John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech, a speech that gave his plans for the next four years of presidency, and unified all american citizens under one idea. Fifty years later, writer Eleanor Clift published an essay about her beliefs which she meant to show how the united states as a whole failed to carry on JFK’s legacy. JFK’s inaugural speech was very hopeful and positive, while Clift’s essay, “Inside Kennedy’s Inauguration, 50 years on”, was very rueful and somber. Although their purposes and tones contrast, the way that they both use different rhetorical devices makes it so they share one comparison, they both speak to the same audience.…
Equally important, Kennedy effectively uses rhetorical devices such as parallelism, alliteration, and repetition in his Inaugural Address to successfully express his goal for his presidency. For example, Kenney uses parallelism in perhaps his most memorable line of his Inaugural Address, “Ask not what you can do for your country- ask what you can do for your country” (Kennedy). Through parallelism, John F. Kennedy dramatically symbolizes his entire speech into one sentence. By reversing the order of the sentences, the president challenges mankind to withhold personal desires and instead focus on the needs of others. By using parallelism, President Kennedy is able to keep his audience interested. For instance, the president illustrates “power…
John F. Kennedy is one of the nation’s most popular and recognizable presidents of the 20th century. Kennedy is most famous in his presidency for his powerful and inspiring speeches. His positive energy and young yet wise personality made him easy to listen to for all audiences. In fact, on January 20th, 1961 John F. Kennedy delivered one of the most remembered speeches of all time; his inaugural address. At a time of racial tensions, economic hardships, and lingering fears of war, he strived to bring comfort and confidence to the American people. In order to achieve this, Kennedy understood and addressed the need for dire changes to be made for the good of the country, through the involvement of the people. Therefore, Kennedy…
In his speech on April 10,1962, John F. Kennedy accentuates the corruption and negligence of United States Steel and other leading steel corporations for raising steel prices that would in turn have an immense, financial-burden impact on everyday Americans. The intended purpose of his writing piece was to chastise and defame the greedy steel corporations as well as obtain support and unification from Americans. Through the use of patriotic diction, hypothetical reasoning, and consistent factual evidence, John F. Kennedy generates a logical and emotional appeal in order to exemplify the urge to resolve the devastating economic and social distress Americans had faced from the recession.…
In a brief word, JFK wisely involved the use of rhetorical devices and appeals within the above excerpts by persuading the audience in an innovating approach using alliteration, antithesis, and pathos. Because of such devices, indeed, influenced the mindset of the addresses Kennedy’s inaugural address turn out to be stronger and inspirational to advocate individuals to eradicate every problem that might affect their success or purpose and life.…
There is a young man sitting in front of the television staring into the eyes of the viewers before he glances down to start speaking. Edward Kennedy’s speaks on the tragedy that happened on July 18, 1969 on Chappaquiddick Island, that resulted in the death of a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne. Mary Jo was a secretary of the late Robert Kennedy and was still working with the Kennedy family. He begins his speech to communicate that he has “entered a plea of guilty to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident.” (paragraph 1, line 2-3) This confession of the proceedings he has gone through is an example of Bitzer theory on exigence based on the fact that he is not only admitting his crime but stating that there are more proceedings to…
Kennedy applies allusion to attract the audience's attention and build up their confidence. He alludes…
Once he was inaugurated on January 20th, 1961, John F. Kennedy prepared to deliver his famous speech. By using a multitude of devices, Kennedy created a speech that would be remembered as a great ‘call to action’ in history. In a time of trouble and confusion for the American people where threats could attack at any time Kennedy had to portray himself as the blanket of warmth in the Cold War. With his use of Scesis Onomaton, Consonance, and more, Kennedy was able to provide an empowering speech to a people that needed it the most, whilst still maintaining a tone that one could find in a casual conversation between friends.…
The hysteria surrounding communism ravaged the United States of America when John F. Kennedy was elected president. Sputnik was orbiting in space, the Cold War raged in the background and to combat the fear, America needed a strong, dependable leader. At this time, Kennedy barely beat his presidential competitor Richard Nixon causing uneasy feelings in the American public. To alleviate the apprehension, John F. Kennedy delivered an inspiring inaugural speech which sent a message of strength to the nation and world. Kennedy saturated the speech with rhetoric and realistic goals resulting in support from the entire nation. Although the speech was mainly intended to inspire American citizens, Kennedy used repetition, catalog, and allusions to convey a clarion in the final sections of his inaugural speech.…
Sometimes one may wonder what the life of politicians and other nationally known figures lives were like. It is hard to fully understand what they are like because those who wonder were not able to live them first hand, but in the nonfiction biography, “Up Close: Robert F, Kennedy a Twentieth Century Life” by Marc Aronson, the reader is able to learn and understand on a deeper level what Kennedy’s life was like before he was assassinated. The primary ways Aronson was able to convey Kennedy’s life was with the use of rhetorical devices such as rhetorical question and photos to evoke a feeling of pathos as well as ethos throughout the novel.…
They used sound devices within their speeches to help the audience understand and remember what they had to say. For example, King used many metaphors like “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity,” to assist the audience in understanding what feeling poor in the middle of well-off people might feel like and to help them see these things in their mind’s eye. Kennedy also used metaphors to express his thoughts about working together when he said, “a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion.” However, one difference is that while King used metaphors and simile to compare abstract concepts to concrete things, Kennedy did not use any similes at all.…
By bringing up the topic of revolution and mentioning all the hardships people have gone through, Kennedy appeals to the American citizens’ sense of nationalism and pride. Another instance where Kennedy applies pathos is when he says, “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty…Now the trumpet sounds again…--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.” (70). Here, Kennedy says how the course of the country lies with the citizens of America and how they need to cooperate to fight “the common enemies of man”. This makes the citizens feel important and want to actually do something themselves to help. Also, when Kennedy mentions how every generation of Americans have been required to defend against enemies, he, again, appeals to the nationalism and pride of American citizens. The third place where Kennedy appeals to emotion is when he says…
Kennedy used ethos, pathos, and logos as a foundation for a strong developed speech that would carry-out a formal message. Kennedy sets ethos, ethnical appeal, by putting different people of high class to make his argument strong as he starts his address by “Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but celebration of freedom, which symbolizes an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal, as well as change.” He then also establishes logos into different sections. Which he then divides the world into different categories based on the way one lives and what they believe in. Most importantly Kennedy wrapped up his argument up by providing pathos in the appearing of American pride, and other important concepts that will be essential to the success in the Cold…
In Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s speech, he is asking the people of America to understand the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. with compassion and love, not with bitterness and hatred. He uses a sympathetic tone to talk about the struggles he knows the people of America are going through, and relates their issues and feelings to himself. One way Kennedy does this is through the use of repetition. Throughout his entire speech, Kennedy recycles numerous words and phrases. For instance, he repeated the word “compassion” three separate times.…
When electing a president, citizens search for leadership, trust, and security in an individual to lead our nation. During the beginning of the 1960s, many problems had arisen; recovering from a recession, China and the Soviet Union splitting from communism ideology, threats from the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam war beginning, etc. This left the American people perplexed and afraid, in this time we had a newly elected president, John F. Kennedy. Kennedy taking the step to help reassured the people with his speech on the issue of inflation of steel prices on April 11th, 1962. With his charisma and and knowledge, John F. Kennedy used ethos, pathos, and diction to develop his speech and inform the people of his abilities and love for the nation.…