Analysis Of Ronald Reagan's Speech

The purpose of Reagan's address was to inspire the people to revitalize the American government and rebuild the economy. Reagan emphasizes the importance of returning power to the people, and he motivates the people to take part in improving the economy by calling the everyday working man an "American hero." Reagan creates the argument that a better future is in the hands of the people, not in the hands of the federal government. He specifies that the people are the everyday heroes that keep the economy alive. Reagan builds unity and a sense of togetherness in the American people through the use of rhetorical strategies like Kairos, anaphora, and rhetorical questions. He also drives his argument home by directly addressing the people, and by

Logos is can be seen frequently in this speech. President Reagan was able to use logic to honor the soldiers that fought in the invasion. He used the number of casualties to show

Throughout his Farewell Address, Reagan employs syntax to advance his purpose of the unification of America, when he says “We’ve got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom-freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It’s fragile; it needs protection.” he repeats the word freedom many times, which invokes the feeling of pride and patriotism to the audience and expresses that America is a very prominent symbol of freedom, people from all around the world come to America because when they think of America, they think of total freedom. Reagan also emphasizes how Americans need to teach their children of the pride and spirit of America, for the betterment of America’s future society. Moreover, points out three particular freedoms America provides, Freedom of

I feel that the substance and context of Reagan’s speech were eloquently put. Reagan states that "nothing ends here" the space shuttle program will continue. President Reagan came across with certainty, respect, gratitude and compassion. Reagan also appeared strong but comforting. Reagan only had a short period of time to prepare for the speech which to me only solidifies his

With many changes on the horizon at the time, America was given something and someone to believe in. Many speakers in history have had powerful points and strong words sometimes expressing through a forceful nature intended to scare listeners. Reagan was a speaker who developed a commanding but soothing way that was appealing to the world. Regardless of his background as an actor, the

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 was an inspirational speaker who planted hope in the minds of Americans through his speeches. He echoed throughout the streets of this democracy what true revolutionary ideas were. His ideas and beliefs rang true within the hearts of our fellow country-men as proven by his landslide second term victory. One of his most famous speeches, his First Inaugural Address, was spoken when he won the race for Presidency in 1980. President Reagan wanted to inspire the American people and inform them of how he planned to run the United States of America. He was not only speaking to his fellow citizens, but

Reagan was a well open speaker that impacted the audience. Before Reagan was president and the head of California, he was an actor. Since he was an actor, he knew how to talk to people out loud. In the speech, Reagan speaks effectively to the audience that gets a reaction out of them as well as making the audience interested in the things he says. After Reagan greets the crowd, he grabs the audience’s attention. Reagan remained a Democrat until he converted to the Republican side, the acting career was beneficial for talking to the audience to tell an anecdote about his switch.

The last element of the rhetorical situation is speech. Reagan’s primary objective of this speech was to show his condolence to those of who suffered from the accident and involve audience to join for grief. Throughout his speech his ideas were carried in a coherent way, without deviating from his objective. Reagan achieved this through using various words and phrases that magnify his emotion. Using phrases such as “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of god” illustrated his feeling towards the situation without much of explanation. In addition, because he understood that the audience of this particular speech consisted of diversity of

The most obvious way President Reagan delivers rhetoric to his audience is through his own ethos. Ronald Reagan wasn’t just your average president; he was a communicator. Reagan started his career as a sports announcer and continued on as an actor, which led to his later career in state and national politics. By the time President Reagan had delivered his address, the president had been in the spotlight his entire career and was looked up to worldwide. He had established an extrinsic ethos well before delivering this speech. By being the president of the free world, Reagan’s audience

Reagan uses parallel structure to create a lasting impression, “ But we’ve never lost an astronaut in flight; we’ve never had a tragedy like this” (Reagan 2) He uses parallel structure as a source for repetition, except that the first word is repeated for effect, not full sentences. “They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us” (Reagan 3).

Most of the appeal in this speech is to pathos. Very early on in his speech Reagan states, “And so many times I wanted to stop and reach out from behind the glass, and connect. Well maybe I can do a little of that tonight”. This is the beginning of his regard to pathos. With this statement he is trying to make a connection with the people which he did a phenomenal job of doing so. He uses the term “we” throughout the speech because he wants to be sure that the people know and understand that he has served this country for them. Reagan is also sure to make the people apart of his serving time. “I’ve been asked if I have any regrets. Well I do. The deficit is one”, this is another example of Reagan stepping out of his President shoes and admitting that there were mistakes that were made during his term. His intentions are to simply make the American people proud to be Americans.

While in office Ronald Reagan had a disapproval rating that soared to 54% in 1983 (How the Presidents Stack Up). However, in 2001, his retrospective disapproval rating was a mere 27% (Newport). Often the focus of criticism while in office, Ronald Reagan has become known within the ranks of historians as one of the most influential American Presidents, ranking 10th in the Annual C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leaders in 2009 (C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership). Lauded as the “Great Communicator,” much has been said of Reagan and his oratorical skills, including his simplicity, clarity, and sincerity of speech (Thompson). While his speech at the Bradenburg Gate, with its famous line, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” has

The last element of the rhetorical situation is speech. Reagan’s primary objective of this speech was to show his condolence to those of who suffered from the accident and involve audience to join for grief. Throughout his speech his ideas were carried in a coherent way, without deviating from his objective. Reagan achieved this through using various words and phrases that magnify his emotion. Using phrases such as “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of god” illustrated his feeling towards the situation without much of explanation. In addition, because he understood that the audience of this particular speech consisted of diversity of people, he used words that are more approachable and easy to the audience.

On January 28, 1986 Ronald Reagan gave tragic news to American on the Shuttle Challenger Disaster. Ronald Reagan, as president, was planned to give the State of the Union address but it was delayed due to the disaster. Reagan instead had to give tragic news to American. President Ronald Reagan gave a speech using rhetorical appeals, expressing his feelings, describing his unplanned speech, and giving examples of how he wants his legacy to live on. Ronald Reagan’s speech was emotional and inspiring. He remembers those astronauts that were lost on the day of the disaster but also those who were lost nineteen years ago. Ronald Reagan concentrates on reassurance of the nation which makes the speech uplifting.