Challenger Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of Reagan’s Challenger Speech
Soon after launch on January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart and shattered the nation. The tragedy was on the hearts and minds of the nation and President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan addressed the county, commemorating the men and woman whose lives were lost and offering hope to Americans and future exploration. Reagan begins his speech by getting on the same level as the audience by showing empathy and attempting to remind us that this was the job of the crew. He proceeds with using his credibility to promise future space travel. Ultimately, his attempt to appeal to the audience’s emotions made his argument much stronger. Reagan effectively addresses the public about the tragedy while comforting, acknowledging, honoring and motivating his audience all in an effort to move the mood from grief to hope for future exploration.

At the beginning of his speech, President Ronald Reagan acknowledges the tragedy and empathizes with the pain and grief.

He states the following “Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.” Using the words “Nancy and I” and “We” make the speech personal and shows that he too is affected by the event. He offers his condolences to the families of the crew. "We mourn their loss as a nation together. The families of the seven, we cannot bear as you do the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss and we are thinking about you so very much." This quote is inclusive and provides a source of comfort to the audience. From here, Reagan will go on to explain how events like this are possible during

exploration.
Through this tough time for the nation, Reagan had to address the country and remind them that these astronauts were doing their job. "Perhaps we have forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger seven were aware of the dangers and overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly.” He acknowledges that they were prepared to make sacrifices and this event did not diminish that sacrifice. This is an important piece of Reagan’s argument, to remind the audience that this was something the crew chose to do and to not look down on space exploration and space travel. “We have grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we’ve only just begun. We are still pioneers. They, the member of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.” In this statement, Reagan refers to the crew as “pioneers” to remind the nation, again, that this is a new frontier and that space exploration is no small thing. This statement shows that we will commemorate the crew and their dedicated to the country by continuing the exploration of space. “We are still pioneers.”
Ronald Reagan was the president of the United States addressing the country in a time of sadness; this in itself provided credibility. He took his position and used the tragedy to persuade the audience that despite these events they will continue moving forward with exploration to honor the fallen crew. “We’ll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.” This message shows that although the nation is saddened it will not keep them down and progress will continue. Lives were not taken for a cause that was seen as unimportant. Strong Leaders help us push forward and not give up during times of tragedy. That is what Reagan did, by putting himself on the same level as those affected and providing hope that they did not die in vain.
The message of this speech was to offer condolences, remind the nation that tragedy sometime occurs during exploration and support future space ventures. Throughout the speech, Reagan continuously empathized with everyone affected by the incident; he did this while effectively getting his message across. He provided hope for the future and I do not think there was a more effective way President Reagan could have done this. His message of hope and comfort was felt throughout the speech and there is no question that it affected him personally, which is why this speech was so effective.