Rhetorical Analysis Of Kennedy 's 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

Throughout John F. Kennedy’s speech, in which he criticized the nation’s largest steel companies for raising the price of steel by 3.5 percent, he appealed to the audience’s sense of logos and pathos, and exposed the disregard the corporations were showing towards their public responsibilities. The reason Kennedy used those strategies was to invigorate the audience’s anger and passion so that they would join him in trying to fix the problem. Kennedy did not stir up the audience so that they might convince the large steel companies to lower prices, but so that they might convince the companies to lower their prices together. Kennedy included himself in the rally by using the word “we” frequently to show that he too is involved in the cause,

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.

On a cold January day America’s newly appointed president John F. Kennedy delivered his inauguration address that was incredibly important to America’s success during the Cold War. Kennedy uses his speech as a call to arms, but not only to America but the World and our allies as a whole. He uses his strong powerful voice to appeal to the ethics of the country in the beginning of his speech telling America about the promise we made when we were founded and that we must uphold it still today, telling America we must make a difference. Kennedy also uses ethics to explain that we the people are united no matter what your background or where you are from, he refers to the Americas as one place, because he wants for us to feel unified not divided. Furthermore Kennedy’s use of powerful imagery, logic and pathos allows for him to effectively call the people of the World together during this terrible time.

A global call for peace was made on January 20th, 1961. John F. Kennedy asked the world to find a well-known but hard concept -- world peace. Kennedy uses rhetoric, the art of speech or communication, to make their speeches less bland and more convincing, throughout his speech. At the time the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R were fighting in the Cold War, and the world was under constant threat of a nuclear war. In “JFK’s Inaugural Address,” Kennedy claims mankind should seek a global peace. He effectively builds this claim by using the following: ethical and emotional appeals, as well as tricolon and anaphora.

On April 4, 1968 Robert F. Kennedy began his political campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in Indiana. Before boarding his plane, Kennedy found out that Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot in Memphis, Tennessee. At his arrival in Indianapolis, Kennedy was informed that Martin Luther King, Jr. had died from the incident. Kennedy was scheduled to speak to a large African-American audience, and was advised by the Indianapolis Police to not speak. The Chief of Police warned Kennedy that he would not be responsible for whatever may happen, making this speech even more dangerous. Kennedy chose to ignore the warning signs, went into the conference campaign, and spoke to the audience. Robert Kennedy, putting his political aspirations aside, advises the Indianapolis African-American audience not to retaliate to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination with violence, but with prayer, understanding, and love as Martin Luther King, Jr. taught. This is done through the use of motivational appeals, rhetorical devices, and expressing to the audience a purpose.

On April 11, 1962, President John F. Kennedy held a news conference to discuss the 3.5% increase on steel prices across the country. With the country at war, and struggling to emerge from a recession, increasing the price of steel would have a negative impact. After his administration had taken steps to aid the steel companies to reach a non-inflationary steel workers union contract, the decision to increase steel prices was deemed to be a betrayal of the President and the American people. The speech was directed towards the “common man” in opposition to big steel companies. He speaks for the purpose of not only persuading the companies to lower their prices, but also to convince the public that he is looking out for their best interest. Kennedy employs a disapproving tone and strong diction in an effort to clearly achieve his goal in influencing the steel

On January 20, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the youngest man to possess presidency in the United States of America. As a young, wealthy man Kennedy rapidly climbed the political ladder by initially representing a working class Boston district in the United States Congress, then continuing on to the House of Representatives, followed by the United States Senate, and ending with the victorious defeat of his presidential opponent, to become the 35th president of the United States. According to theatlantic.com, Kennedy was so admired by the public, that “in the eyes of the world, this reticent man became a charismatic leader who, in his life and in his death, served as a symbol of purpose and hope.” As a result of John F. Kennedy’s

Manitonquat, an American author, once said, “It is clear that the way to heal society of its violence... and lack of love is to replace the pyramid of domination with the circle of equality and respect.” Violence is everywhere and inside of every person in the world. From the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, to tragedies such as the Columbine shooting and the attack to the Twin Towers on 9/11, violence has undeniably shaped America. Consequently, with such tragedies, the nation is filled with immense sorrow and disbelief. This is the time that America’s citizens need a strong leader to speak to them. In a speech following a tragic death and one of resistance to violence, Robert F. Kennedy, a past American politician

Kennedy’s speech carries with it a dauntless rhythm of persuasiveness, emboldening and inspiring his audience through emotional conviction and personal attribution. With parallelism and juxtaposition, John F. Kennedy was able to capture the minds and hearts of the American people. During the vast majority of the address, he uses inclusivity (us, we, our) with the audience to show his personal dedication to the public and mankind as a whole. Kennedy’s dedication to his people and god was enough to gain the support of the nation, from both political parties; he proclaims that it was “not the victory of a party, but a celebration of freedom…” Kennedy does this in an attempt to establish his credibility as a just and equal leader, who saw past the petty divisions of our bipartisan dichotomy. Aside from this instance, JFK states later that he is a “fellow citizen of the world…” to appeal to his international audience. As much as Kennedy addressed his fellow man, he also referenced God in many occasions throughout his speech. Considering that at the time of its delivery 84% of the

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. As a young man Kennedy rapidly climbed the political latter by initially representing a working class Boston district in the United States Congress, then escalated to the House of Representatives, followed by the United States Senate, and ending with the victorious defeat of his presidential opponent, to become the 35th president of the United States of America. According to theatlantic.com, Kennedy was so well liked that “in the eyes of the world, this reticent man became a charismatic leader who, in his life and in his death, served as a symbol of purpose and hope.” As a result of John F. Kennedy’s appeal to the public, many articles, books, and

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

In the speech “On the Death of Martin Luther King Jr.” Robert Kennedy must address the American people on the tragic death of King. This event proved to be a difficult subject for many Americans especially since King became a very influential figure. Robert Kennedy could easily relate to this death since his brother was recently killed just as King was. It did not make the topic any easier to address in front of the nation's eye but he could relate to everyone and step into their shoes as well. Kennedy establishes common ground to make an attempt at unifying the United States as well as inputting a direct reference to a greek poet and an empathic tone to convey his emotions.

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.

JFK makes it clear that every citizen should do what is right not only to them, but for the benefit of the country. Kennedy uses a quote from the bible to support his ideas of making the world unite, and disengage in their disagreements and to flourish with one another. Furthermore in 1960, the cold war was occurring and in Kennedy’s inaugural address, Kennedy warns about the cold war and how America should aim for peace with all nations in the world. Throughout his speech, Kennedy has a patriotic and hopeful tone.