Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights leader during the 60’s and 70’s. John F. Kennedy was president for a brief time before he was assassinated. MLK Jr. and JFK’s speeches but have very similar, former diction, but have completely different purposes. JFK’s speech purposes was to inform the country. MLK Jr. purpose was to get equal rights for African American people. Both however, have the same formal diction.
The purpose of JFK’s Inaugural Address speech was to inform the country of what he was going to do during his Presidency. He says in the address, “Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. This much we pledge, and more.” This proves that he was telling the country his intentions of assuring the survival of liberty and freedom. The purpose of MLK Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech was to get equal rights for African American people. In his speech MLK Jr. says, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.” This proves that the purpose of MLK Jr.’s speech was to get equal rights.
The purposes of both speeches may have been different, but the diction in both were both formal. In JFK’s Inaugural Address his diction is formal and his tone was serious, his diction is formal because he doesn’t use slang, of contractions. His tone was serious because he was addressing his country. He says, “In the long history of the world, only a few have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.” This part of his speech proves that his diction was formal and his tone was serious. MLK Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech also had formal diction, and a serious tone. His diction is formal because like JFK he does not use slang or contractions. He says in his speech, “I am happy to join you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” This part of his speech shows that he uses formal diction, and a serious tone.
JFK’s speech had a formal diction that did not use slang or contractions, which makes it formal. His tone was also serious, because he was addressing the country. JFK’s purpose was to inform the country of what he was going to do during his presidency. MLK Jr. also had formal diction and a serious tone, but he had a completely different purpose of getting rights for African Americans. MLK Jr. and JFK were both very important men, and revolutionized America.