How Does Kennedy Use Anaphora In Jfk Inaugural Address

Jake McKervey ENGL1010 Zach Largey 3/2/15 Paper #3 Rhetorical Analysis of JFK’s Inaugural Address On January 20th, 1961, the President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy gave his Inaugural Address. A speech that he started writing in mid-November of the previous year. Slowly but surely putting a speech together that will long be remembered. Kennedy knew that his speech needed empowering because this moment can be a defining moment in a president’s term of office.

Introducing the sentences, he uses the phrases, “Let both sides”, and, in speaking to different audiences, “My fellow …” and “To those…” The effect of the hortative sentences connotes a tone of authority and elicits a sense of encouragement, bringing a sense of unification and willingness to unify the audience with the new President. JFK exhorts his audience through the use of anaphora, the repetitions of a repeated phrase, to seek for “what problems unite” both sides. JFK proposes his resolution in resolving the “how” to unite two contending sides. The audience is encouraged by his optimistic approach in both sides coming together as one.

Kennedy’s inaugural address signifies the legacy of hope that his presidency created. This is done through the use of anaphora and imagery. In Kennedy’s inauguration address, he uses anaphora to bring political parties together behind common goals. While describing his expectations for the nation during his presidency, he says, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations” (Kennedy 3).

John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was elected on November 8, 1960. On January 20, 1961, Kennedy delivered a reassuring speech to display how he will run the country. The question of what direction the country was going to go in after his election worried many citizens. The speech is not only targeted towards American citizens; it is a message that JFK desires to be spread beyond the United States and throughout other countries. He wishes for every nation, including America, to acknowledge that the United States will give assistance to any country in need of help.

Top 100 Rhetorical Speeches: John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address In 1945, World War Two ended with the unconditional surrender of the Japanese Empire. In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed by ten European nations, the United States of America, and Canada in order to organize a united front against the Soviet threat. In 1955, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union signed the Warsaw Pact as a communist counter to the capitalist NATO. In 1961, in the midst of a heated cold war, John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) stood in front of the nation and delivered his inaugural address as the 35th president of the United States of America (USA).

In John F. Kennedy’s incentive Inaugural Address speech, he inspires his audience by using rhetorical devices such as antithesis, parallelism and pathos to create unity and expand human rights in his country. The first implement that is introduced in this speech is

Because Kennedy is the new president, he has to establish credibility with the citizens and ultimately the whole world by appealing to ethos. In his speech, he tries to gain peoples’ loyalty and trust when he says “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed.” Kennedy shows sympathy by including himself in the group of regular Americans by using the first person “we” throughout his speech.

As President Kennedy enters office he gives an speech on the celebration of freedom; symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning of a new nation. Kennedy rises for the opportunity for persuasion after his inauguration has been addressed and he scarcely beats nixon. President Kennedy uses his authority for persuasion to bring the american people together under his power. The president uses the experience of war,poverty,and the desire for peace to develop an emotional appeal between the U.S and the world population. In this speech Kennedy uses ethos,pathos,logos,as well as other rhetorical devices to convince the audience.

He used rhetorical devices such as anaphora, parallel structure, and rhetorical questions to appeal to the listener and future reader’s sense of pathos. In Kennedy’s address to the nation, he used anaphora to trigger an emotional response from the listener. He gives the listener a sense of safety under his control, as he wants to “Let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear.

John F. Kennedy uses literary devices to capture the attention of the audience, sets himself equal to his audience getting their attention and support, and uses the christian religion to strike the emotions and gain the support of his audience. Kennedy uses many literary devices to catch the attention of his audience. One of these devices is repetition. One example of repetition that Kennedy uses is, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

In his speech Kennedy uses different rhetorical devices to unify the citizens of both the United States and the world. Kennedy was giving this speech after winning by a very small margin of votes so he was trying to unite the people of the United States and show he was the correct choice for the president. This speech was given during the Cold War so he was trying to connect the people around the whole world and establish peace. Kennedy was able to unify the people and try to establish peace while at the same time making himself seem like a very competent leader. In his speech Kennedy tries to build his credibility as a personable leader by creating ethos.

He is also able to effectively communicate his ideas to the people of America to portray world peace. At the end of his address, although not the first time, JFK brings up God by saying: “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.” (Kennedy 28). Kennedy portrays his religious beliefs by appealing to both pathos because, in times of desperation, people look to God for guidance and help, and ethos, because God is a trusted ideal that many people rely on. JFK uses anaphora in a similar way that Bush does by helping to incorporate the people to see what he is seeing.

Kennedy realized how easy it was for a country to break apart in a time that they needed to come together. Being sworn into office, he could see the fear of the future in the eyes of the nation and truly wanted to reassure them that by being willing to face change as one, success was possible. Kennedy was able to assertively get his point across by emphasizing how prioritizing unification of the country is by relying on

"...to convert our good words into good deeds…" and "to assist free men and free governments…". Like many other politicians, Kennedy promises to do what he says he will do. It is meant to give a positive impact for United States citizens, that they can trust this man with their future in America and not mess it up. He promises to assist other countries and help them keep their independence by backing them up when threat of war reaches them. The quote "...this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers.

The Effective Use of Persuasion in Kennedy’s Inaugural Address The twentieth century was a tense and stressful time period for the United States. Towards the middle of it, the time most commonly known as “The Cold War” began. This marked the beginning of the arms race between this country and the Soviet Union.