Tragedy in America
January 28, 1986 was a day of excitement and anticipation for the United States Space Program. Thousands gathered around television sets and radios to listen and watch the take off of the space shuttle, “The Challenger.” The challenger took off with seven brave astronauts ready to explore space, but their journey was cut short when the Challenger exploded in mid air seventy-three seconds after take-off. The citizens of the United States were shocked by this tragedy and looked to their president for comfort and logic. President Ronald Reagan delivered his address later that evening to the nation regarding the tragedy. Reagan spoke to thousands of American citizens over television and radio to help ease the pain that
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they were feeling from the destruction of the Challenger. The main purpose of his speech was to show respect for those who had lost their lives, but also to explain to the public that they must continue to have faith in the space program and in their country. Reagan’s creative use of rhetorical appeals left his audience with the message that tragedy would not define the country. Reagan created a well organized argument through his use of logos. The main claim of his address can be easily described in the quote, “Failure isn’t falling down it’s refusing to get back up.” Reagan began by establishing that day as a day for mourning and remembering those brave astronauts who lost their lives. He explained that these astronauts sought a challenge and desired to serve their country, which they had done and done well. Reagan then expressed how we are all pioneers, working everyday to discover new things and answer the tough questions in life. He stated that he always had great faith in the nation’s space program and the tragedy at hand did not change his opinion. Tragedy is a part of exploration, discovery, taking chances, and expanding one’s horizons. Reagan shared his opinion that the future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted, it belongs to the brave. Reagan concluded his claim by saying that the United States will not hide its space program and it will not keep secrets from its citizens. There will be more flights and more shuttle crews and volunteers willing to travel to space. The United States refused to be defined by their failure. They were ready to face it head on and rise above it. Reagan ended his address with the phrase, “Nothing ends here; our hopes and journeys continue.” Reagan positively depicted to the country how they were going to get through the tragedy and influenced the nation to believe this goal cannot be accomplished without them. This strategy aided in persuading the listener to see the destruction of the Challenger as an opportunity for change and growth and instilled a sense of reassurance on the American people. The audience was more likely to respond in a positive way if they knew they had a role to play in supporting their country. One’s logic cannot be taken seriously if the speaker is not credible on the topic they are addressing.
Reagan clearly displayed his credibility through the establishment of ethos during his speech. Reagan exemplified his credibility from the beginning due to his profession. The President of the United States is a position of high honor, respect, and power in this country. His address is very credible because he was the first person to brief the nation on the events that had taken place. Reagan began by sharing some background information and stories regarding the nation’s space program which shows that he was very knowledgeable on the topic he was discussing. Reagan was also extremely invested in the space program; therefore he was capable of knowledgably speaking on behalf of the space station. At one particular point in his address, Reagan quoted a historian on the life of Sir Francis Drake saying, “He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.” He related this to the death of the astronauts by stating that they loved what they did and died doing what they loved. This use of ethos showed a sense of sophistication and that he used his authority to appropriately address the public in a suitable manner. The president had to overcome a huge restraint while writing this speech and that was to find a way to appropriately address the nation and to help calm the nation. Reagan overcame this restraint by delivering a speech that was not only appropriate, but …show more content…
also touching to all that listened. Reagan’s past experiences as an actor, politician, and even family man helped him to provide a fitting response to the nation. Along with an organized claim and a credible speaker, emotion is extremely important in relaying a message.
Reagan did precisely that in his address to the people after the destruction of the Challenger. The death of the seven astronauts had already brought abundance of negativity to the nation, so Reagan persevered to present more positive emotion. He was respectful and decided the day was intended for mourning and remembrance. He even mentioned how the event personally affected him and his wife Nancy, which shows that it touched him not only through the workplace but also personally. Reagan then went on to address the families saying that he could not bear the pain of this tragedy and those that were lost will always be remembered through the legacy that they left behind. A shift from negative emotion to positive emotion occurred soon after he addressed the families. The president looked toward positive emotions associated with patriotism to help end his speech. He used powerful statements such as, “We will continue our quest in space” and “Nothing ends here; our hopes and journeys continue.” Reagan assured the nation that it is acceptable to feel negative emotion, but stressed not to linger on the negativity. There would come a point in time where, as a nation, we would have to pick ourselves up and keep moving forward because we could not let failure define our country. Reagan’s use of positive and negative emotions was very powerful because it let the American
people to know they were allowed to mourn, but eventually rebuild their faith in the country. This use of pathos helped influence emotion in the common citizen to move them to want to make a change. Reagan’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos helped to relay his claim that America could not let failure keep them from getting back up and trying again. Reagan recognized the tragedy as a rhetorical opportunity and decided that addressing the nation was a fitting response. He was clearly appropriate in his response by addressing the nation in a formal tone that was fitting for the situation, but he also personalized his message to make his speech more relatable. The medium by which Reagan used was very fitting because it easily reached Americans all at once helping to settle the emotions of the entire nation. Overall, the response reached his intended audience and helped him achieve his rhetorical purpose of refusing to allow failure to burden the people. The purpose was achieved through a speech that had a mature and respectful tone that also helped leave the nation with a sense of pride in their country.
