Short Story

Kennedy utilized an empathetic tone throughout his speech to gain his audience’s trust and validate their emotions. After the assassination of his brother, he could relate to the pain of the black audience in a way only he could. Kennedy reminds the audience that “I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.” Kennedy sought to gain their trust by reminding them that he knows their feelings because he recently went through a similar tragedy. If Kennedy’s audience trusted him, they would be less likely to revolt. He reveals to the crowd that he understands their temptation to be filled with “hatred and

Before all else, John F. Kennedy respectfully acknowledges and establishes his ethos through the introduction of his speech:

A crowd of several thousand citizens stood where they waited outside for President Kennedy in the parking lot early morning of the hotel President Kennedy stayed overnight awaited him. President Kennedy stood on the platform that was set for him and said a few remarks, “There are no faint hearts in Fort Worth and I appreciate your being here this morning. Mrs. Kennedy is organizing herself. It takes longer, but, of course, she looks better than we do when she does it." At the end of his speech, he went out and shook hands of the citizens that gave him warming smiles. He then went back inside the hotel and gave another speech at breakfast. "We are still the keystone in the arch of freedom, we will continue to do…our duty, and the people of Texas will be in the lead."

Kennedy recognizes his presidential duties and acknowledges the trust that has been placed in him to lead the country when he stated: “I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it” (Kennedy par 24).

His main use of diction is progressing from an informal tone to a more serious one. The expression, “They seem to think that it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a Kennedy to come to the campus of Liberty Baptist College,” is used to joke with the audience at the start of the speech. Through that remark and the statement, “You may not appreciate the president, but the Democrats certainly appreciate the prayer,” he turns some of the disconnect between him and the students into comical banter. Recognizing that his audience is college-aged, Kennedy uses humor to make them more comfortable with him as a speaker. After establishing a positive rapport with the students, his tone becomes more sincere. Towards the end of his speech, Kennedy states, “That ideal shines across all the generations of our history and all the ages of our faith, carrying with it the most ancient dream.” This language is much more formal in an attempt to express the gravity of the issues. The shift from relaxed to proper word choice helps set the appropriate mood for different sections of the

He reached out to shake hands a sea of smiling faces. Back inside the hotel the president spoke at a breakfast of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, focusing on military preparedness. “We are still Keystone in the arch of freedom,” he firmly spoke. “We will continue to do our duty, and the people of Texas will be in the lead. Crowds of excited people lined the streets and waved to the Kennedy,” exclaimed Emely.

While Gilbert was patiently waiting, he heard on the radio some of the most shocking news. President John F. Kennedy was murdered. Baffled by the news, Pieper sat in shock and there was nothing he could do but sit and take in the news. Kennedy was a great man and so many people wondered why someone would murder such an important symbol of our country. Later that afternoon, Vice President, Lyndon B Johnson, was admitted to take over. It was announced at two-thirty pm that day and Johnson became the thirty-sixth president of the United States.

Killing Kennedy chronicles both the heroism and deceit of Camelot, bringing history to life in ways that will profoundly move the reader. The books are punchy. They are blunt and clear, not being burdened with an overload of pesky footnotes. But they do favor facts, and the more numerical the better. This book’s description of the shooting of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas includes the numbers 156 (car wheelbase in inches); 350 (its horsepower); SS-100-X (the car’s Secret Service code name); 120 (degrees in the angle it must turn in Dealey Plaza); 12:33 (time when shots were fired); 14 (doctors attending to the dying president); and 12 (bloody red roses stuck to his body). All that’s missing is a partridge in a pear tree. Most of “Killing Kennedy” is immersive written in the present tense, with occasional prophetic, “little-does-he-know” glimpses of the future. It begins on Inauguration Day, when “the man with fewer than three years to live” has his left hand on the Bible. Little does he know that Chief Justice Earl Warren, who swears him in, has a name that “will one day be synonymous with Kennedy’s own death.” The authors are not content to say that Jan. 20, 1961, is a cold day. They must point out that “a brutal wind strafes the crowd.” And they are not content to remain in Washington; the book quickly switches to a “meanwhile” mention of the future gunman. “Approximately 4,500 miles away, in the Soviet city of Minsk, an American who did not vote for John F. Kennedy is fed up,” they write, massaging the fact that Oswald was at that point fed up with the Soviet government, not with America’s new president. The details of the Kennedy assassination are even more familiar than the story “Killing Lincoln” told. So “Killing Kennedy” has a momentum problem: it is lively, but not innately suspenseful. The authors combat that by packing in

