21st Century Is J.F. Kennedy\'s Statement, \"Ask

¶ … 21st century is J.F. Kennedy's statement, "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." Given in his poignant inaugural address in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 1961, this quote has inspired countless Americans in the years since his speech.

Certainly, the word that best illustrates this quote is the word "country." The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the noun, country, as "1: an indefinite usually extended expanse of land: REGION 2 a: the land of a person's birth, residence, or citizenship b: a political state or nation or its territory 3 a: the people of a state or district: POPULACE b: JURY c: ELECTORATE 2-4: rural as distinguished from urban areas 5: COUNTRY MUSIC - coun try ish / -trE-ish / adjective."

Within these five definitions, the denotation of country in 2 and 3 are the most important. Certainly, Kennedy spoke not only to "the people of a state...," but he also spoke about the physical "land of a person's birth, residence, or citizenship." These dual meanings of the word country are important, as they establish that Kennedy was not only talking about the physical lands of the United States of America; he was also talking about the people that make up the United States.

Certainly, aside from this denotation, the word country has connotative meanings.

Simply, connotation is the set of meanings or associations that are associated with the literal meaning of a specific word (The American Heritage Dictionary). In the case of the word country, one of the most powerful connotations is that of patriotism.

In the case of the United States, the association of patriotism with the word country is extremely strong. Further, given the context that the word country appears (JFK's inaugural address), the patriotic connotation is even stronger.

In literature, the term narrative refers to the process of "establishing that something is a part of a whole and usually that something is the cause of something else. It is usually combined with human actions or events that affect human beings. The meaning of each event is produced by the part it plays in the whole episode." (Denning).

Certainly, the use of the word country has an interesting role in the narrative of JFK's speech. Prior to the speech, America had been through a difficult and tumultuous period, and his use of the word country was important in the context of that narrative. The word country helped evoke the feeling that the United States was indeed a unified and true land, and that recent events only played a part in its much larger, and noble history.

Further, the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the origin of the word country as: "Etymology: Middle English contree, from Old French contree, from Medieval Latin contrata, from Latin contra against, on the opposite side Date: 13th century." This gives us a much larger narrative context for the use of the word country. It helps place the United States in the larger context of world history, establishing an important narrative within Kennedy's famous speech.

In conclusion, the use of the word country is important in J.F. Kennedy's quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."