Question

Interpret figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their role in the text. In this excerpt from Kennedy's 1963 Civil Rights Address what idea is being most clearly defined? "This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics".

Answer 1

Answer:

Hyperpole: "Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union"

Hyperbole: "...a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety..."

Paradox: "....men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics"

Explanation:

kennedy  gave this speech to ask Congress to enact   Civil Right  legislatiion. Kennedy reacted against an act of discrimination suffered by some African American university students in Alabama. He was calling for the urgent need to guarantee equal rights for evey citizen in the U.S. When Kennedy says that segregation exits in evey city and in every State of the Nation , he wants to emphasise the racial charactesistic of the U.S. He is universalising the difficulty. Then, he mentions the consequence of this problem by saying that public safety is at risk , and this is getting worse since the people affected are becoming angrier. Finally, he seems to set a contradiction ; if the citizen has  opposing political ideas with another citizen, he has to join his opponent. Good will has to overcome differences. The idea that is being most clearly defined is that civil rights have to be beyond partisans' ideas;  Civil Rights  is a universal issue.

Answer 2

I think the excerpt talking about society.

Society tends to mistreat someone or something that does not follow its ordinary norm, whether it's ethnicity , cultural , ideology, or even merely physical difference. The excerpt address the exact issue

Hope this helps