Examples Of Persuasion In Jfk Inaugural Address

The Effective Use of Persuasion in Kennedy’s Inaugural Address The twentieth century was a tense and stressful time period for the United States. Towards the middle of it, the time most commonly known as “The Cold War” began. This marked the beginning of the arms race between this country and the Soviet Union. Just as the turmoil continued to evolve, John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35th president of the United States. Kennedy was very aware of what was happening around the world at the time, so he made his purpose to unite the people with his inaugural address. This was no easy task; he had to appeal to a whole nation with only a few words. Thanks to his use of emotionally-packed diction, audience-engaging syntax and persuasive tone, Kennedy successfully reassured his vision of unity and stirred the hearts of his audience, making them want to be part of something bigger.

He uses artful diction such as metaphors, saying that “those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside” (Kennedy 7), and zeugma: “For a man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of poverty and life” (Kennedy 2). The metaphor reminds the audience of the growing power of the USSR and how dangerous it can be. The zeugma talks about how citizens can change society by working together to abolish poverty versus the power of a nuclear bomb and its ability to destroy life. With his metaphor, he makes the listener feel concern and with the zeugma, he gives the audience a reason to unite, to prevent the threat of a nuclear war. His use of syntax, on the other hand, is used to