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John F. Kennedy Analysis

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John F. Kennedy Analysis
Leah Moore
JFK Inaugural Address Analysis President John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural address on a January afternoon in 1961. His speech includes many rhetorical devices—included to help convey Kennedy’s subject to his audience. The subject is that human rights are determined by God, rather than the government. Some rhetorical devices Kennedy uses are parallelism, anaphora, and hortative sentences. John F. Kennedy’s use of rhetorical devices within his inaugural address help him convey his message to his audience. John F. Kennedy uses parallelism in his inaugural address to help convey his message to his audience. Near the beginning of his speech John F. Kennedy says that Americans will “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe,” in order to preserve liberty. This example of parallelism clarifies to the audience that Kennedy intends to do anything it takes to preserve liberty. Kennedy uses parallelism again in the nineteenth paragraph when he says that both sides of a conflict should join in creating “a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.” His use of parallel structure here tells the audience that Kennedy’s goal is to help all people, while securing freedom and peace. Kennedy’s strongest use of parallelism is in the sixteenth through nineteenth paragraphs when he says, "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…Let both sides unite to… let the oppressed go free." This example of parallelism repetitively states the idea of unity between nations. John F. Kennedy uses anaphora in his inaugural address to help convey his message to his audience. In the eighth paragraph he says, “not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right.” He is

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