November 22, 1963 is a day Jacqueline Kennedy will remember forever. Around 11:30 a.m. Jackie and her husband, the president, John F. Kennedy arrived in Dallas, Texas. Jackie was excited to be in Dallas, but she also knew this trip could determine if her husband would be re-elected. At noon, the motorcade headed toward downtown Dallas. Everything was perfect; the people loved Mr. Kennedy. At 12:29, Nellie Conally, the wife of Texas governor, turns to the president and says,”Mr. President, you can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you.” This was the last thing John F. Kennedy heard before he was shot. He replied with, “No, you certainly can’t.” Seconds later Jackie turns to her right and sees her husband has been shot once

Kennedy, assassination. He tells his audience that they may be “filled with hatred and mistrust” but that he, too, experiences “in my[his] own heart” the “same kind of feeling.” The audience acknowledges that Kennedy felt the despair and hardship they now feel. When Kennedy continues talking about the United States’ need to “make an effort,” the audience trusts him and listens to what he has to say about the conflict. By using pathos to connect with his audience, Kennedy gains the audience’s trust and

Kennedy’s sister Jean commented on his “terrific sense of humor (12)” after he wrote “Don’t deny you did it (12)” on a picture that he gave to her. Even while discussing how he became president, it was “just jokes (12)”, which echoes the casual atmosphere of the inauguration. Humor is also used in a more ironic fashion. Fred Dutton, a Kennedy special assistant, was good friends with a popular political columnist. When she was sick and needed someone to ghostwrite her column, Dutton agreed to help. “And Fred uses this as a way to goad the president for not being liberal enough… so the president walks in with the Washington Star one afternoon, throws it on Dutton’s desk, and says ‘Can’t you control that friend of yours?’(17)” Through the use of humor, we are able to connect with JFK as a person, not just a stately political figure. This association makes the rest of the article more compelling because the audience is more invested in the inauguration and the stories surrounding

On this day, Kennedy was taking part in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. There were crowds of people lining the streets excited to get just a glimpse of Kennedy and his wife. When passing the Texas School Book Depository, gunfire rang out with the source being unknown. The president was hit in multiple locations, being his neck, head and chest. He was rushed to the Parkland Memorial Hospital, which was close to where the motorcade was taking place. The governor, who was also in the car with his wife and the president, was also hit in the chest, but would recover from his injury. The hospital was only a couple of minutes away, but the hit to Kennedy was fatal and there was not much they could do for him. A catholic priest was called to perform the last rites, and Kennedy was

Kennedy was born into an Irish Catholic family on May 29, 1917, in Boston. He is the second of nine siblings. One of his siblings, Jack, inherited his father’s political ambitions by joining the navy when his father was killed in War World II. Once Jack quit the navy, he worked as a newspaper writer covering the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. Next, John was elected president and he won. According to two of Jack’s aides, “John won on his personality because he was the new kind of political figure that the people were looking for” (Dallek 4). Restraint in the face of some hostile questions like ask what your country can do for me but what you can do for our country won the appreciation of his audience.

Trimble left after he stopped in his kitchen to grab a few pieces of his mintiest gum. Once he got to the parade, he saw everyone standing around with their signs and cheering. Mr.Trimble was in the front, the best view of all and was standing there chewing one of his mintiest gum. Minutes later, a stranger said “Oh, here he comes.” The president was driving by waving to everyone. The people were applauding and very ecstatic to see him. When he got around the corner to where Mr. Trimble was standing, they made eye contact and exchanged slight smiles and quick waves. Then it happened, a national tragedy had happened. A bullet was fired and it hit John F. Kennedy in the head. A few moments later, another bullet was fired and it went through the president and hit the governor. The crowd started screaming and everyone scattered to take cover. Then another shot was fired. After the first shot, Mr. Trimble dropped to the floor and got up right away and ran to be out of sight behind a low wall, he was taking really big breaths and couldn't fully process what had just happened. He looked up after the shots had stopped, he had seen that the president has been shot and seen police officers

Overall, I am proud that I decided to conduct this interview with Kennedy. We discovered ideas that we agree on and disagree on, and it gave me an opportunity to think about the types of people I gravitate towards.