos, and logos and accomplishes what any speaker strives for – it speaks straight to the heart of the audience and inspires people.

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.