Corrinna Renville Mr. Erikson English Lang and Comp 26 February 2016 JFK speech analysis Since the birth of the United States, the president has always had more responsibility than to just be a leader. He is to represent the people by being one of the people. The inaugural speech has always been a milestone for the country in terms of a first glimpse of what the future years might look like with the new leader. It is the first time that the new president can present to American people the plan they have in leading the country. The key to a successful inaugural speech is to have it be memorable and powerful, and John F. Kennedy's is noexception. Through the use of rhetoric, President Kennedy is able to clearly pave his plans plans for America …show more content…
and make them known to his audience. Kennedy extensively uses parallelism and sentence structure to craft a speech that that is successful In his inaugural address, Kennedy uses parallelism to better convey his points to the audience.
Throughout his speech, the placement of Kennedy’s ideas in a parallel structure emphasizes the what he thinks is most important. In his inaugural speech, he tunes into the idea that the United States, “shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.” The use of parallelism builds upon the belief that the American people are ready for change, which in return better connects the audience with the speech. Kennedy also uses a parallelism and a parallel structure to more efficiently deliver his speech. Instead of having lengthy drawn out sentences, the president condenses his main message into short sentences. Not only does this fit all of his ideas into concise flowing sentences, but demonstrates the order in which he finds his ideas most important. In his speech, he also makes an effort to attempt to ease the American people's minds in a time of international tension. His use of parallelism accentuates his goal of helping the people feel safe by saying, “support any friend, oppose any foe.” Not only does the statement show his extensive use of parallelism, but it also plays upon the use of antithesis. Although, parallelism and antithesis are closely connected, they both maintain distinct roles in Kennedy’s inaugural
address. Like parallelism, the use of antithesis also plays a large role in the president's speech. Kennedy uses antithesis in order to show his audience how his presidency will be different. He highlights this idea by stating phrases, “symbolized an end as well as a beginning” and “signified renewal as well as change.” Normally, these words would contrast each other, but they actually help to center on Kennedy's main focus on how he plans to change the world. Through his election, Kennedy expresses his hopes to restore order and cooperation throughout the world. One purpose of his speech is to enlist the help of the American people on his mission, and his able to capture their attention through antithesis. Just as parallelism is effective by allowing the audience to fully connect with the idea without directly stating what he means, antithesis is able imply the same meaning. Kennedy’s use of contrasting words solidifies his conviction to convince the American people on all that they can achieve together through this presidency.. The use of parallelism and antithesis contribute to the effectiveness of Kennedy's speech. He is able to maintain a connection with his audience throughout the duration of his speech. Parallelism is able to accomplish not only establishing a connection, but to also aid the flowing of each sentence. Antithesis helped to further accentuate his ideas. Kennedy used these two forms of rhetoric to his advantage when crafting his memorable inaugural speech.
Every president strives to remain positive in the public’s eye. Yes, a despised president can still hold office, but the country will always respond much more positively and remember the president better if he or she is viewed favorably. This is particularly true during times of great distress or crises, such as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, or Hurricane Sandy in 2012. On April 10, 1962, the United States’ largest steel companies raised steel prices by 3.5 percent. President John F. Kennedy had repeatedly called for stable prices and wages, as the country was already under economic strain from foreign affairs. Kennedy held a news conference on April 11, 1962 in order to address this sharp increase in steel prices. He was well aware of the fact that he had to maintain a positive image to
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.
Those words were, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country” ("Inaugural Address."). In order to achieve all these feats, JFK need a nation united. JFK pulled on the nations heartstrings by reminding the nation of it’s core values, which it was founded on. He appeals to that “tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage” side of the American public ("Inaugural Address."). He later goes on to say that change will not happen overnight, but rather change is a continuous process that is always evolving and
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He graduated from Harvard, and joined the navy. He worked as a reporter before entering the political arena. He later wrote “profiles in courage” which won the Pulitzer Prize Award. Being that JFK was the youngest president to ever be in office there is no doubt that he encountered a lot of skepticism. This speech had many purposes but most importantly it gave him positive recognition. The inaugural address was written to encourage the American public to get actively involved with their country. It also reassured them that it was not a contest that he won but rather chance at a beginning. This speech reassured the voters that they made the right choice and informed a country that they were going to see some changes.
