Rhetorical Analysis Of Ronald Reagan's On The 40th Anniversary Of D-Day

Rhetorical Analysis
Forty years after arguably the most pivotal moment of the 20th century, Ronald Reagan presents a heartfelt speech regarding this day in history. He stood on the very soil that was once was a war zone and spoke to veterans and some of the most prominent leaders in the world. In one of the most emotional speeches ever delivered, Reagan’s “On the 40th Anniversary of D-Day” touches the hearts of millions by using extraordinary syntax to properly convey his serious message, emotional tone to stress the amplitude of the events taken place and the pathos to remind the people of the heroic actions that were taken place on Doomsday in 1944.
Reagan commences his speech by describing the events that occurred forty years ago. With

tremendous emotion and description, Reagan successful illustrated the very heroic acts that took place. Reagan ends his war narrative by yielding the rhetorical question “Why”. He said, The repetition and use of rhetorical questions helped the immense effect of pathos. The use of rhetorical questions really force the audience to think and reflect on what the question is asking. This causes a many unique feelings differentiating on each member of the audience. Reagan wanted each and every member of the crowd to truly ponder. Obviously, this shifts the tone tremendously. He emphasized the pain and hardships, which were endured and by doing so, gave the audience an emotional reaction. His use of “loyalty and love” directly affected their emotions. These two words are so impactful because they are the reasons the soldiers fought. This causes the audience to recall memories of their family, friends and all they fought for as a young man, creating very strong pathos.
The serious tone of this speech helps convey its central message. Reagan uses powerful diction like, “remember the great losses” and “a terrible price” all in order to create a very melancholy, serious tone. Reagan wants the audience to really remember the devastating effect World War II had. His diction allows the audience to recall the losses faces. However, after he uses a rather saddened tone, Reagan bounces back using words such as “commitment”, “freedom” and “hopes” all bringing a rather positive tone. This diction helped achieve his optimistic tone because the veterans he was speaking to all think of these words as positive ideals. He chooses a sudden switch in tone because he wants the audience to experience the two extremes: happiness and sadness. Reagan wants to somber the mood, but then promptly fills a positive tone to lift the audiences’ spirits. It represents honoring and remembering lost souls of the war, but also the triumphant victory they claimed.
The amazing syntax throughout the speech is the reason it was so effective. Reagan uses many commas to slow up his sentences. He typically used powerful words in front of commas or semicolons in order to really emphasize them. He wants the most important words to echo in the minds of the veterans. Reagan wants for these words to be remembered and the frequent use of commas aids in emphasizing these points. The speech is meant to be read slowly because of the syntax used. The syntax is pivotal to setting the tone and delivering the message to the audience. He knew that the veterans listening would be hanging on every word, therefore he created the many pauses to keep the audience engaged and to emphasize the most important words.
All three of the rhetorical devices go hand in hand and play a role in each other’s success. They are all necessary to exist and they all compliment each other. Reagan gave an extremely deep speech and appropriately honored the ones whom lost their lives, while celebrating the end of a terrible war. The syntax, tone and pathos were all vital in the speech and aided Reagan in successfully delivering his purpose to the world leaders and veterans to whom he spoke.