In his Inaugural Address, John F. Kennedy is attempting to reach the audience and motivate them for his cause. Thus said, Kennedy focuses on connecting his audience to both the subject (a fight for liberty, progress, and the ending of the Cold War) and the speaker (himself). This purpose is acquired through using strategic rhetorical techniques in both directive and interpersonal diction.
Kennedy has only recently been elected to office and it is crucial that he connects with his audience by ensuring them he is both a “fellow American” and a “fellow citizen of the world.” Several times throughout the text, especially when introducing a new point or emphasizing a point, Kennedy uses the inclusive pronouns “we” and “us.” This use of interpersonal diction lays the challenges not only on the world but also on himself. In order to relate the Christian majority to America, Kennedy makes references to the “Almighty God.” Including God in both the introduction and conclusion heightens his point of God’s importance. This reference can be contrasted to Bush’s speech, in which the god referenced is not solely the Christian God. Such a difference is based on the different audiences, as modern America has a greater religious diversity. Kennedy also uses an age-old technique, also used by Henry and Bush in their speeches, of complimenting the audience so they are more willing to dedicate themselves to the speaker’s cause. Specifically Kennedy says, “only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom” to positively set the audience aside from the rest of mankind.
Another important literary technique used by Kennedy as well as Bush and Henry is leaving the audience no neutral ground between the speaker’s cause and the “enemy.” The choices in Kennedy’s speech are to “abolish all forms of human poverty” or “all forms of human life” and “the wonders of science” or “its terrors.” Kennedy further connects the audience to the subject by using words with strong connotations, such as “break the bonds of mass misery” and “casting off the chains of poverty.” These words, both of which relate to slavery, cause the audience to have strong emotions against this misery and poverty, and, therefore, hopefully, want to change it. Henry in his speech to the Virginia Convention also uses the negative aspects of slavery to his advantage. Breaks in parallelism are used, as in Bush’s speech, to emphasize points such as “push[ing] back the jungle of suspicion.” To directly connect the audience to the subject, Kennedy present them with the challenge of changing the world by using phrases such as “in your hands” and “now the trumpet summons us again.”
Kennedy’s word choice and rhetorical techniques are successful, as the leave the reader or listener with an understanding of Kennedy and his cause and a desire to face the challenges presented. His use of directive and interpersonal diction forms a sense of global unity. As Kennedy says, “ask…what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
