"John F. Kennedy Inaugural Speech, 1961" (Lesson 3)

Anthology: "John F. Kennedy Inaugural Speech, 1961"

Lesson on John F. Kennedy and the rights and freedom of man!

Points for the class:

• 📌 Point 1: Determine audience/key details, emotional appeal, rhetorical device (p. 47)

• 📌 Point 2: Relate rhetorical device to speaker's purpose/recognize purpose of text (p. 48)

• 📌 Point 3: Relate rhetorical device to meaning/determine and analyze figurative language (p. 48)

📌 Persuasive Speech:

📌 an oral argument intended to influence listeners to adopt a certain point of view or convince them that a particular idea is more valuable than others. 📌

(A campaign speech during the presidential election and information given to you by a car salesman are both examples of persuasive speech--one person wants your vote and another wants you to buy a car.

📌 Rhetoric:

📌 the deliberate use of language to cause a desired reaction in an audience or reader. (It simply is the collection of tools a speechwriter can use to elicit reactions from the audience.

An important aspect of rhetoric is for the speaker to establish credibility, an attempt to gain the audience's confidence and trust. 📌

(A leader may establish credibility by talking about his or her accomplishments.)

📌 a rhetorical device:

📌 any use of language that achieves a particular effect, such as to persuade or clarify

For example, the rhetorical device of repetition uses repeated words or phrases to be more persuasive or believable, while an emotional appeal is a rhetorical device that attempts to evoke a specific emotion in the audience.

Multiple Choice

Who is Kennedy's main audience in this inaugural address?

• the American people

• Congress

• the Soviet Union

• the world

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not something Kennedy tries to persuade his audience to consider?

• Think of fighting communism as fighting for freedom

• Agree to keep building more weapons

• support the United nations

• Be fierce and show no friendliness towards the enemy

Multiple Choice

What emotional appeal is Kennedy making in the following passage?

"To those old allies, whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends".

• friendship

• loyalty

• pride

• hard work

Multiple Choice

The following is an example of what kind of rhetorical device?

"so let us begin anew....Let us never negotiate...But let us begin."

• repetition

• emotional appeal

• rhyme

• alliteration

Multiple Choice

What is the purpose of the rhetorical device you identified in the previous question?

• a. to create a sense of the American people and Kennedy working together

• b. to create a call to action

• c. to create a sense of a new start, after many years of the Cold War

• d. all of the above

Multiple Choice

Read the following statement from the speech:

"All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days."

What is the purpose of this statement?

• to stir the audience's emotions and make them act immediately

• to calm the audience an convince listeners to be patient

• to establish credibility with the audience to gain their trust

• to appeal to the audience's patriotism

What rhetorical device does Kennedy use to achieve the goal that you identified in th previous question? (p. 48)

Answer:

📌 Kennedy uses repetition. He repeats the verb "to finish" in the negative form and the word "days" to show that peaceful cooperation takes a long time to achieve. 📌

Kennedy uses lists in the fourth paragraph and the second-to-last paragraph. Examine the purpose of using a list in this case. What is kennedy trying to achieve? How does it help emphasize the meaning? (p. 48)

Answer:

📌 In the fourth paragraph, Kennedy uses the list to emphasize all the things Americans would do to defend freedom. While telling Americans what they would do, he is also implying that they accept the policies he will propose for how to beat the Soviets. In the second-to-last paragraph, he lists the many scientific achievements Americans can aim for that are not building weapons. This suggests that his administration will try to refocus the country's energy away from the arms race.

Homework!

Course practice: Anthology "John F. Kennedy Inaugural Speech, 1961"