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  • Essay / Analysis of John F. Kennedy's speech

    On June 26, 1963, after World War II, at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were the world's superpowers. The two powers fought a war of differing governmental and economic ideologies, known as the Cold War. At the time of the speech, Germany was a nation divided between democratic West Germany and communist East Germany, and the Berlin Wall was built to separate these two halves from Berlin and Germany. Additionally, West Berlin was in a state of unrest, as the population was suffering and beginning to lose all hope. Since the United States was an ally, John F. Kennedy traveled to West Germany to reiterate his support for the West German people. Kennedy's message was heard loud and clear around the world, as he wanted the world to be aware of the problems that communism had caused in Berlin and the problems that communism itself was creating. Kennedy managed to make a lasting impression through his eloquent use of numerous rhetorical devices and strategies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay. Kennedy is established as a highly respected figure around the world. He was a Harvard alumnus, which proved his intelligence and had proven his character and speaking skills in previous issues. However, Kennedy still began his speech by further establishing the character of the German people through the use of ethos. Kennedy expresses his pride in coming to speak in Berlin as the mayor's guest, demonstrating that he is truly a humble man. When people see that someone is humble, they tend to trust them more and listen to what they say. Therefore, Kennedy further gained the trust and attention of his audience through his display of modesty. After establishing his character, Kennedy uses a combination of pathos and logos to get his point across. He begins the body of his speech with the speech's most impactful quote: "Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was 'civis Romanus sum.' Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner”. The phrase incorporates both logical and pathological rhetoric. The first boast Kennedy utters is the Latin “I am a Roman citizen”; Kennedy forms an analogy in this line between Rome and Berlin, which is a strong form of logos. During his time, the Roman Empire was the greatest civilization in the world and Rome was the greatest city. The Romans were proud of their city and their country, so Kennedy tries to convince people that being German, and especially being from Berlin, is something to be proud of and tell the world about it. The pathos of the line comes from its use of the German language. Kennedy's use of the German language to say "I am a Berliner" was intended to make the audience happy that Kennedy was adopting his native language, and thus convince the audience to support Kennedy. With his mix of logos and pathos, Kennedy is well on his way to winning the support of his German audience. Kennedy then discusses the world's misconceptions about the effectiveness of communism. He attacks anyone who believes in things like "communism is the wave of the future" or "communism is a bad system, but it allows us to make economic progress" and wants to show them how wrong their beliefs are . Kennedy simply responds: “Let them come to Berlin,” or the same thing but in German: “Lass' sic nach Berlin kommen.” Berlin was the best example of the conflict between the.