Rhetorical Analysis Of President Kennedy's Inaugural Address
Alex Zhang
Mrs. Chen
Honors English 9 – Period 3
17 January 2015
President Kennedy’s Inaugural Address Why was President Kennedy’s inaugural address so moving? He used many rhetorical devices and formed a good rhetorical tone that made his speech very inspiring. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, talks about the problems of the country and the world and how to fix them. He wants the American citizens to be reassured that he will do many great things and hold a great term in office. One reason that his speech was so convincing was because he appealed to his audiences’ emotions (pathos) effectively all over throughout his essay. President Kennedy’s main rhetorical tone in his inaugural address was pathos. He used emotional appeal all throughout …show more content…
By bringing up the topic of revolution and mentioning all the hardships people have gone through, Kennedy appeals to the American citizens’ sense of nationalism and pride. Another instance where Kennedy applies pathos is when he says, “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty…Now the trumpet sounds again…--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.” (70). Here, Kennedy says how the course of the country lies with the citizens of America and how they need to cooperate to fight “the common enemies of man”. This makes the citizens feel important and want to actually do something themselves to help. Also, when Kennedy mentions how every generation of Americans have been required to defend against enemies, he, again, appeals to the nationalism and pride of American citizens. The third place where Kennedy appeals to emotion is when he says
Mrs. Chen
Honors English 9 – Period 3
17 January 2015
President Kennedy’s Inaugural Address Why was President Kennedy’s inaugural address so moving? He used many rhetorical devices and formed a good rhetorical tone that made his speech very inspiring. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, talks about the problems of the country and the world and how to fix them. He wants the American citizens to be reassured that he will do many great things and hold a great term in office. One reason that his speech was so convincing was because he appealed to his audiences’ emotions (pathos) effectively all over throughout his essay. President Kennedy’s main rhetorical tone in his inaugural address was pathos. He used emotional appeal all throughout …show more content…
By bringing up the topic of revolution and mentioning all the hardships people have gone through, Kennedy appeals to the American citizens’ sense of nationalism and pride. Another instance where Kennedy applies pathos is when he says, “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty…Now the trumpet sounds again…--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.” (70). Here, Kennedy says how the course of the country lies with the citizens of America and how they need to cooperate to fight “the common enemies of man”. This makes the citizens feel important and want to actually do something themselves to help. Also, when Kennedy mentions how every generation of Americans have been required to defend against enemies, he, again, appeals to the nationalism and pride of American citizens. The third place where Kennedy appeals to emotion is when he says