Reagan's Berlin-Wall Speech Analysis

321 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ronald reagan inaugural speech

The speech given by President Ronald Wilson Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987, was an invigorating speech. Mr. Reagan provided hope to West and East Germans to those who lost all hope of reunification through the words he chose and the way he delivered those words. Mr. Reagan connected with the people who had lost hope by using uplifting words. He made sure that they understood that all hope was not lost with terms such as, “Yet I do not come here to lament. For I find in Berlin a message of hope, even in this shadow of a wall, a message of triumph (New York Times, June 13, 1987, EXCERPTS FROM REAGAN'S TALK AT THE BERLIN WALL, http://www.nytimes.com/,August 16, 2017, From http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/13/world/excerpts-from-reagan-s-talk-at-the-Berlin-wall.html).”

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Techniques In Elie Wiesel's Speech

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the speech, Elie Wiesel makes clear his appreciation for America and President Reagan: “We are grateful to this country, the greatest democracy in the world, the freest nation in the world, the moral Nation, the authority in the world.” Firstly, Wiesel wishes to appease the American public: He establishes that he is grateful for America’s humanity and compassion and uses an apposition to underscore America’s greatness. In other words, Wiesel concedes that America has done much, but he then continues with a refutation: “But, Mr. President, I wouldn’t be the person I am, and you wouldn’t respect me for what I am, if I were not to tell you also of the

    Read More

  • Ethos Pathos In Ronald Reagan's Brandenburg Gate Speech

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ronald Reagan adeptly utilizes Ethos Pathos and Logos in his Brandenburg Gate address, he attempts to sway the audience of the importance of success of the marshal plan and western values as a whole, and convince the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the barrier which had divided West and East Berlin since 1961. Reagan begins his speech by addressing the people present and recognizing the “freedom” and “feeling of history” of the city of Berlin has. He makes his first reference to previous speakers by saying, “Twenty four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, and speaking to the people of this city and the world at the city hall. Well since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn to Berlin. And today, I, myself, make my second visit to your city,”( Reagan 361) His first usage of pathos is when he addresses the east berliners who were separated from the westerners by the Berlin wall and tells them, “I join your fellow countrymen in the West, in this

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of President Reagan's Challenger Address

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    President Reagan, at the time in the beginnings of his second term, had successfully maintained overall a high approval rating with the American people. He had won their trust and respect by being quite relatable to the average citizen (Cannon). He had planned that evening to give his State of the Union address, but instead postponed it. The tragedy that had unfolded just hours earlier demanded his complete attention (Eidenmuller 29).

    Read More

  • Speech On The Challenger Disaster Rhetorical Analysis

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reagan touches the people of the United States because he expresses grief and sorrow in his speech. After the disaster, Reagan uses tone effectively to commemorate the deaths of the crew. “They had a special grace” or “your loved ones were loving and brave”(3) are examples of how Reagan sympathizes with the mourning families. This tone not only allows the families to grieve their losses, it also provides them with the opportunity to feel proud about their children’s accomplishments. Furthermore, Reagan uses tone to carry the people’s afflictions after the Challenger crash and change it into confidence. The people of the United States look at this crash as a failure, but Reagan turns it around when he says, “what happened today does nothing to diminish it”(6) and “we will continue to follow them” (5). Reagan’s use of tone allows him to inspire the United States to keep moving forward after the flop. This hope is what makes Reagan’s speech so successful. Tone and rhetorical appeals guide the speech but Reagan’s use of rhetorical devices is what makes the speech so successful.

    Read More

  • Remarks At The Brandenburg Gate Rhetorical Devices

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the second paragraph he says, “We come to Berlin, we American Presidents, because it’s our duty to speak in this place of freedom.” By assigning speaking in places of freedom to his duties and allocating the cause for prosperity of the western world to freedom, Reagan establishes his ethos as an advocate for “good.” He continues to gain the trust of his audience by displaying his personal concern for the well-being of those in Berlin, in Germany, and in the western world as well as his sympathy for those that reside in the totalitarian state. By revealing his intentions to promote prosperity, Reagan creates a common goal between him and his audience, demonstrating his sincerity and honesty and allowing the rest of the text to be easily

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan: Challenger Speech

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...er’s crew would not be in vain. Reagan chose not to use a teleprompter during his speech even though it was available at the time. Knowing this shows me that he wanted to address the American people on a more personal level. Even though he did have a manuscript I did not notice him look at it once. I felt his speech was truly heart felt and that he was very sincere in what was being said. He had great eye contact with the camera and you could see in his facial expressions that he was too deeply upset by the loss we as a nation endured. He succeeded in calming the nation, extending condolences all while effectively delivering a reassuring speech.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ronald Reagan was one of the most liked Presidents. When being elected for his second term, he won by a landslide—winning all the states minus Minnesota and Washington D.C. Reagan addresses the people of the United States of America. He wants the American people to reflect on his presidency, and as all presidents do in their farewell addresses, he wants to say goodbye to the nation that he's led for the past eight years. Ronald Reagan uses repetition, parallel structure, and allusion to reflect on his presidency and to say farewell to the American people.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan's Speech On The Tragedy Of The Space Shuttle Challenger

