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Ronald Reagan Speech Ethos Pathos Logos

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June 6, 1944. A day that people will remember forever. A day that men sacrificed their lives for liberty. It had been forty years since World War 2 had left its impact on the world. On the sixth of June, 1984, Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, stood at Pointe du Hoc and delivered a powerful speech to the veterans of D-Day. The same spot the Allied armies ran up the coast to fight against the Nazi tyranny. Behind President Reagan was a stone memorial that symbolized the rangers that took these cliffs. Reagan explained: “These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war" (American Rhetoric). President Reagan’s speech stormed the audience with a strong emotion that brought tears to the eyes. The purpose was to honor those who risked their lives that day to fight against tyranny. Reagan emphasized the loyalty and …show more content…

Ethos is the appeal to ethics, pathos is the appeal to emotion, and logos is the appeal to logic (“examples.yourdictionary.com”). Reagan uses a lot of pathos in his speech to the veterans to show importance. As an example, “All of these men were part of a roll call of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore..” (American Rhetoric). The appeal of pathos is used in this speech a lot to express strong emotion. Reagan uses this device to capture the audience’s attention like when he said, ”The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon.” Finally, Reagan includes logos to state facts about events that happened on the day of June 6th, 1944. He explains, “And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer..” (American

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