Mass protest and marches arouse throughout the late 1960’s, John F. Kennedy remarks of Dr. Martin Luther King assassination inspired the population across America. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968 by a white man. Dr. King was an activist and leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Kennedy speaks about how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr dedicated his life to promoting love, peace, and justice among all human beings. The remarks of Kennedy showed compassion and also pity of how troubling racism in America continues to be. Kennedy‘s purpose was to remodel society for the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In Kennedy’s remarks I am going to analyze his rhetorical purpose by connecting to the emotions …show more content…
of the audience. In order to effectively address the Black American community Kennedy used pathos. John F. Kennedy was effective in consolidating his audience because he sympathize with the nation by making repeated appeals to emotion. John F.
Kennedy speech is able to convey Dr. King’s message through many rhetorical strategies. His words are effectively subdue and connective to an emotional audience. Kennedy connects to Black Americans outlook on the deplorable and tragic loss of Dr. King. Throughout The United States of America racism has always divided blacks and whites. This division for society created hate and injustice for Black Americans. Dr. King led a revolution to end segregation for all mankind. Kennedy’s purpose is to have no more violence between one another. Kennedy opening remarks enclosed news that impacts everyone, “I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world (Kennedy, 1968, par 1).” His message is not superior or political. His message is sharing a connection of sorrow and grief. Kennedy’s intended audience obviously is Black Americans and specifically those who stood for non-violence. The genre is a speech. The context is Kennedy’s intent to unify his audience. “We can make and effort , as Martin Luther King did to understand, and comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand , compassion, and love (Kennedy, 1968, par …show more content…
3).” After Kennedy informs the audience of the devastating news, the audience gasps and screams outs. Through the use of pathos appeal, Kennedy is effective because of his emotional connection is mutual to his audience. Kennedy bring up the assassination of his brother to the audience. “For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling (Kennedy, 1968, par 4).” “I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man (Kennedy, 1968, par 4).” This rhetorical strategy is to establish hope and overcome difficult times.
John F. Kennedy uses the pathos appeal by reiterating words such as love and we. Kennedy effectively bridges his audience though love of Dr. King’s message. “We can move in a direction as a country, in greater polarization black people amongst blacks, and whites amongst whites, filled with hatred, toward one another (Kennedy, 1968, par 3).” “ Or we can make and understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, efforts, as Martin Luther King did, with an effort to understand, compassion , and love (Kennedy, 1968, par 3).” Kennedy’s remarks revolutionize his audience manner. As he continues to urge “We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these difficult times (Kennedy, 1968, par 5).” The pathos appeal is successful because Kennedy efficiently expresses that all Americans lack of understanding. Kennedy states “The vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land (Kennedy, 1968, par 8).” Therefore, the American people should pursue a life based on peace, love and justice like Martin Luther King, Jr struggles so very hard to exhibit. Kennedy closing remarks, “To tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves
to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people (Kennedy, 1968, par 9).” Kennedy took a stands on the movement of Martin Luther King, Jr, he was able to implement and convey a message of unifying America. John F. Kennedy was highly successfully and respected amongst all different minorities after his rhetoric remarks on Martin Luther King, Jr assassination. On behalf of the great loss of Martin Luther King, Jr more violence and separation between the races should not be the response. Kennedy was able to empathize to all Americans. He took a stands on the division of the United States of America and appeal emotionally to his audience. For the value of a prodigious man who stood for non- violent civil disobediences this was a legacy the American people should follow.
It was on January 20th 1961 that John F Kennedy gave his inaugural address after winning the presidential race and beating future president Richard Nixon. President, John F Kennedy in his speech, The Inaugural Address, he describes his plans for growth in America. Kennedy’s purpose is unite the people of the U.S. and bring everyone together for the good cause of promoting growth in the country. He creates a very inspirational tone in order to establish a connection with the U.S. people. In his speech Kennedy really used several rhetorical strategies of persuasion to motivate and persuade the U.S. people that they made the right choice in choosing him.
