Rhetorical
Analysis on President Reagan’s Response to the Challenger Explosion
After the
explosion of the Space Shuttle, Challenger,
President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on this tragedy. His main goal of
his speech was to offer comfort in the aftermath of this disaster.
At the beginning
of his address we can see Reagan using Pathos when he addresses everyone as
“ladies and gentleman” implying that his audience is anyone who is watching
and/or listening to his speech. He also uses Pathos when he states that, “Today
is a day for mourning and remembering,” because it appeals to a person’s
emotions on this depressing topic. Again he appeals to the audience by stating “This is truly a national loss” because it makes everyone feel included and as
if it was a personal event. Also, to add
on to his already existent credibility from being President, he mentions that
he and his wife are “pained” by the tragedy as well. Including himself and his
wife in the speech makes people trust what he is saying more.
Later on in the
speech he establishes Logos by spitting out facts about the space program and
how the program will continue on despite the fact that the explosion happened.
He also appeals to people’s emotion by bringing up the topics of pioneering and
freedom. He shows his knowledge of the audience because he realizes that these
two topics are important to the American society and by bringing it up he again
is making everyone feel as if this event is personal and inclusive.
He finished the
speech by using Logos and Pathos. The Logos is shown when he states the fact of
what happened “On this day 390 years ago” and the Pathos when he tells everyone
that they had honor and were dedicated to their cause. In the end, this speech
would have allowed the average American person to feel as if they were truly a
part of this nation, and give them the comfort they needed in this time of
great sorrow.
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