Analysis 'Ich Bin Ein Berliner' Jfk

598 Words3 Pages
Ich bin ein Berliner analysis On the 26th of June 1963 President John F. Kennedy gave one of his most well known speeches; ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’. In this speech he wanted to make clear to the Soviets and Berliners how much support the US had already given, and would still give to Germany. As is repeated several times in the speech, Kennedy wanted those who said ‘We can work with the communists’ come to Berlin. In order to make the speech effective, John F. Kennedy made efficient use of propaganda techniques, language and structure. First of all, Kennedy used stylistic devices. He for instance used repetition very often as can be seen in examples such as; ‘Let them come to Berlin.’ and ‘Two thousand years ago.’ The main reason for doing this is to make this speech easily memorable. It is repeated so often that people will not forget. Besides stylistic devices, Kennedy uses persuasive techniques such as pathos. This form of devices can be found in words such as ‘I am proud.’ and ‘I appreciate’. These words appeal to emotions. Using pathos works very effective because people are emotionally stimulated and motivated to accept your claims and to act on your request. Kennedy also made use of several propaganda techniques. One of them is assertion, which he especially used when talking about ‘What is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world?’ He does this to make his audience think about what is right and what is wrong. Because such questions people will not forget about your speech. Furthermore, the use of language brings effectiveness to Kennedy’s speech. In this speech he uses language that is well understandable. He does not make use of plain folks, as the language does not sound very ordinary, but it neither is very difficult to understand. The good thing about this is that the message reaches all layers of society, the high but also
Open Document