John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address Essay Example

The Inaugural Address of Kennedy is a speech recalled by the nation after it was addressed. Kennedy, in his speech, took a very unusual approach. Not only did he address the country he was meant to be serving, but he also addressed the world in the process. Kennedy employs several strategies in his message, to create a bond with the people of America as well as the rest of the World. These tactics allowed him to diligently get his point across successfully while keeping a crucial point in functioning as humans together. They essentially create a bond to specifically or implicitly discuss the duty of Americans.

Kennedy mentions other nations with a reason in the address. He uses the technique of parallelism when discussing these countries. An example of this is when Kennedy said, "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 to assure the survival and the success of liberty." He lists the actions the nation is willing to take. To exaggerate his point and to cater to the American people, he goes into detail. Another being at the end of Kennedy has several examples of parallelism as he says, "My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what we can do together for the freedom of man." As a result of this comment, he claims that Americans and others should see the broader vision and greater purpose they are striving for. In essence, this appeals to the American people's feelings (pathos) and the universe. It encourages Kennedy to go into more detail and complexity rather than brief general statements as a result of parallelism.

Kennedy's repeated use of Anaphora can really be found in his speech to keep the blame on America and other nations as well. For example, inside the address, he repeats the expression "Let both sides" several times. An example of this is when he says, "Let all sides discuss what issues unite us instead of belaboring the issues that separate us." His next line says, "Let both sides devise serious and accurate plans for weapons monitoring and control for the first time—and put the absolute power to kill other nations under the absolute rule of all nations. His intention was to implore that we as Americans and individuals, should pursue constructive solutions to overcome our disagreements, rather than using violence and guns that were the wrong uses of science, to echo that word. It helps Americans to consider a new side of how we should work together rather than work against each other in solving problems. It speaks to the listeners and readers' logic (logos) and lets them think of the most rational way to solve problems.

The use of antithesis by Kennedy allowed him to highlight the broader image or the more significant feature he was attempting to express. As described in the speech Today we observe not a party victory but a celebration of freedom..." The purpose of this line was to push the focus away from the party's victory, but the fact that freedom should be celebrated by the nation. He rejects his first line of not observing a party's triumph, but then urges us to rejoice the independence earned from transition. Another definition of Anti-thesis will be when he said, "If a free society can not help the many who are poor, it can not save the few who are wealthy." Kennedy is trying to express the idea that a society can have money, but if it can not support the poor, it can only help the rich and make no one happy. Therefore, his use of antithesis encourages him to stress his arguments in a particular way.

There’s a strong perception of friendship and peace in J.F Kennedy's inaugural address. In defense of Kennedy and his integrity , the rhetorical choices used all fall together. Without rhetorical choices being utilized, the speech may not have been the same as it can be seen that several different styles were used when examined. It effectively conveys the duties that Americans need to see and take in order to take a step forward in the path of progress.