...John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech: A Rhetorical Analysis John F Kennedy delivered one of the finest speeches on January 20, 1961 after being sworn into office. His inauguration speech was so powerful that it captured the entire nations attention, and quotes from it are still remembered by people today. It is one of the finest speeches ever written. It provides a strong appeal to pathos, ethos and logos, and it is because of this that people who never heard the speech can quote lines from it. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He graduated from Harvard, and joined the navy. He worked as a reporter before entering the political arena. He later wrote “profiles in courage” which won the Pulitzer Prize Award. Being that JFK was the youngest president to ever be in office there is no doubt that he encountered a lot of skepticism. This speech had many purposes but most importantly it gave him positive recognition. The inaugural address was written to encourage the American public to get actively involved with their country. It also ... middle of paper ... ...61 that made this speech so memorable, emotional, and meaningful. In conclusion this essay was both powerful and eloquent. Its use of expressive and figurative language makes it a memorable speech. JFK uses his speech to communicate his commitment to the American public as well as the expected changes. His use of logos, ethos, and pathos makes it an incredible piece of writing...
Words: 270 - Pages: 2
...see a wall dividing people. What they really see is a nation that is working together to be the best they can be. This in return gives them hope for their future as a free people. Mr. Kennedy does an outstanding job of persuading the people of Berlin to keep fighting because what they will see in the final outcome of their struggle will far exceed those recent trialing times. He does this by sincerely telling the people, “When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe” (Kennedy). When that is achieved then the people of Berlin and the country of Germany will be united. John F. Kennedy successfully used the rhetorical appeal of pathos extremely well in his speech. He tugs at the heart strings of his listeners. Kennedy states this about the wall that divids them, “An offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together” (Kennedy). He is saying that he feels sorry for them and that no nation should have to experience what they have gone through. He does know what they are going through because our nation went through a similar expierence which involved our Civil War. The two are different but they both show how difficult it can be to live in a nation that is seperated. The people of Berlin recognized what we have...
Words: 1116 - Pages: 5
...As many may know, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. The three documents that were provided all discuss the same thing, the inauguration of JFK. Although they do discuss the same topic, each one is done in a different manner because the first document is the speech itself, the second is someone looking back on the day of the speech, and the third is a photograph of the inauguration. Starting with the first document, it can be concluded that it is the speech that John F. Kennedy had given at his inauguration. It really allows one to gain an understanding of JFK’s thinking and learn more about what he had planned. In the document it reads,”We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom.” First, he uses “we” frequently along with similar pronouns. Another point of this...
Words: 612 - Pages: 3
...John F. Kennedy, our 35th president, wrote one of the best inaugural speeches. The speech explained how Kennedy felt about patriotism and how our armed forces took their lives for our country. In this dialogue, JFK shows his true patriotism and how much he cares about our country and the world. In his speech, Kennedy adds that we are lucky to have soldiers that are brave enough to risk their lives everyday. Not everybody gets a chance to serve their country. Americans can go outside knowing that they’re safe and no one will hurt them, yet other countries have very little, or no soldiers, and cannot defend themselves. Everyone should be thankful for their soldiers, as they give us our freedom. “Can we forge against these enemies a grand...
Words: 382 - Pages: 2
...In1961, John F Kennedy was elected as the president. When he prepared to be qualified as a president, he gave a public speech—JFK’s inaugural address— to motivate not only Americans but also foreigners to unite and to protect their liberty. For making sense with all of audiences, he applied the skillful rhetorical devices—repetition and tactical reasoning. First, the president JFK reasons with audience by appealing to pathos in three times in his speech. At the beginning, he says: “To those old allies …we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends…” for increasing his credibility. He gives old allies a promise--they will not betray them; they will ally forever; they are always friends— so that old allies will tend to trust them. His promise not...
Words: 505 - Pages: 3
...JFK was the 35th president of the United State during the cold-war time, and he was Catholic. We all acknowledge that JFK’s inaugural address has become one of the most famous and classic speech in history, because it has the strong power of words and phrases. Millions of his audiences were moved by JFK's inaugural address fifty years ago; even now we still are impressed by its rhetorical devices. One of JFK’s most effective methods in the speech is his strong diction. From the beginning to the end of the passage, JFK creates a directive and decisive tone to move his audience. Certainly, there are some words used to convince and to persuade people in the speech: steady, powerful, and pledge, for showing audiences the speaker's passion and drawing...
