Kennedy Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

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1961 was a time full of unease and fear. John Fitzgerald Kennedy became president during this distressing time period, and had to address the nation on what he planned to do with his new position. In this great “Inaugural Address,” he used rhetoric such as parallelism and antithesis to make his points both memorable and impactful. President Kennedy used parallelism constantly throughout his short speech. He wanted everyone’s attention when addressing certain points, so he repeated structures and phrases. Liberty was discussed thoroughly, as the nation would “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe,” to ensure Americans stay free. In this case, the use of “any” followed by a noun forces the listeners to pay attention, as the speech becomes captivating. Later on, Kennedy starts to discuss peace and he uses infinitive such as “to prevent,” “to strengthen,” and “to enlarge” to again hold the listeners’ attentions and make his point memorable.” Let both sides” was also used at the beginning of four sentences, as Kennedy believed that his following points were vital …show more content…
JFK uses this numerous times to engage his audience. Some of his most quotable phrases, in fact, are of this rhetoric. He wanted the nation to “never negotiate out of fear. But...never fear to negotiate.” By speaking it this way though, his point was driven home in two impactful sentences. He does this again in what is undoubtedly the greatest quote from the speech, when he pleads for people to “ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country.” This idea is one of Kennedy's main points he planned to address in his presidency. The Vietnam War was going on, and people were fleeing to escape the draft. So, to urge the nation into helping fight, he uses antithesis and the contrast of selfishness and selflessness, which proves to be effective as his whole speech

Kennedy Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis

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John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address was the speech given on January 21, 1961 when he was appointed the 35th president of the United States. However, his words are more than an acceptance speech - they are a work of literature full of rhetorical devices. Throughout his Inaugural Address, Kennedy relies on the rhetorical devices of parallelism, contrast, and imagery. Kennedy relies on the use of parallelism throughout this Inaugural Address. The best example of this can be seen through paragraphs…

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As an American tradition, presidents give an inaugural speech to the public on behalf of their election and the start of their term. John F. Kennedy gave his iconic speech in 1960 on a cold January morning in Washington, D.C. The president asserts his intentions to build the country and unify the people to help not only the nation, but the universal community as well. The speaker begins his speech with thoughts of peace and ambitions to heal those around him and a promise to aid countries and the…

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John F Kennedy Inaugural Address Essay

An inaugural address is a speech given at Washington D.C. on January 20th, which informs the people of their intentions as a leader, in which John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s inaugural possesses a vast use of rhetorical devices, or surface details in order to accomplish objectives of his speech. John F. Kennedy uses antithesis, parallelism, ethos, syntax, diction, antimetabole, anaphora, and a variety of sentence structures to grasp the audience’s attention, and to demonstrate what he desires to accomplish…

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Essay about DONE DONE JKF

Mikayla Spears Mrs. Christal AP Language Nov 24, 2014 JFK Rhetorical Analysis A strong leader is one who can evoke a sense of security, inspiration, and idealism into their audience. To put it simply, John F. Kennedy was unquestionably somebody who could move a crowd. On January 20, 1961, this young leader was sworn in to office and gave one of the most memorable and moving speeches of all time. As with most inaugural addresses, strong rhetoric is used to persuade the audience about the speaker’s…

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Essay Assignment 3 4 10 2015

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