Rhetorical Analysis Of John F. Kennedy's Inauguration Speech

John F. Kennedy, also known as JFK, is perhaps the most-loved president in American history. Our 35th President of the United States served from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. Although he was young and did not get to serve his full term he accomplished many great things. All these documents embody the beginning of an admirable presidency and the commencement of a new hope for a nation gone forlorn.     Kennedy served at the pinnacle of the Cold War and spent a large fragment of his presidency focusing on managing relations with the Soviet Union.

JFK wanted others to unite and help each other during a hard time. Kennedy went through many other wars and hard times before his presidency such as serving in the military during WWII. Kennedy wanted to strengthen the military and wanted to help out other small countries around the US so the Soviet Union would not be able to launch nuclear weapons. Kennedy emphasized “To our sister republics south of the border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance” (Kennedy par. 10). Since Kennedy had the war experience he tried his hardest to tell everyone what is right and how everyone should handle

In the matter of fact, he uses antithesis three times just within the first sentence when he says, “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying renewal as well as change” (Kennedy 1). The reason Kennedy jumps straight into antithesis is because it helps bring attention to the main points that he wants to focus on. In other words, with the use of rhetorical

Another example is, “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” This make the point of the speech more powerful by uniting the two extremes, and, by extent, everyone in the middle, in the problems that he hopes to solve. This also happens in paragraphs six and seven when Kennedy references “those old allies” and “those new States.” At the end of his speech Kennedy uses antithesis to encourage people to think of helping everyone instead of just themselves by asking Americans to, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country,” and for everyone to, “Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of

John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1961 – a time full of uncertainty. In order to assure America that he was the right person for the job, he had to deliver an Inaugural Address that would comfort the American people, assuring them that they made the right decision in electing him. He did just that. The first Roman Catholic President delivered his Inaugural Address with powerful words that not only assured Americans who voted for him that they made the right decision, but also swayed the opinions of Americans who did not. Kennedy’s use of parallelisms in his Inaugural Address, specifically anaphora and antithesis, enables him to effectively inform America of his intentions as President and prove that he is the right man for the job.

On April 10, 1962, steel companies raised the prices by 3.5 percent of their products. President John F. Kennedy had tried to maintain steel prices at a stable rate. President John F. Kennedy, known for his diligence and persuasion, held a news conference about the hikes in steel prices. President John F. Kennedy, in his speech, uses rhetorical strategies such as diction, emotional appeals, and a persuasive tone to convince Americans that steel companies are declining the standards to maintain stable prices. Kennedy states that the steel companies are a national problem due to the increase of steel prices.

John F. Kennedy discusses and analyzes on how the nation differs from the past and present day in that time period. Kennedy narrators on the division and war in the the world to appeal to the audience patriotism by using pathos and logos. In this speech President Kennedy states “to thoses who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request; that both sides begin the quest for peace, before the dark power of destruction unleashed.” He uses this quote to obtain a logical appeal to the appeal to the people. Kennedy uses logos to show that he wants the nation to come together and be humble together in one peace.

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.

J.F Kennedy, the president of United States wanted to put the first Americans to the moon-America exploring the moon, so he directed his speech to the people of taxes and Rice University to promote his space exploration program that will help America to be the first country to explore the moon. He believes that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. Throughout J.F Kennedy's speech, the speaker makes effective use of evidence, reasoning, rhetorical elements, and rhetorical devices that together form his argument to gain people support for his space exploration program. J.F Kennedy was trying to prove his point of view by giving examples and using a lot of Rhetorical devices and appeals that would grab the reader's attention

He repeats phrases such as, “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” (Kennedy). This makes the audience emotional for change because they see this opportunity. Kennedy phrases this theme like a metaphor of a torch. The torch represents the ability of it to be passed and the flame represents a new beginning. This hot, fiery flicker of hope is being put on this fresh new generation, which relates more to JFK as he is young.

Kennedy can see that the country is afraid of the future that will present itself after the Cold War and beyond. It is clear that with war and chaos, it is easy for citizens of the world to turn into their own beliefs and stray away from each other. When using antithesis, Kennedy juxtaposes what being divided or united can do for all citizens. Starting his speech, JFK states, “United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do (Kennedy 1)…”

Robert Kennedy’s speech was given during a campaign rally in 1968, he broke the news to a crowd of supporters that MLK had been killed. This speech was analyzed through a PDF copy of the text. The purpose of RFK’s speech is to inform the audience of MLK’s death, create a sense of comfort and calmness. RFK includes a quote from the poet Aeschylus

In 1962 President John F. Kennedy held a press conference in which he informed the audience on his stance for the rising steel prices. Kennedy not only wanted to inform the audience, he wanted to get them on his side of the argument. He wanted to show the audience that the rising steel prices were going to have a negative impact on the nation. To do this Kennedy used some of the rhetoric strategies and tools. He used periodic sentences, anaphora, and diction.

The use of antithesis in Kennedy 's speech is demonstrated in the statement: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country” (para. 25). Kennedy’s use of antithesis are used to strengthen his argument. He strengthened his argument by inviting the audience to think about what one can do for the country. Another example Kennedy uses, “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate” (para. 14). Kennedy is saying to never have fear to negotiate and face our fears.

Robert Francis Kennedy gave one of the most important speeches of American history in the twentieth century. This speech, given just hours after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was one that had a tremendous impact on those who listened. Even today this speech has a timeless aura about it considering that this country still faces racial tension and violence every day. The speech was given on April 4th, 1968, on the same day of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Senator Robert Kennedy had just spoken at Notre Dame and Ball State University when he learned that King had been assassinated.