Profiles in Courage | A Possible Explanation for JFK's Inclusion of the Men he Wrote about in Profiles in Courage
In the following essay, the author offers a
possible explanation for John F. Kennedy’s inclusion
of the men he wrote about in Profiles in
Courage. By reviewing the historical and cultural
context, she identifies qualities in some of the nine
stories that may have had relevance for the time of
the book’s publication.
Although most readers associate John F. Kennedy with the 1960s, Profiles in Courage was written while he was recovering from spinal operations in 1954. At the time, Kennedy was a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, not yet aware of the political future that awaited him. While most readers can readily identify the dominant social and political forces of the latter part of Kennedy’s career, many Americans have a distorted view of what life was like in the 1950s. Contrary to popular belief, it was not merely a carefree...
[The entire page is 1594 words long]
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