Achieving Racial Equality On April 12th, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was leading a peaceful protest in the city of Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in him being arrested and jailed. Later that day, eight clergymen responded with the statement “A Call For Unity” in The Birmingham News requesting he ends all of his protests. A few days later, King created a response to the statement in the form of an open letter. In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. develops a well-proposed argument in response to the eight clergymen who published the statement. Throughout the letter, King uses rhetorical appeal in order to give the viewer a sense of King’s credibility, his emotions, and also his logic on why he does what he does.
“If a free society can not help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”(Kennedy, 1961) Statements such as these demonstrate how Kennedy appealed to the citizens by simply using reason. The use of logos in his speech was minimal compared to the use of pathos, and ethos.
Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, was well known for his nonviolent movement to bring justice and to an end to the segregation of the people in the United States back in the 1950s. With King being the leader of a peaceful protest, it failed to bring equally to the colored people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled as an “outsider” who was “hatred and violence” and that his actions were “unwise and untimely” from the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen (clergymen). In response, on the day of April 16, 1963, he wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to declare and defense his movement was not “unwise and untimely” at all. To analyze his points, King used the powerful literary devices of pathos- use of an emotional appeal.ethos-
In his prominent 1961 Inaugural Address, John F. Kennedy extensively employs pathos, parallelism, antithesis, and varied syntax to captivate millions of people, particularly to persuade them to stand together and attempt to further human rights for the “betterment” of the world. Kennedy’s effective use of various rhetorical styles succeeds in persuading his audience –the world and the U.S. citizens—that his newly-seized position as the U.S. President will be worthwhile for all. Evident throughout his entire address, Kennedy employs a cogent pathos appeal to keep his audience intrigued. This can be demonstrated when Kennedy initially proclaims: “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” who he urges to be “unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of.human rights to which this nation has always been committed.”
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.
On June 11, 1963, John F. Kennedy made history when he pleaded for support on live television. While a majority of the American people were shocked by his plea, many Americans saw the broadcast as a spark igniting a change in the way African American’s were treated. That evening, John F. Kennedy asked the American people for their support of his Civil Rights Bill. The bill, one of the examples in which Kennedy responded to the Civil Rights Movement, would bring an end to segregation in public places, among other Jim Crow laws. However, much of his response involved the national outlook on the events that took place in the Civil Rights Movement.
Whenever Martin Luther King Junior, began to speak, he held everybody’s attention. This was the case in 1963 during the pinnacle of the Civil Rights Movement when Martin gave his career defining speech “I Have a Dream”. Over a quarter million people attended the protest, and the crowd varied in color as well as cause. A crowd of this size would certainly frighten most people; but Martin was not the type of man to be phased easily. Martin grew up on the racist streets of Atlanta, Georgia and faced much adversity in his life. Not even thirty-five Martin would give a speech that would shake an embroiled nation to its core. Martin Luther King Junior gave a speech to beautifully wove together the three appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos into one
Since the main reason of his sermon is to inspire rather than educate, Kennedy rarely uses any logical pleads. Yet, Kennedy adequately uses passionate dialect to make the people sense their involvement in what all the President says. Kennedy composes the assignment to bring back tranquility and good-wealth as not only his aim, but of the public as well. With famed verses like, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” Kennedy makes the spectators feel inclined to make an impact in the world they live. Apart from infusing a sense of obligation in the crowd, Kennedy’s greatest element in his speech was the aptitude to arouse a feeling of esteem in the audience. Kennedy constantly uses phrases about freedom and sovereignty to remind the people they still are. “The heirs of that first revolution.” This dialect portrays America as a powerful and patriarch republic that possesses greater philanthropy of all the other nations around the world. Even though much of the address is fervent in tone, Kennedy devotes a large section of his topic to outline his ethos to all inhabitants of the world. JFK introduced the use of ethos at the inception of his address. Kennedy was very young when he came into office, but he was still obliged to act at the same status as former presidents. Attentive to this condition, Kennedy
For example, whites had sympathy for African Americans and parents had sympathy for their children. The way that King tells his speech takes the focus off of race and reestablishes it on the aspiration of a world without racism. “.by making his audience no longer hate Negroes and instead hate racism and wish for a new, better world.” (L., Anson). Dr. King made the audience sympathize with African Americans, helping the audience realize that racist people and biased ideas caused the true dilemma of discrimination.