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a person’s lifetime, many things can happen including death. In 1986 seven individuals, Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnic, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe, lost their lives doing what they loved most. The tragedy of the shuttle challenger brought much pain to the nation that day. Along with the pain comes grieving. The nation grieved the loss of these seven wonderful individuals and hoped to find peace and comfort for the days to come. As Ronald Reagan prepared to give the state of the union address, things changed for worse, he unexpectedly had to give a speech on a horrific event. Reagan was devastated at the loss of the seven men and women that were on that space shuttle challenger.

    Read More

  • Lyndon B Johnson Use Of Ethos Pathos Logos

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    On March 15, 1965 in Washington D.C ……..the courageous President Lyndon B. Johnson has delivered a legendary speech. It was called, “We shall overcome.” The speech came into conjunction, after the sad death of a black protester in Selma, Alabama. The protest was over black voting rights. Blacks were simply discriminated against voting rights on the basis of their skin color. Johnson’s aspiration for the “we shall overcome” speech, was to convince the congress, Americans, to pass his bill. This would be beneficial by enabling blacks to vote. Johnson is widely known for his effective use of ethos, logos, and pathos to engage the crowd.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan Beliefs

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...speech to the world where he was quoted as saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” The speech was given at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin (“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall: President Ronald Reagan”). This speech signified the beginning of the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan’s foreign policy tactics are another reason why he was a great president.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Ronald Reagan's Speech

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ronald Reagan, first starts off with empathy and his condolences when he says” Today is a day of mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of our country. This is truly a national loss.” He is in pain for the families and knows how hard it will be to recover. As well to this he lists all seven “heroes” names in commemoration. Reagan also tries to make this tragedy more positive by explaining to the children who were watching that things sometimes happen and it’s a part of life and growth. He does not give doubt and resent towards the goal of exploring space but hope that they will continue on. Throughout the whole address, Reagan seems very sincere and dependable which makes his rhetoric more effective and persuasive. Next, President Reagan gives his respect to the NASA and also adds “We don’t hide our space program. We don’t keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public.” What he is trying to show to the people is the sense of freedom in America in regards to other countries. This alone is a way of differentiating great countries, when he says that victims had a special grace and spirt that says “Give me a challenge, and I’ll meet it with joy” is a way of comforting the families and the nation. Reagan’s way of handling and talking to the nations after this tragedy was nevertheless effective and well

    Read More

  • Contextual Analysis Ronald Reagan

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    The day of the challenger explosion Reagan had originally planned on speaking to the nation to report on the state of the union, but this unfortunate event caused him to have a sudden shift in plans. He had to quickly put together a speech appropriate for the occasion and construct an argument to defend the NASA program. The shuttle challenger explosion caused many Americans heartache as well as great uncertainty about what would become of NASA. In the speech, Reagan spoke to the nation as a whole and tried to console everyone as best he could. He honored the men whom risked and ultimately lost their lives in this horrible accident. He also addressed the families of the seven brave men directly in his speech.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan's Space Shuttle Challenger

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reagan’s speech on the night of January 28, 1986 dramatically “took the first step toward uniting the country in its grief (Ritter, 4)”. Ronald Reagan reached out to the schoolchildren of America and all other citizens of the United States to counsel them in time of tragedy. He gave hope to the nation through emotional and spiritual reference. He was effective in conveying his message but the way his thoughts were organized was in part ineffective. His speech is very unorganized, and he could have ordered his thoughts better. More importantly than disorganization though, Ronald Reagan reached out to a nation that needed him as there president. He gave the people of the United States hope and Reassurance, a task that the President has been expected to do since the beginning of our country.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan, a True Hero

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    A couple of the heroic values that Reagan possessed were strength and courage. Most people would agree that it took an agglomeration of strength and courage during the cold war era to make his ever famous, “Tear Down This Wall Speech” in Berlin. Ramesh Jaura explains how many people believe this speech made a positive effect toward ending the cold war:

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan's Speech

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reagan’s ethos was created throughout his two terms but solidified in his second and final one. Reagan presents his ethos throughout his rhetoric by stating facts with authority and also in a way that made him credible to the audience. One of the parts in his speech is headlined with a cold and awakening fact directed at the Soviet Union. In a 1956 speech given by Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev, the statement “We will bury you,” was aimed at Western ambassadors who stood for freedom. In Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate, he specifically calls out the previously stated notion that the Soviets would essentially, “bury the free world.” Reagan profoundly proclaims this: “In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: "We will bury you." But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind--too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.” The great appeal this presented to the

    Read More

More about Reagan's Berlin-Wall Speech Analysis

Open Document