Lauri Zumwalt
ENGL 1613.050
16 October, 2015
Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft 2 On June 11, 1963, the 35th President John F. Kennedy delivered his civil rights speech on radio and television from the oval office for the citizens of the United States. A large portion of Kennedy’s presidency was spent dealing with racism and unfair treatment to the Negros. Kennedy presented his speech after there were a series of threats on the University of Alabama. The Alabama National Guard was required on the campus because of two qualified Negros who were admitted into the school. John F. Kennedy did a good job with ethos, logos, and pathos. He refuted the opposition, used imagery, and used repetition in his speech. He presented his speech …show more content…
For example, in paragraph 3 Kennedy uses the words “It ought to be possible” 4 times when he says, “It ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal”.(Paragraph 3). That one example is something that Kennedy thinks should be possible and he thinks Negroes should be able to enjoy the privileges of being an American without worrying about racism. Another example of repetition is when Kennedy says, “It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by toke moves or talk” (Paragraph 11). Kennedy says this three times to let the citizens know that we cannot blame other people for this crisis. He thinks it is time to act in Congress and thinks the American people should change so everybody, including the Negroes, can live peacefully in America. In his speech he uses some imagery to make the citizens imagine what the Negroes have to go through on a day to day basis. In his speech he said, “The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand” (Paragraph 10). Kennedy says this so the Americans get a better understanding of how frustrating the Negroes are. Kennedy does a good job here so the citizens can realize that they are a lot of people frustrated in every city. Another example of imagery is when Kennedy stated, “Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety” (Paragraph 5). When Kennedy says “rising tide of discontent” he is relating to all the dissatisfied people. He is proving to America that this does exist in every city and there is a rising tide of dissatisfied people that may threaten the public safety. Repetition was a big part in