Rhetorical Devices In Jfk Inaugural Address

The inauguration of John F. Kennedy, the former president, in 1961 Washington D.C is a very famous and successful speech. Even though today, over fifty years later, many American people can remember some sentences from it. Due to John’s incredible application of the art of diction and rhetorical devices, this lecture becomes a classic as well as helps him gain more supports. Having won the election by one of the smallest popular vote margins in history, Kennedy had known the great importance of this speech. (Analyzing) Through broadcast on radio and television, the speech was converted to everywhere in the nation. His term of office was during the Cold War, which means he needed to keep the peace. People tempered by war, disciplined by a hard

At the very beginning, “symbolizing an end as well as a beginning –signifying renewal as well as change.” These let the speech have more rhythms. Inaugural address is designed for the whole world, declaring that the United States will have a new president to start a brand new time. Following parallelisms divide the content to separate parts, so that the each paragraph is more targeted. “To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share. To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free. To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery. To our sister republics south of our border. To that world assembly of sovereign states. To those nations who would make themselves our

At the very beginning, he says: “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.” And at somewhere near the end, he says: “Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah -- to "undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free." By delivering these, John establishes his just and reliable image. After the solemn oath, he is a generally acknowledged president. Isaiah was a prophet documented by the Biblical Book of Isaiah. Quotations from his can demonstrate the correctness of John’s opinions.
On the other hand, for logos, when he interprets the reason why we need to help those people struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, he says “if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” Until now, a great number of people still can recite this sentence because of its philosophy. Being friends has much more benefits than being foes. “United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split