Ronald Reagan Rhetorical Analysis Essay

John F. Kennedy’s Visions of an Improved Way of Life in America In the election year of 1960, two very qualified candidates, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, each with very different views of the world fought to win the hearts of Americans. One specific advertisement narrated by John F. Kennedy was able to do just that. He captured the hearts of millions ranging from young to old, black to white, rich to poor. John F. Kennedy had many opinions on current American issues and new ideas on how to fix these ongoing problems, in ways Americans could unify and work together.

Ronald Reagan, the former 40th president of the United States died on June 5th of 2004. A couple of days later on the 11th, Margaret Thatcher the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, wrote an eulogy for Ronald Reagan. In this eulogy, Thatcher uses rhetorical strategies to convince her readers into believing what she states. She uses the strategies of parallelism, pathos and diction to get her message out and to help her reader receive it. And thus Thatcher can convince her readers into believing what she says.

On the night of April 4 1968, people gathered to listen to the wise words of Robert F. Kennedy. What many thought was going to be a political speech soon took a twist, and the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination was announced and out to the public. Gasps and tears quickly erupted while everyone was gathered around Robert Kennedy’s pickup truck as he stood high above all trying to bring hope and comfort to those who lost someone that fought for their equality, rights and freedom. Kennedy's speech was powerful and successful because of the way he showed empathy to the crowed. He related the tragic scenario to his own life bringing comfort to the many broken hearted and showed both sides of the situation using contrasting forms. Lastly, Kennedy’s speech consisted of repetition with the use of anaphora.

First: His willingness to negotiate with terrorist in seeking the release of American hostages. He felt that it was his duty to achieve this goal and it seemed he was willing to cross the line to accomplish their release. Under his administration weapons were sold to Iran or what is known as the Iran- Contra Affair. Although he was considered a great communicator he could not get the hostages released without violating his own policy of not cooperating with terrorist. Even though the president denied any knowledge of the transactions of selling weapons to Iran, his trust with the public was tarnished. In spite of whether he truly knew of the weapons

Ronald Reagan is known as “The great communicator” and it shows in his speech, he is able connect to the audience and this works very well for him, his speech “Address to the national challenger” it is a drastically emotional and important speech for the American people at the time it became one of Reagan’s great speeches and it was crucial to the American’s as they were all in such pain due to the accident which was the Challenger disaster. Instead of doing his report on the state union, he talks about the disaster and honors the members who had passed on board and he wishes that the United States will not stop its space exploration due to this. When listening to the speech is it distinguishable that is the speech is not something to joke about and the tone had an emotional and solemn feel with great respect to all involved being felt.

Two-hundred and nine thousand. That is the number of lives that were nobly given to save the many during the invasion of Normandy (D-day and the Battle of Normandy). The courageous men and women fought continuously for days on end, climbing the jagged cliffs of Normandy, France. Under rifle fire from gun nests from above, the allied troops were able to take control of the coastline, but not without great sacrifice. The speech given by Ronald Reagan was made to commemorate those who fearlessly fought for our country and the many thousands that gave their lives during those hard days of war. His speech had a clear message, to honor and remember those who gave and risked their lives during the invasion of Normandy.

For the audience he gives them examples of how government interference hurts Americans and also allusions to past times such as the revolution and how the founding fathers did not want a big government. He shares that he has “an uncomfortable feeling that this prosperity isn’t something on which we base our hopes the future.” Reagan’s ability to connect with his audience was rare and unlike many of his colleagues. Whether the topics he spoke on were always relevant to that of the listener, it did not always matter.

Ronald Reagan, in his speech, (“Berlin Wall”, 1987), the former governor and President of the United States and at the time of the Cold War, “ the most magnetic public figure in the nation”(encyclopedia.com) elucidates to his audience the consequences of residing under the influence of the Soviet Union. Reagan supports his assertion through the use of various rhetorical devices to generate logos, ethos, and pathos. His purpose is to incite a feeling of an injustice done to the people of Berlin and Soviet Allies and to bring down the Berlin Wall as “the most visible symbol of the decades-long Cold War”(History.com) between the Americans and the Soviets during the Cold War. Reagan writes in perfervid tone generated toward the people of Berlin and other Soviet allies in hopes of bringing the Cold War to an end and it is reported by CBS News that he successfully “bolstered the morale of the pro-democracy movement in East Germany”(Brinkley).