Words: 555 - Pages: 3
...movement, the Cold War, the Nuclear Arms Race, and a multitude of other global and national conflicts, at age forty three, the country’s youngest elected president took office. Thirty fifth president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, outlines the optimistic goals he hopes to accomplish while in office, in his 1961 Inaugural Address. Kennedy strives to demonstrate for Americans and citizens worldwide, why national and international unity are imperative to human survival. He uses rhetorical devices to capture the audience’s attention, so they will work with him and help him achieve peace. Kennedy supports the reason the nation must work together, stresses the need for international unity and peace,...
Words: 934 - Pages: 4
...eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.” Sentence structure is yet another key rhetorical component in enforcing the effectiveness of Kennedy’s address. He varied his sentence length and the meaning of his sentences. Short sentences often tend to be emotional ones, while long ones tend to be intellectual, contemplative, or descriptive. Some short sentences were elaborate, and some short sentences were plainly simple. By using a variety of compositions, this allows Kennedy to address all of his main ideas into an uncomplicated configuration while still maintaining a formal tone. He also incorporates structural repetition to create a polar opposite effect. The first sentence of every paragraph in paragraphs six through ten Kennedy has a direct reference “to” someone. Kennedy connects all of the paragraphs together and draws attention to them so that whomever he is addressing feels a personal connection to him through anaphora. As the address goes on, his points become clearer, because they are focused on individually as opposed to mixing them all together in one paragraph. By using the same system of repetition in paragraphs fifteen through eighteen by starting each paragraph with “let both sides…”. Yet again anaphora allows Kennedy to distinctly define his objectives and points for his presidency. The final rhetorical device that Kennedy utilizes is antithesis. He uses it in not only a literal comparison, but also metaphorically. Antithesis...
Words: 731 - Pages: 3
...Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented a very compelling ...ar 5, 2012 ... Ashley Martin AP Lang and comp 1 28 12 JFK Inaugural Address Rhetorical Analysis President John F. Kennedy presented...
Words: 576 - Pages: 3
...John Fitzgerald Kennedy is credited as being one of America’s greatest speakers. That is why, when asked to choose a speech to do a rhetorical analysis on from the Top 100 American Speeches on www.americanrhetoric.com, I had to choose his “Inaugural Address” from January 20, 1961. This speech is ranked second, under Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream.” President Kennedy utilized many of the tools typically used in rhetorical or persuasive writing. He took full advantage of Aristotle’s three areas of rhetorical speech writing: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, paired along with other literary tools such as repetition, rhythm, and comparison. President Kennedy opens his speech by establishing credibility, or ethos, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.(Americanrhetoric.com)” This excerpt tells the American people that he has followed the rules and has a legitimate responsibility to the American public as did the Presidents in the past. He is official. Then, a few moments later, JFK begins to capitalize on the emotions of the people, tying himself to them, identifying with them by using words such as “we.” This is the pathos part of his speech, “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...John Fitzgerald Kennedy is credited as being one of America’s greatest speakers. That is why, when asked to choose a speech to do a rhetorical analysis on from the Top 100 American Speeches on www.americanrhetoric.com, I had to choose his “Inaugural Address” from January 20, 1961. This speech is ranked second, under Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream.” President Kennedy utilized many of the tools typically used in rhetorical or persuasive writing. He took full advantage of Aristotle’s three areas of rhetorical speech writing: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, paired along with other literary tools such as repetition, rhythm, and comparison. President Kennedy opens his speech by establishing credibility, or ethos, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.(Americanrhetoric.com)” This excerpt tells the American people that he has followed the rules and has a legitimate responsibility to the American public as did the Presidents in the past. He is official. Then, a few moments later, JFK begins to capitalize on the emotions of the people, tying himself to them, identifying with them by using words such as “we.” This is the pathos part of his speech, “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...constraints against Kennedy’s attempt to help the audience find wisdom in a time of despair, Kennedy was able to recognize his audiences exigencies and subdue violence in the city of Indianapolis (Anatold & Bittner, 31). He was able to do this through the rhetorical situation, defined by Lloyd F. Bitzer as “a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the exigence” (Bitzer, 6). Kennedy understood Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric defined as, “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Aristotle, 2). Kennedy had to establish a proposal of understanding and compassion within his audience, to ignite the vision of justice that King worked for. His use of pathos and ethos that Aristotle defines as modes of persuasion, allowed Kennedy to identify and establish trust with his audience through his emotional appeal and credibility. This relationship he creates with his audience helps them agree later on with his argument for peace and non-violence. Ultimately, the rhetorical situation permitted Kennedy to address and recognize the audience’s exigencies, convince them through pathos and ethos that further polarization would harm their cause, and dissuade them from turning to violence on the night of King’s death. Kennedy was...
