Cicileo "Resigning the Presidency" Rhetoric

Gianna Cicileo

Mrs. Gazso

AP English

14 October 2014

AP Assignment 5- Rhetorical Analysis

In his speech, President Richard Nixon appeals for the support and understanding of all Americans in his selfless act of resignation for the good of the nation.  Nixon starts his speech by accrediting the place he is giving it from, acknowledging the influential and progressive decisions he made from the Oval Office. Nixon acknowledges the positive decisions he made, as well as the decisions that had led to negative events. In the resignation, Nixon recognizes that his political footing had lessened, and he could no longer achieve the best for the United States as before. Although Nixon, stating he was not a quitter, decided it was in the best interest of America and the American people for him to hand over his presidential power into the hands of a more capable candidate. Nixon refers to his five and a half years of experience as president in making his resignation decision. Nixon asks for the support of all Americans in his resignation, looking to continue making a positive impact on the world. In his appeal for support, he includes the hope for safety of the America people and continuing peace between other nations, work he had participated in for over a quarter of a century.

Caitlin Panarella

AP Language and American Literature

14 October 2014

Rhetorical Analysis: Reagan’s “Shuttle Challenger” Speech

            The United States lost seven astronauts in space on January 28, 1986, a tragedy in the wake of a flourishing space program.  Reagan addressed the nation later that day.  The aim of the speech is to comfort a mournful, confused population, reassure it, and to invoke hope for the future while also expressing sorrow.  In this address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan uses rhetoric successfully by expressing emotion and authority that will achieve these aims, while not undermining himself with unnecessary facts.

As President, Reagan already has authority and credibility, but the shock of the tragedy necessitates his reestablishment of that ethos.  He begins by speaking of how he changed what he planned to discuss that day according to the tragedy, demonstrating how he is sensitive to the sadness of the public.  Reagan then immediately interjects his own emotional response, articulating how his sadness is the same of the people’s.  He gives himself ethos by paying appropriate homage to the sorrowful event, as well as admitting that he can never truly understand the grief of the astronauts’ families.  Admitting what he does not know gives what he claims to know better standing ground.  This comforts a disoriented public.

This address is direct pathos, as every word is meant to empathize with the audience, acknowledge their sadness, and try to stem it with hope.  Reagan attempts to evoke hope in his audience when he celebrates the accomplishments of the U.S. space program and predicts future explorations.  Reagan also uses pathos when he makes an allusion to Sir Francis Drake, providing background information.  The name serves to bring to mind an inspired feeling, one of respect towards the lost explorers.

Throughout this speech, Reagan uses little logos, which was most likely intentional.  Hard facts would undermine the aim of his speech.  He instead chooses to keep the speech personal, placing himself in solidarity with all citizens.

Houlihan "Resigning the Presidency" Rhetoric

            In “Resigning the Presidency,” Richard Nixon uses rhetoric to soften the blow of the Watergate Scandal and to immediately begin rebuilding his shattered image to the American public. He begins by addressing each member of his audience as “I.” Although the audience was obviously much bigger than a single individual, in referring to his audience as such he gives a personal sense for the viewer or listener of the speech. Nixon talks of being elected to office by “you,” another device to make the audience feel as though he is specifically addressing them. He even later goes on to say “we” when talking about the feats of the nation during his presidency. By doing this throughout his speech, Nixon appeals to his audience on a much more intimate and personal level, attempting to make the viewer or listener feel connected to Nixon.

            President Nixon then begins to assert his authority as a speaker. This step is crucial for his speech, because through the Watergate Scandal he had lost the influence that is normally accredited to the United State’s presidents simply based on their title. Nixon states that both he and his family wanted to him continue his presidency despite any “personal agony” he may have had to endure. He then says that the “interest of the Nation must always come before any personal considerations.” This first statement leads the audience to understand that if necessary, Nixon would have struggled through the difficulties of what would have remained of his presidency. By making the audience believe that he has the nation’s best interest at heart, he slowly regains his credibility as a speaker. He claims that he has never been a “quitter,” and in saying this Nixon tries to make his audience grasp how trying the end result of his decision to resign has been for him. The viewer or listener gets the sense that this decision was not made lightly, but one that was long contemplated by Nixon and discussed with many other people in positions of power. Nixon also becomes more reliable as a speaker when explaining his reasoning for resigning. By mentioning that he would need to completely absorb himself in reshaping his image as a political figure to Congress if he were to remain president, the audience gets the impression that he understands the depth and significance of Watergate, furthering his reforming believability.