King peacefully pleads for racial tolerance and the end of segregation by appealing to the better side of white Americans. His attempt to persuade America about the justice of his cause, and to gain support for the civil rights movement was emotionally moving. He spoke to all races, but his rhetoric was patriotic, and culturally similar to, and focused on African-Americans. He was able to make practical use of a history many Americans are proud of. The use of repetition reinforced his words making it simpler and more straightforward to follow. His speech remains powerful because it is still relevant today, like economic injustices and stereotyping. This reading can be applied to remedying current issues of stereotyping, racism, and discrimination by changing white racial resentment and eliminating racial
Martin Luther King Jr. have dreams of the nation they are trying to form. These instances of envisioning are prevalent in March and are often touching. Dr. King in the text makes an bold statement that demonstrates to the reader why great leaders in this time period in history made a great change in our nation. While talking to Robert Kennedy regarding the unlawful arrest of African Americans in Jackson Mississippi, King speaks to him about why they must continue protesting. King implores, “I’m deeply appreciative of what the administration is doing. I see a ray of hope, but I am different from my father. I feel the need of being free now.” (Lewis and Aydin 96). Martin Luther King not only speaks in terms of a dream when he uses the words ‘ray of hope’, but when he says that he ‘feels the need of being free now’, he envisions a world that could be different. A world contradicting the racism and hate that those of African descent have experienced since the beginning of American history. Though this isn’t Martin’s famous ‘I have a dream speech’, it is evident that he has had a dream and a plan to fulfill it long before the speech that America will remember for the rest of its history. John Lewis had the pleasure of working with Dr. King and sharing his values in the text. John Lewis also has dreams of what America could become—John sees excellent value in the potential of individuals to change America. After Robert Kennedy pulls him aside to reverence the change that has occurred in him being ‘woke’, John explains why People like Kennedy make his dream for America come true. John speaks, “It showed me something about Robert Kennedy that I came to respect: even though he could be a little rough—ruthless, some would say—he was willing to learn, to grow, and to change.” (Lewis and Aydin 152). John has dedicated his life to this movement—giving up an education and other possible opportunities to address injustices among his brothers. In the text, the
In a time of time where few were willing to tune in, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood gladly, assembled and held the consideration of more than 200,000 individuals. Martin Luther King, Jr 's. "I Have a Dream" discourse was extremely compelling and motivational for African Americans in 1963. Numerous variables influenced Kings ' discourse in an extremely positive way; the immense feeling behind the words, conveying the discourse on the progressions of the commemoration of the President who vanquished subjection. What 's more, not just was this message perfectly written in the trust of African Americans, yet the hidden message for white individuals, unrest and peace. To empower feeling from both sides of his audience members, King utilized a determination
King, Kennedy proceeds to empathize with the crowd and calls upon his own ethos, reminding them of the assassination of his own brother. “I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.” (American Rhetoric, 2001). He brings up this incident to prove an important point, which gains the attention of the audience makes the message stand out. He included the fact that JFK was shot by a white man to demonstrate to the crowd that violence is not restricted to white on black, or black on black, but that it has no boundaries. The addition of this detail was to decrease the crowd’s anger toward white people after Dr. King’s death. The ethos in Kennedy’s speech is fortified with passion, concern, and a commitment to carry on Dr. King’s legacy and he relays this in such a way that makes his message easy to follow. He plans and finishes his speech in a manner that makes his words clear to listeners, states his points plainly so the audience can identify with them, and repeats the key point of what is needed in the United States (Zarefsky, 2011), “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness…” (American Rhetoric, 2001). The repetition of these words drives across the significance of
It is 11 June, 1963, and the Alabama National Guardsmen are called to the University of Alabama to ensure the safe admission of two black students. That same afternoon, John F. Kennedy addresses the nation in an attempt to sooth flared tempers on both sides of the debate. Despite the limited time for preparation, “… it was one of his best speeches–a heartfelt appeal in behalf of a moral cause that included several memorable lines calling upon the country to honor its finest traditions” (Dallek). Indeed, part of this heartfelt spirit is likely derived from the relative spontaneity of the speech. Nevertheless, Kennedy is well-recognized as skilled in his use of language (Renehan), and purposefully employs several methods to create his appeals.