Monday, October 7, 2013

Style of RFK's Speech

The style Robert F. Kennedy uses in his speech announcing the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. helps address the main idea of non-violent actions in his speech.   Kennedy uses different figures of speech to stress how the nation should move forward from this tragic events.  He asks his audience to think "what kind of a nation we are, and what direction we want to move in."  Kennedy presents a rhetorical situation in how African-Americans can respond to the shooting of Martin Luther King. This use of rhetorical questions and situations encourage the audience to think their reaction can affect society.  RFK also repeats the phrase "what this country needs is not..." to stress that responding with violence will only make our country worse off. Throughout his speech Kennedy repeats the importance of understanding.  This repetition causes the statement to resonate more with the audience.  The way he speaks also draws the attention of the audience.  Kennedy talks slowly so it is easy for an audience at any age to follow along and he also takes pauses for emphasize.

Emily Camardo

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