Words: 2282 - Pages: 10
...Patrick Brown Mr.Challandes AP Language and Composition 24 February 2015 Malcolm X: Building Up the Fire of the Civil Rights Movement “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it” (Malcolm X). This quote from one of Malcolm X’s speeches embodies who he was as a person and what he valued. As a civil rights activist, Malcolm learned not to let the hate of others prevent him from living out his life the way he wanted. While others pushed a pacifist movement, Malcolm understood that there would be no peaceful way to resolve the civil rights issues. Malcolm was prepared to fight for his own rights, and even put his own life at risk. The impact that he had on the Civil rights movement was rivaled only by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and all of his ideas were culminated into one speech, called The Ballot or the Bullet. Malcolm X’s speech comes during April of 1963, a critical time during the American Civil rights movement, and Malcolm’s ability to target and rile up the emotions of his African-American audience is what makes his speech so powerful. During the 1960’s, America was a hostile environment for an ambitious African-American citizen. Although executive leaders, such as John F. Kennedy, were promising that they had been doing as much as possible to improve civil rights, not enough actual progress had been made to improve the lives of African-Americans. In 1963 alone, a year in which the civil rights...
Words: 2619 - Pages: 11
...Organization Development: An Instructor’s Guide for Effective Teaching by Joan V. Gallos Purpose of this Instructor’s Guide The purpose of this instructor’s guide is to support and energize individuals who use Organization Development: A Reader in their teaching – instructors who teach courses on organizational change, OD, the history of the field, leading change, consulting skills, and organizational effectiveness and health in undergraduate and graduate programs in management, the professions, and the administrative sciences, as well as those involved in professional development and corporate education activities. More specifically, this guide provides opportunities for both new and seasoned educators to learn more about (1) the possibilities in teaching about organizational change and development; (2) ways to design courses or successful learning modules for diverse student audiences using Organization Development; and (3) suggested cases, activities, and other support materials that complement use of Organization Development. Overview of the Instructor’s Guide This instructor’s guide is divided into four parts. PART 1 provides an introduction to Organization Development: A Reader. It discusses the overall purpose and content of the book, the philosophy and central tenets that underpin it. PART 2 explores teaching with Organization Development. It contains chapter-by-chapter summaries and suggested ways to think about teaching various kinds and levels...
Words: 31240 - Pages: 125
...I PRAISE FOR The 4-Hour Workweek "It's about time this book was written. It is a long-overdue manifesto for the mobile lifestyle, and Tim Ferriss is the ideal ambassador. This will be huge." —JACK CANFIELD, cocreator of Chicken Soup for the Soul®, 100+ million copies sold "Stunning and amazing. From mini-retirements to outsourcing your life, it's all here. Whether you're a wage slave or a Fortune 500 CEO, this book will change your life!" —PHIL TOWN, New York Times bestselling author of Rule #/ "The 4-Hour Workweek is a new way of solving a very old problem: just how can we work to live and prevent our lives from being all about work? A world of infinite options awaits those who would read this book and be inspired by it!" —MICHAEL E. GERBER, founder and chairman of E-Myth Worldwide and the world's #1 small business guru "This is a whole new ball game. Highly recommended."—DR. STEWART D. FRIEDMAN, adviser to Jack Welch and former Vice President Al Gore on work/ family issues and director of the Work/Life Integration Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania "Timothy has packed more lives into his 29 years than Steve Jobs has in his 51." —TOM FOREMSKI, journalist and publisher of SiliconValleyWatcher.com "If you want to live life on your own terms, this is your blueprint." —MIKE MAPLES, cofounder of Motive Communications (IPO to $260M market cap) and founding executive of Tivoli (sold to IBM for $750M) "Thanks to Tim Ferriss, I have more time in my life...
Words: 47316 - Pages: 190
