Rhetorical Analysis of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address In a time of terror and war, a strong President was an indispensable need for America. The country needed someone to reassure their fears and frustrations and to be a leader that no one would want to defy. Fortunately for America, President Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961 and used his first address as President to curb the nation's anxieties. Kennedy uses auditory literary devices, antithesis, and parallelism to create a strong sense of nationalism and unity in a time where these ideals were hard to envision. Devices like alliteration and consonance are especially useful in speeches, as they add to the audience's understanding and remembrance of important ideas or phrases.
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This device’s purpose is to unite the country and clarify the goals and attitudes that the whole Nation should have. In the 1960’s, American citizens were living their daily lives paralyzed by fear of the Cold War. This was one of the most important times in history for our nation to strengthen these ideals, and Kennedy recognized that. He uses the pronouns “we” and “us” throughout the entirety of his speech to promote this attitude, Another example of this parallelism can be seen in paragraphs fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen when kennedy begins each paragraph with “So let both sides…”. The phrase “both sides” refers to the divided state of our nation, and the sentences that follow demonstrate how we must fix this division. Kennedy’s use of parallel phrases and words inspire unity in a time of need. A president's inaugural address is one of the most influential speeches of his career, especially in President Kennedy's case. America was separated by the threat of nuclear warfare and Kennedy used his speech to help placate these fears. Though the use of auditory devices, antithesis, and parallelism, Kennedy is able to show how important unity was for America in this time of
This device’s purpose is to unite the country and clarify the goals and attitudes that the whole Nation should have. In the 1960’s, American citizens were living their daily lives paralyzed by fear of the Cold War. This was one of the most important times in history for our nation to strengthen these ideals, and Kennedy recognized that. He uses the pronouns “we” and “us” throughout the entirety of his speech to promote this attitude, Another example of this parallelism can be seen in paragraphs fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen when kennedy begins each paragraph with “So let both sides…”. The phrase “both sides” refers to the divided state of our nation, and the sentences that follow demonstrate how we must fix this division. Kennedy’s use of parallel phrases and words inspire unity in a time of need. A president's inaugural address is one of the most influential speeches of his career, especially in President Kennedy's case. America was separated by the threat of nuclear warfare and Kennedy used his speech to help placate these fears. Though the use of auditory devices, antithesis, and parallelism, Kennedy is able to show how important unity was for America in this time of