Question

"JFK Inaugural Speech"
by John F. Kennedy

What best describes the rhetorical technique President Kennedy is using when he says, “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate”?

(1 point)

The second sentence reorders the words from the first sentence to create a catchy rhythm that emphasizes the importance of cooperation.

The main idea of the second sentence contradicts the main idea in the first sentence, which demonstrates how dangerous it can be to let fear into a negotiation.

The first sentence sets up a joke and the second sentence delivers the punchline, creating a moment of humor in an otherwise serious speech.

The two sentences reflect each other in order to convey how powerful fear can be, even when people try to negotiate out of it.

Answer 1

The first choice.

Kennedy is using a chiasmus/antithetical parallelism — he reverses the wording to create a memorable, rhythmic contrast (not a joke or contradiction).