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The article under analysis is “John F. Kennedy. Inaugural Address.”.  

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. John Kennedy was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the presidency in the 1960 presidential election, defeating Republican candidate and then Vice President Richard Nixon. In doing so he became the youngest man elected U.S. president and the first Roman Catholic president.

He graduated from Harvard, and joined the navy. He worked as a reporter before entering the political arena. He later wrote “profiles in courage” which won the Pulitzer Prize Award. Being that JFK was the youngest president to ever be in office there is no doubt that he encountered a lot of skepticism. This speech had many purposes but most importantly it gave him positive recognition.

The main idea of the the inaugural address was written to encourage the American public to get actively involved with their country.

The address is 1364 words and took 13 minutes and 59 seconds to deliver, from the first word to the last word, not including applause at the end, making it the fourth-shortest inaugural address ever delivered. It is widely considered to be among the best presidential inauguration speeches in American history.

This address is easy to listen to, because of its effective use of oratory and rhetorical techniques, like rhetorical questions (“Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?”), parallel sentence structure (“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, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”), and intense, physical images that paint a picture for the listener.

This is especially important in an age before television was common in all households, to satisfy listeners far away as well as the immediate, watching audience of the speech in front of the Capital. The effectiveness of the speech was sufficient that Americans listened with pleasure not simply to the image of themselves they wanted to have of peaceful and freedom-loving people, but that they were also inspired to exceed their own comfort zones and the expectations they had for their future.

In his inaugural address he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens, famously saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." These are the most quoted lines of the address; they became the patriotic rallying cry for Kennedy's New Frontier initiatives, which emphasized the space program, the Peace Corps, and increased defense spending. He also asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself."

During the campaign Kennedy had charged that the United States had fallen militarily behind the Soviet Union during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Therefore, when Kennedy gave his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, he focused on U.S. foreign policy.

Kennedy's address revealed how far the United States had moved in international affairs. The isolationism of the 1930s had given way to a foreign policy based on fighting Communism anywhere in the world.

He personalizes his speech in looking forward to the future while using the past as an example.

In talking about all that he must deal with as a president and global icon striving for peace, he states, "I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it," near the end of the speech. This shows his persistence as a leader and allows listeners to hear the strength of this determination.

He shares his energy with the people, claiming that the goals of a better world can be attained if only effort by everyone is given. The activism in his words can most clearly be seen when he focuses on what both sides can do to solve the problem. His ultimate goal of peace between opposing forces becomes evident in his idea to, "bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations." "Absolute" lends to the strong diction used throughout his speech, and is used here to bring this example of zeugma together. He understands people are scared of the world, and he stands strongly before them showing someone out there is not afraid to negotiate for peace.

In closing, he expanded on his desire for greater internationalism: "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy is the narrator here. So, the narration is first-person.

There are notable passages here:

• "...the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."
• "Let the word go forth.....that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."
• "Let every nation know... that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
• "The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life."

• "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."
• "And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"
• "All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."
• "...let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."

 His inauguration speech was so powerful that it captured the entire nations attention, and quotes from it are still remembered by people today. It is one of the finest speeches ever written. It provides a strong appeal to pathos, ethos and logos, and it is because of this that people who never heard the speech can quote lines from.