The text that I choose to analyze is headlined “Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr”. It is the famous and historical speech of Robert F. Kennedy, a well-known democratic politician from New York, and it was conveyed on the 4th of April in 1968. It is clear that the opening sentences of the speech display that the author is going to give out some news that is very sad – that the man who committed his life to giving a huge struggle for the justice – Martin Luther King is murdered. In April 1968, for the duration of a serious Presidential election campaign, Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis by James Earl Ray, who was a white man. When it was all over with this volatile and tragic event, over a hundred uprisings detonated all over the United States, powered by the discontent surrounding an already stressed Presidential movement. It is clear that the comments on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Robert F. Kennedy Paragraph 1; the term "all" appears to be repeated over and over. This reflects the reason of the Civil Rights crusade. It likewise aids in removing the Political uproar that happens to be around Kennedy's point. Mentioning "Will you lower those signs, please" is efficiently a symbol, for the signs exemplify political incentive; Kennedy then request that they be all put away. Kennedy was capable of briefly and positively drawing upon this amazing moment by recognizing and describing the greater than before racial tension, contextualizing Martin Luther King’s influence and role and lastly by generalizing these feelings into a call en route for compassion to bond the American people.
After giving the announcement of the news of the assassination, Kennedy starts to focus on the feeling of grief that was shared, not just for blacks however for Americans and humankind as an entirety in an effort to universalize this stress and feeling and a sense of harmony with the black reason. Kennedy’s standard concern is to identify the noticeable and logical sense of anger in the African-American community; he identifies the differentiated state of racial overtone in America, and the hatred that exists among the diverse groups. In recognizing, however contrasting, the sentiment of racially charged injustice and revenge happening in reply to this vicious act, JFK manages to calls upon his own philosophy as the family member of a murder victim. While never openly specified, JFK depends on on the salience of his association, both political and personal, with the ex- JFK and on the audience’s familiarity of his murder 5 years previous in Dallas, nearly a commonplace among American tragedies. He does point out, though, that his brother was also killed by a white man, and that their hatred and mistrust should therefore not be generalized to all white people, as violence conventional evidently occurs beyond race.
I'm just going to discuss with you just for a minute or so this afternoon, for the reason that I have some -- some very sad news for everybody to hear -- Could you bring down those signs, please? – there is some sad news that I have to give to everyone, and, I believe, sad news for everyone of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace throughout the entire world; and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee. Kennedy appeals to logos (logic) effectively when he described why it was logical to stay away from war and secure a worldwide peace. When using logos, Kennedy finds a way to urge “both sides” to help each other through difficulties instead of allowing the matters divide the countries, to focus on the optimistic effects that science can have on society instead of its damaging and devastating influences, and to unite all nations to make a world “where the just and strong, and the weak secure, and the peace well-kept.” Kennedy`s pleas for a peaceful world was exactly what the American people needed to hear since it was a time when nobody wanted to be at war since nuclear weapons could literately devastate the United States and the world as well.
JFK appeals to Pathos (emotional state) when he mentions his victory in the presidential election is really a “celebration of freedom”, for the reason it is “representing an end, in addition to a beginning—implying, renewal, in addition to change.” These lines from his speech display that he was very emotional about giving the entire free world with a duty to spread liberty, justice, and to free the world of all evils. In the same way, JFK calls upon the American individuals to stand strong to overwhelm the “long twilight fight that goes on against the shared opponents of man: deficiency, disease, oppression, and war.” Since JFK is endorsing worldwide peace, he makes it perfect that the Soviet Union and United States are wasting money and time making arms to abolish all life, and that our nations final achievement and disappointment lies within our generations.
In his speech, Robert Kennedy deliberates where part of the source of his identity and ethos root from. In reference to developing anger among the black population over Martin Luther King's assassination he said, "I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man" (Kennedy, 1). This part of rhetoric is really helpful in displaying Kennedy's ethos by further clarifying his ethics founded upon his experience. These experiences have assisted in shaping his identity. Consistently, using his personal experience in regards having a family die to murder, was one that numerous could relate. This expressive pull joint with his logical plan for the nation to pull together, shaped a rhetorical basis for his entire speech.
It is clear that repetition words such as “compassion” and “understanding" are looked at as being as positive words. However, there are also strong negative words that are located in Paragraph 10. Here JFK is stretching the truth “Nevertheless the massive mainstream of white people and the huge majority of black individuals in this nation want to live together, want to progress the worth of our life, and want fairness for all human beings that are living in our land just like everyone else.” In Paragraph 9 there is what is considered to be the parallelism which involves some positive words for instance, “We can do very well in this nation. We will have times that are very difficult. We've had difficult times in the past, but we -- and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the finale of violence; it is not the end of chaos; and it's not the end of disarray.” However there us repetition again with the word; "We" and here it is used to establish some kind of hope and ability to overcome difficulties at hand.
It was clear that Kennedy’s important rhetorical approach in this short speech, brought the night of the murder, is his outlining of Martin Luther King’s death as not merely a reason of racial tension but then again more notably as a tragic example of the already current racial divide that Martin Luther King was trying to working against: “In this trying day, in this challenging period” Rather than putting the focus on King’s well-known accomplishments as a black leader, JFK paints him as a considerate and sympathetic peace liberal who tried to bring agreement to this nation and to humanity on the whole.
In conclusion, I believe that the speaker’s examined here was extremely articulate, persuasive and pragmatic. It was clear that the speech was to inform and yet at the same time bring some kind of encouragement. He had the ability to connect with the intended audience and any remaining audiences that may not have been expected. It is clear that there is great power in words and I believe it is a testament to the convincing nature of the speaker’s I analyzed provided the fact that both MLK and JFK were killed possibly for giving speeches such as. The one component that is steady with JFK is that he believed in the words he spoke and knew how to adapt his speeches to the situational background to gain supreme impact. A mainstream of JFK speech may never have been confined and because of his extemporaneous delivery’s it’s hard to state. In my mind a great convincing speech does the following three things: it alternates your mind, it exchanges your viewpoint, and it perhaps changes your life; and it does all this by seeming effortless and unforced.
References:
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: Voices of Moral Authority. (2008, April 4). Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Voices of Moral Authority: http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1062&context=essai&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dmalcolm%2Bx%2Bmessage%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bgrassroots%2Bspeech%26btnG%3DSearch%26as_sdt%3D0%252C14%26as_ylo%3D%26as_vis%
"Martin Luther King - Biography". (2010, May 3). Nobel Prize.
Kennedy, R. F. (2010, March 3). Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King”. American Rhetoric.