Jimmy Carter is a well known Democratic president who served between 1977 to 1981 who strongly opposed opening the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. His writing on the preservation of the refuge came after his term as president while new proposals were being put forward for drilling. Carter’s argument is very effective at encouraging the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge to be protected. Carter effectively uses logos, ethos, and pathos to construct a strong argument for the refuge to be preserved.

The whole eulogy is a praise to the great works of Ronald Reagan, creating an inspiring tone that elevates greatness and accomplishment. Thatcher gains extensive credibility by her many references to the closeness between her and Reagan. Her first hint at closeness is in line two when she states that she has “lost a dear friend”. By using Reagan’s nickname “Ronnie”, she shows that she was a person who talked to him like family. She confirms this by stating that she “talked regularly” with him “both before and after his presidency” demonstrating that she knew him not only politically, but personally, giving her the credibility to talk about his accomplishments.

Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister, the Iron Lady. She was born just three years prior to the universal female suffrage that was for everyone, including people outside the United State of America. Margaret went attended one of the best Universities in the world, Oxford yet, she was not allowed to be a part of the debate team, because she was a woman. Then, there is the fact that her first job, which was in her trained field of study science, she was a scientist for BX Plastics, but she did not receive equal pay for equal work, again because she was a woman. On every hand in the 1950s, Margaret ran into prejudice and arrogance against her because ‘she was a woman’ I know, I have said this repeatedly, for a good reason (p 79). During Elizabeth’s time she experience bigotry and the men during her time, tried to marry her off, and showed contempt for her being a woman in power, now we see it again in the life and time of Margaret Thatcher. When Margaret was allowed to speak at the Conservative Association’s annual general meeting a month after her adoption in 1949, she argued, about the Beveridge report of 1942, in this argument she pointed out the fact that women had specific skills in the matter of public affairs, she stressed the fact that women who ran her household knew how to secure the modern social security problem. All they had to do is look over the household budget and see what was needed to secure, their home, and

Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister, reflected on the benign qualities of President Ronald Reagan, with whom she worked closely with in office, in her eulogy to the American public. Her purpose was to emphasize Reagan’s hardworking, reassuring, and friendly personality through the use of different rhetorical strategies, in order to create a sense of pathos. Thatcher was able to pay her respects and covey her meaningful message by using anecdotes, parallelism, and contrast.

Due to the rapidly changing America, in his farewell address, Ronald Reagan expresses the need for unification of America, and America’s culture. In Reagan’s address, he uses many rhetorical devices to advance his purpose of unifying America, for instance, Reagan utilizes tone, syntax, and pathos to portray his pride, hopefulness, and patriotism for America. He uses these devices to show Americans of the unification America needs.

On January 28, 1986, a day that was supposed to be filled with excitement and exploration, suddenly turned into a day filled with tragedy and sadness. The space shuttle Challenger was supposed to carry a seven member crew into orbit with one unique member along for this particular mission. Christa McAuliffe was supposed to be the first teacher to go into space as a member of the Teacher in Space Project. Due to this occasion, the media coverage and the number of viewers of this mission was extensive, particularly in schools across the nation. The Challenger lifted off shortly after 11:30 A.M., but tragically only seventy three seconds after takeoff it exploded sending debris and the seven crew members back to earth and into the Atlantic

On the morning of Janurary 28th 1986, the world witnessed in shock and horror what was known as the Challenger disaster as the space shuttle exploded only 73 seconds after its launch, killing all seven crew members onboard including one teacher Christa McAuliffe. Approximately 17 percent of Americans watched the live broadcast of this launch, many of them schoolchildren including those from McAuliffe’s school. From this grave moment emerged an exigency that demands immediate action by the president. Later on that same day, President Ronald Reagan delivered his Challenger address to the nation.