I’d say we’ve all heard of JFK’s famous speech, “The Decision To Go To The Moon,” which he gave at Rice University on May 25th, 1961 to an audience of 35,000 people. This speech is one that marks the sixties, as JFK had just been elected and was rallying the people to support the space movement. Many Americans doubted they could beat or even catch up to Russia in the space race. So, his speech focuses on convincing Americans that they should support the US government’s movement to get a man on the moon before the Soviet Union. Now you must be wondering, why do I care about this? How does this affect the way he gives his speech? Shouldn’t all speeches be equally convincing no matter what? Well, not really, but I’m glad you asked! JFK’s purpose and audience are what makes his speech, he managed to make, both, his structure and literary devices very specific to his audience! Beginning with the structure, I noticed an important detail that was very interesting. His speech began very broad; speaking of world history. In the first page of his speech, JFK says the following, “...but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man's recorded history in a time span of but a half-century.” He goes on, explaining how history would have been up to the sixties had it been summarized in a short 50 year period. Then after that, he narrows it down to America’s history and how far they’ve come. From then on, he slowly shifts the focus from past American history to present by saying, “Those
In the event of his inaugural address, JFK uses pathos to show the people that he was passionate and truly wants to see these changes he talks about happening in the future. He says “for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life” stating his first point of equality. Here JFK is allowing the people to see his emotional charge that is fueling his need for change. He sees every man and women as equal and he wants to see these happen in America. Later in his speech he talks about how the people are in more control than he is to fail or to succeed in his term. By showing the people their power in the change, JFK gives the people the feeling that they actually have a say in what will be done. He does this by including
This was one of his favorite weapons in his arsenal. It is because, through his use of parallelism, he is able to express his perspective in a smooth manner. He is also able to skillfully manipulate the audience into cementing their attention into his speech. He can even add a strong foundation for his speech and he can easily follow up and build his case further through his resourcefulness with parallelism. Parallelism might be the best tool John F Kennedy has mastered when building a speech. He is so resourceful with it, that he is able to construct powerful statements to attract and cement attention. This is clearly evident when he describes science as “power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life”, using powerful words that strikes fear into his audience, therefore further cementing their attention to him. He also does this when he proclaims his plans for conserving power for goals associated in achieving more freedom for his nation, and perhaps this is one of the biggest reasons for the fame for his speech. As one can see, it easily engages the audience to his
The main purpose of John F. Kennedy 's speech “We Choose to go to the Moon” was to gain the support of the American people. He did this by pointing out why it was important to be the first ones to reach the moon with a man. Kennedy addresses many things that the United States has quickly and efficiently succeeded at, he then goes on to compare these successes to getting a man on the moon. The president also brings up how they are very close to obtaining the goal and that they just need the funding to make it happen. He continues on to make a powerful comparison between how
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.
JFK uses anaphoras all throughout the speech as a way to establish a connection with the common people. This intelligent approach works because anaphoras base themselves off of repetition of a beginning phrase such as we; therefore JFK's use of the repeated words we, fellow, our, and both sides causes any person listening to feel connected with the president. This only adds to JFK's purpose of trying to unite America towards a singular positive goal because the people feel as though the new president is one of them; and the new president will have their best interest at hand. Moreover, JFK proves this with his statement, "...we dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution." This not only unites the people but creates a call for action to unite like the founding fathers. This furthers the sense of equality created through anaphoras because it establishes that everyone shares a connection through their ancestors. By connecting to the founding fathers, and to people themselves, JFK keeps a
This previous knowledge and image of JFK builds up his ethos before the address was even given. The speech has many quotes that are still well remembered and hold a deep impact in many American lives today. Most notably was the qoute, “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”(JFK Library). This quote is a prime example of how JFK bridges appeals, pathos and logos, it creates a middle ground and commonality between JFK and the citizens. Also the sense of patriotism brought from this quote is a great example of pathos.
In this essay, President John F. Kennedy builds an argument to persuade his readers in investing in space exploration. Kennedy uses analogies and reasoning to build his argument towards investing in space exploration. Kennedy’s speech had a powerful impact on the decision whether to direct the resources of the United States toward the construction of a space program.
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.
It’s January 20, 1961. Inauguration day for president Kennedy. Entering his first term as president of the United States, he has to give the “Inaugural Address.” As president of the United States he needs to address his voters and the american people in person or through a television broadcast about his future goals and aspirations. During the transfer of power the US is going on there 14th year of the Cold War. The american people are fearful of a nuclear war and the other half wants to go to war. JFK wants diplomatic negotiations towards peace. JFK uses rhetorical devices in his “Inaugural Address” to influence the american people
Before the causes and results of Kennedy’s decision to land on the moon can be adequately analyzed and discussed, it is necessary to understand the context of his time as President and the events that preceded it. Therefore, I will provide a small amount of context about the Cold War and the situation leading up to Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech on September 12, 1962. (Citation).
President Kennedy utilizes rhetorical appeals and a variety of figurative language to formally express his beliefs and goals in a strong and eloquent manner.
JFK had many great speeches, the biggest and best arguably being his Inaugural Address. If you think that giving a speech to gather followers is easy, you’re wrong. It is an art, there are many trick to it. Some people have mastered this, and JFK has mastered this by using the ethos of ethos a lot in his speeches. The idea of teamwork is a common theme to him.
In 1961, the United States of America was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This confrontation was taking place not only on land, sea and air, but in space as well. On May 25th, 1961 recently elected US President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, during which he outlined his now famous Man on the Moon challenge. It was through this ambitious dream that the creation of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) came about, which President Kennedy challenged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he didn't live to see the achievement of his dreams, the United States successfully landed Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 and
"Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country," is a well-known quote among Americans that has so much meaning behind it. John F. Kennedy was a president for the United States and loved among many American citizens. His speeches were always thought out and used many rhetoric devices to reel his audience in. Therefore, making his speeches brilliant and known the citizens of America. By going over the main points of rhetoric JFK used in his innagural speech like antithesis, pathos, and the theme one can realize how deep the speech actually is.