This speech proves that Kennedy had a way with words and knew the best way to get a message across. He clearly expressed his feelings but did so without letting them take over. He didn’t scream or shout, but showed he could handle his anger while still letting it shine through. Kennedy used the three appeals, strong diction and syntax, and a well-organized structure of his ideas to convey his purpose; Raise anger in Americans and side with them, while making the steel companies feel guilty for their
Parallelism and pathos within Kennedy’s speech structure is evident in multiple locations. He uses parallelism o show how much the nation was already doing to pull itself out of the economic recession and to stress how raising prices could have a negative effect on the economy. He uses the phrase, “When we are confronted… when we are devoting… when we are asking…,” to show that the nation was dedicating their entire beings to help the nation, but that the rise
Hence, through various rhetorical strategies, Kennedy achieves his purpose of gaining the spectators’ favor through stressing major current events that concerned the American people. These significant concepts include American patriotism and American diplomacy, stressed when he begins four consequent paragraphs with the same recurring three words, “Let both sides.” Kennedy’s brilliant use of pathos, parallelism, antithesis, and varied syntax successfully convey his ambitions and hopes for America, as it makes Kennedy’s speech a very memorable one in history.
John F Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States and at 43 years old he was the youngest president to take office. Because of his youth, he stumbled upon much skepticism from his opposition and even a little from his supporters. Kennedy’s inauguration speech was so vital because he needed to make a quick and powerful first impression to America and to the entire world. The address was written to encourage American citizens to get involved with their country and with the issues of the time. This speech reassured the voters that they made the correct choice and informed the country that changes were on there way.
He does this for the reason that he wants to reiterate that American virtues are at the foundations of the people and not the government. Furthermore he creates his earnest tone through parallelism, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This is earnest on the grounds that he not only shows what they need to do, but shows them what they have been doing wrong. His tone was also contemplative in the fact that Kennedy reflects on the issue of nuclear war and the consequences that it entails. The mention of a nuclear crisis intentionally unites everyone, both Republicans and Democrats, in a common goal to defeat a tangible enemy.
In these lines, he showed emotion when asking the world to spread freedom, justice, and to get rid of all the evils in the world. Also in his address, Kennedy asks Americans to stand up to the “long twilight struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war.” As a promoter of world peace, President Kennedy clearly stated that the Soviet Union and the United States were wasting time and money. Following his swearing in, he used allusion in his speech as he stated, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.” Kennedy implies to the countrys independence as an effort to create a great reputation for himself.
John F. Kennedy’s central argument in his inaugural speech is that America needs to act. During this time the Cold War was occurring, causing both America and the Soviet Union to compete in an arms race to see who could make the most nuclear weapons. Kennedy states that America needs to fight for freedom while also negotiating peace with communist countries, especially the Soviet Union. Kennedy does not want a nuclear war to occur, so he wants peace before another world war happens. Kennedy also talks about helping the poor people in other countries.
John F Kennedy delivered one of the best speeches on January 20, 1961.His inauguration speech was very powerful and it gathered the attention of every single person in the nation. It uses a strong appeal to pathos, ethos and logos. Kennedy was the youngest president to be in office. He got his degree from Harvard and later on joined the navy. He wrote “ profiles in courage” which has received one of the most recognized awards, the Pulitzer Prize. This speech had a lot of positive sides to it, but one of the most important things was that it gave him a good look from the outside. The inaugural address was written to let the citizens of America know that they could change this country for the better. It assured all voters
The president’s inaugural address allows the president to lay out his plans and intentions to excite and motivate people across the country. Since the main reason for 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 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.
President John F. Kennedy brings about a new way of thinking in his inaugural speech. He brings in a sense of selflessness and relentlessness for the country. He uses literary devices such as, antithesis, repetition, and rhetorical questions to bring about that sense in the audience. He begins by putting himself to the people and allowing the audience to feel welcomed. The use of literary devices in his speech allows the audience to recognize his goal, which is moving forward and bringing change to the country.
President John F. Kennedy brings about a new judgment in his inaugural speech. He brings in a sense of selflessness and relentlessness for the country. He uses literary devices such as, antithesis, repetition, and rhetorical questions to bring about that sense in the audience. He begins by putting himself for the people and allows the audience to feel welcomed. The use of literary devices in his speech allows audience to recognize his goal which is moving forward and bring change and allows his audience to identify with his goal.