            Nixon spends the last portion of “Resigning the Presidency” discussing his achievements as president, how he hopes to see the nation continue to prosper, and his gratitude towards Americans. He refers to the various diplomatic feats he has accomplished, and focuses mainly on what he has done for a more peaceful world. He advocates for peace and prosperity throughout not only America but also globally. Nixon states that he is “confident the world is a safer place” after his presidency. By reminding his audience of all he has done to work towards world peace and a better America, he successfully starts the budding of a new image for himself. Nixon further states that even though he is resigning, he will continue to work towards the goals he claims he has kept as a priority during his presidency. The speech concludes with a statement of a “kinship” Nixon says he felt with every American, and with a prayer for all in the audience. These final few words work to really assert what Nixon wanted to say in his speech. The last statements Nixon makes are solely attempts at transforming his ruined image. He sends a message of hope for a better nation, and for hopes of a positive legacy left behind from his presidency rather than simply the scandalous matters that brought his presidency crashing down.

A Rhetorical Analysis of "Take Down This Wall"

            In his speech “Take Down This Wall”, Ronald Reagan persuasively uses arguments based on character to establish his credibility as a champion of democracy, arguments based on logic to substantiate his summons, and appeals to emotion to solidify his alliance to the values of Berliners and to freedom, in his call on Gorbachev to dismantle the Berlin Wall, advance peace, and promote openness in Berlin.  

The opening of Reagan’s speech is characterized by his appeals to the cultural and social values of Berliners, their enduring sense of alliance to Americans, and their understanding of Reagan’s vindication of democracy, all of which are purposed to gain the audience’s conviction. Reagan employs ethos in legitimizing his role as a speaker when he claims it is his “duty to speak, in this place, of freedom”, which further emphasizes his solidarity with the interests of Berliners. In addition, Reagan buys the approval of the audience by acknowledging and flattering the distinguishing characteristics of Berliners and their resilience in the face of Soviet incursion. These comments also serve to boost his credibility, since they reveal he is knowledgeable about events in Berlin from the perspective of Berliners. Finally, they resonate emotionally with the audience, since Reagan frames his case for liberty in terms of the personal values intimate to each Berliner. Not only does Reagan appeal to “Berliner Herz, Berliner Humor, und Berliner Schnauze” in defining these values as those that enabled Berlin to prevail over Soviet aggression, but he also extols the “message of hope” and the “message of triumph” manifested despite, or perhaps in spite of, the wall. These appeals further elicit pride and confidence from Berliners, and also bolster the closeness with which they hold these values. Reagan’s refutation of Soviet Communism and argument for political and economic freedom employ inductive reasoning: Reagan draws the conclusion that “freedom leads to prosperity” by mentioning factual examples that testify to the Wirtschaftswunder. Furthermore, Reagan’s mention of the freedom fostered by the Marshall Plan not only appeals to reason, but also supports the alliance between Berliners and Americans, thus appealing to the Berliners’ association of American diplomacy with the extension of freedom.
            After he establishes credibility, strikes an emotional chord with his audience of Berliners, and frames the main points of his argument using reasoning, Reagan makes three demands of the Soviet Union and its leader. In the line most remembered in history, Reagan calls for Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” Reagan establishes a logical pathway for this line in the preceding two paragraphs, in which he discusses the purported “openness” evolving in the Soviet Union and nominates the dismantling of the wall as the best true measure of whether this openness is real. Similarly, the involved discussion about the arms reduction treaty then under negotiation is also handled with straightforward logical rhetoric. Reagan’s final plea to Gorbachev is an emotional appeal to “bring the Eastern and Western parts of the city together” through various international meetings, sporting events, and cultural exchanges.

            Reagan’s Berlin Wall speech concludes with arguments steeped in pathos as he entreats a population that he characterizes as resilient and tough to look to the future with an unshakeable faith in unity being restored to their city and country. Reagan eulogizes the love and worship characteristic of Berliners, issuing an appeal to their emotions by claiming that despite the callous nature of the totalitarian world, their love and worship cannot be muffled. Before he closes, Reagan invokes truth and faith in quoting a scrawled graffito stating “Beliefs become reality”. Following this allusion, Reagan uses anaphora to underscore the fragile makeup of the wall in its inability to withstand faith, truth, and freedom. This rhetorical device is a final move that draws on the feelings of the audience to prove to Berliners that their strength of character and of mind are powerful enough alone to topple the wall, regardless of the outcome of Gorbachev’s decision.