Rhetorical Analysis Of Jfk Inaugural Address

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.

John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech was considered one of the most inspirational speeches in American history. He gave the speech to bolster the fighting spirit and act as an inspiration for the Americans. The reason for this is quite simple actually. He used stylistic devices extensively in his speech to boldly proclaim his intentions. He has proven himself resourceful in his usage of stylistic devices such as antithesis, parallelism, pathos, and ethos. He uses them to fully express his message and to gain the attention and the support of his people in a patriotic fashion. One of the examples of his use of antithesis is when Kennedy is referring to “a new generation of Americans” where he vividly shows the separation between the old and

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.

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.

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

On the night of April 4 1968, people gathered to listen to the wise words of Robert F. Kennedy. What many thought was going to be a political speech soon took a twist, and the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination was announced and out to the public. Gasps and tears quickly erupted while everyone was gathered around Robert Kennedy’s pickup truck as he stood high above all trying to bring hope and comfort to those who lost someone that fought for their equality, rights and freedom. Kennedy's speech was powerful and successful because of the way he showed empathy to the crowed. He related the tragic scenario to his own life bringing comfort to the many broken hearted and showed both sides of the situation using contrasting forms. Lastly, Kennedy’s speech consisted of repetition with the use of anaphora.

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.

Kennedy used a logical structure in his speech. He repeated what was important to the audience could easily find what was important in his speech. Moreover, Kennedy’s speech structure and fallacies were very successful. He did a great job of getting to his points and said what he wanted to say and yet, making the audience feel like they were an important part of his speech and that they could make a difference. Below is a mind map explaining and summarizing Kennedy’s

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

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, arguably one of our greater presidents in our nation’s history, was assassinated on a Friday in the early stages of winter in 1963; however, he had accomplished much more than a man with lesser courage could have in his services to our country. One of President Kennedy’s most memorable actions while in office, actually took place very early on in his presidency; his Inaugural Speech in January of 1961. When attempting to motivate our citizens, Kennedy speaks of our citizens being “tempered by war,” and “proud of our ancient heritage,” he very successfully appeals to the emotions of his audience. Furthermore, his use of ethos quite effective when he speaks of

To start off John F. Kennedy was giving his speech during the inauguration, talking to the citizens of America. He was giving a very powerful speech that included metaphors, rhetoric devices, and SOAPS. I say that because he used that to capture the audience's attention. He starts off by talking about the war and those who fought for us, to be brave like them. That they were not looking for power like most of them were, that’s when he used a metaphor saying those who “sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside”. Saying that they were foolish to even think they can gain that power they don’t deserve, how they talk about doing good, instead of actually doing it. Kennedy was making a type of statement, on how we the americans should show more compassion to those who don’t have anything.

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

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 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.

The casual tone of the article helps the reader better connect with the text, and makes Kennedy seems more personable. The tone is especially evident in phrase such as this one, found in paragraph 9, where Kennedy grandchild Kathleen remembers the day by saying “I knew I was supposed to think this was very historic, but all the adults were taller and we couldn’t see well.” While the speech would never include a quote like this due to its formal tone, the casual language used by Kathleen really makes the reader feel connected to the Kennedy family. The informal language really shows that Kennedy was a people person, and that all Americans left as if he was one of them. JFK was a family man whose positive legacy lives on today, and the tone of this essay demonstrates that