Rhetorical Analysis Of Robert F. Kennedy's Indianapolis Speech

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The notorious Indianapolis speech, delivered by Robert F. Kennedy, breaking the news of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King (informing a mostly black audience) is a perfect example of the humble, humanistic speech style of the former Presidential candidate. Although short, Kennedy’s words in this speech are profound and lasting, a simple approach which was mastered by this great social thinker. Through rhetorical analysis of this somber speech it is clear that Kennedy was a smart, emotionally connected public speaker who used his time to not only commemorate a life, but also build support for his campaign and what it stands for. The speech was given the evening of April 4, 1968 during Kennedy’s campaign tour. Kennedy had just …show more content…

Obviously Kennedy was working on a campaign but the speech, both in content and format, is presented as a special occasion style speech. Kennedy begins by breaking the news of Kings death to his audience (who reaction is horrifying) then quickly brings the attention back to himself by using humanistic, thoughtful language which sets up the rest of his unplanned speech as a tribute of sorts. It was clear that Kennedy was particularly aware of his mostly black audience as he makes every effort to relate to them through sympathy and equality. He never speaks down to them about King but rather speaks as if he were one of …show more content…

You could see through the delivery of his speech and the tone of his voice and language that this was a very serious occasion not to be discussed in a sterile manner but rather through respectful commemoration. He constantly reminds the audience of the goals for King and cleverly connects those goals to his own, further gaining audience respect as a leader and equal individual. An example of this is presented toward the beginning of the speech when Kennedy states “Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.” This is beautifully poet and political as it seamlessly and honestly pays tribute to King and his work, while at the same time build momentum for Kennedy’s own work as a Presidential

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