During his address the President constantly uses images of freedom and liberty as he reminds his listeners that they are, "The heirs of that first revolution." This language prompts the audience to think of the United States as a strong, father-like nation that is responsible for the goodwill of all the nations of the world. Kennedy emphasizes his main points by using antithesis as well. In his first sentence, he says, “We observe today not as a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom.” Such a celebration of freedom is what Kennedy wanted the audience to realize. Later in
Inaugural Address of Barack Obama as well as John Fitzgerald Kennedy is powerful, highly infectious and is considered a classic speech. There are some similarities in them, either in propose or the usage of rhetorical device. Firstly, the ideas delivered mainly focus on the current situation, and inspiration of American dreams. Being confronted with the Cold War, in his address what Kennedy wants to deliver is to make the whole world know its policy, let all the nations understand its choice, that is, America will take the significant task to bring the freedom back, the freedom of its own nation, the freedom of the world. He believes and he wants all the people to believe that America will finally take the role of leading the world into a bright future, with the help of its incomparable democratic tradition, its progresses in science and technology and military affairs and its people’s hard efforts.
He does this by using emotionally charged words to draw in the American public and get them to relate to the topics at hand. "...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 to which this nation has always been committed..." He shows that the country is one. As Kennedy progresses, he also uses Aristotle's logos. Logos is also known as logic. By using these logos such as, "...we pledge our best efforts to help them them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right."
Also, by stating the asyndeton, “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty,” he all but defines Americas wish for liberty. By stating these words, he inspires his listeners to join in America’s determination in helping humankind achieve unity and liberty. Kennedy then shifts to insisting that powerful nations should join forces for the bettering of the world. He supports this by using parallelism in the words, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us…”, “Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms…”, “Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors.”, “Let both sides join in a new endeavor – not a new balance of power, but
The purpose of this statement is to establish his commitment to providing for the common good of the nation by taking the oath of office. JFK continues with an appeal to the emotions, or pathos, of his audience by addressing a topic heavy on the hearts and minds of many Americans with the statement, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty” (Kennedy). He tries to bring peace to his audience and tries to unite them as one. He also backs the up saying, “united, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do”
By linking the aspects to the history of our founding fathers the speech was structured and strong. President Obama uses the theme of history and the method of pathos to create patriotism in his speech. President Obama creates a patriotic tone in the speech by mentioning all the “ups and downs” our country faced such as when he says “Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.” Leaving the audience with a sense of pride because this
Fair Weather Patriot Knowing the fight for independence was going to take all thirteen colonies, Thomas Paine understood that unity was essential. To gain that support, Paine wrote “The Crisis” in an everyday, familiar manner to inspire the common man to action. His quest was to enlighten and motivate a nation to defend a cause. Paine’s words are still relevant today and can be used to inspire America to come together regarding our major issues such as terrorism and economic distress. America’s oppressed can still be stirred to action with the words: “These are the times that try men’s souls” (Paine 637).
President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address Speech On January 20, 1961 a clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court held the large Fitzgerald family Bible as John F. Kennedy took the oath of office to become the nation’s 35th president. Analyzing his inaugural speech Kennedy uses rhetorical strategies to achieve his purpose, this strategies gave him a touch of youthful aspirations and hope for the future as well as determination and plans to set his thoughts true by connecting and gaining attention from the crowds dream of a renaissance America. When JFK was elected president, America was recovering from the hardship of the cold war, America needed a leader that would bring peace and unity to the country. JFK inaugural speech encouraged and attempted to persuade citizens to work for the promised future. He uses many rhetorical strategies in this famous speech in order to deliver his message loud and clear.
Third is logos, the act of persuading by providing the audience with logic of the author's arguments. Every aspect of rhetorical appeals was shown in Senator Barack Obama's speech. In the speech, Obama uses these appeals to persuade his audience that we, as Americans, need to come together as a union to solve the problems of our society. Obama begins his speech by reciting the first line of the United States Constitution, "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union" (647). Through the use of the United States Constitution, Obama shows his credibility to write the speech and for the nation to trust him and realize the importance of his speech.
Joni Edwards Pd.5 9/15/14 JFK Inaugural Speech Analysis On January 20th, 1961 President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated. He became president at the one of the most trying times in the history of the United States. Tensions were high due to the conflict between the U.S and the Soviet Union and the country was divided due to racial prejudice. Kennedy also had to prove that he was capable of running the country being that he was the youngest president to date. In his inaugural speech Kennedy spoke with hopes to unite our country and destroy any animosity we have with other countries.