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.
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
...ent would have presented an ineffective speech. This was not an easy task for me, because I am not a Reagan admirer; however I shed my listener bias to finally appreciate the Great Communicator in his element.
Ethos, or credibility, 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.
Also, I will discuss whether or not there are any logical fallacies that may have weakened his speech. President Roosevelt does a few specific things to be able to establish his credibility as a speaker. Since Roosevelt was the current president, the United States was inclined to listen to him and believe what he was saying. Being the president, the people knew that he was a credible source to receive information from. The president had also been appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1920.
...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.
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.
He emphasizes the horror when he states, “I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost.” He tries to gain the confidence of the the American people by stating that other countries have been attacked, as well. He uses parallel structure and repetition to indicate that places other than the US were attacked. He repeats this framework to emphasize that many other places were attacked. He does this so that his audience can understand the greater impact of the event. FDR then concludes this section of his speech by stressing the fact that he knows what the Americans are feeling and the opinions that have been formed. Roosevelt implies that he knows their lives will change and that the people are concerned for their safety. He does this to make the listeners understand that they are not alone in their reaction to this attack and that everybody in America feels this
In his “Challenger Explosion” speech, Pres. Ronald Reagan comforts the nation in the aftermath of NASA’s Challenger Space Shuttle exploded shortly after takeoff killing all seven astronauts. In this speech, he used rhetorical devices, such as alliteration, allusion, anaphora, and euphemism to relay his feelings of sadness and grief.
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.
Franklin Roosevelt struck people 's emotions with his patriotic and nationalistic quotes. “With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.” This quote strikes at the hearts of Americans filling them with a sense of pride and determination. President Roosevelt makes it clear that no matter what other nations will do to the United States, the American people will be filled with resilience and rebound to make the nation as great and powerful as it ever was. When the President speaks about the attacks on Pearl Harbor, his tone creates a feeling of anger. The feeling of anger is created when he states that the Japanese launched this attack with no warning. The Empire of Japan had its ambassador and a colleague meeting with the Secretary of State to give them a message that they didn 't want to continue to negotiate with the United States. The message however showed no signs of the forthcoming attack on Pearl Harbor. The President also creates emotions in the audience by his use of tone and emphasis. His tone is stern yet caring showing that he believes in the American people. It also shows that while the United States was attacked, he has faith that the American troops, citizens, and government will rally behind him to terminate the
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
...imes when we are faced with national tragedies we are left at a loss for words. We look upon our leaders to help us through these difficult times, to have all the answers. We listen to what they have to say with vulnerability and uncertainty of what’s to come next for our country. Reagan was aware of all these factors when he gave his famous address. He was aware that in order for any argument to be considered a powerful and successful one it needs to be thought through and take into consideration the outside factors that are affecting it. Reagan’s challenger argument was one that had a clear audience, distinct setting, and finally the argument had a definite and in this case necessary purpose. By Reagan utilizing these three elements and effectively combining them he created a memorable speech that is now widely considered a masterpiece of public communication.
There is no doubt that the when the President of the United States speaks everyone listens to what he has to say. This credibility makes the Ethos of Reagan’s Speech almost unsurpassable. As mentioned Reagan was scheduled to give a State of the Union Address to our country on the evening of January 28, 1986. Instead, he postponed it, because “the story of the day was tragedy. Here he wanted to give an upbeat speech about America moving ahead. It just didn’t fit. It seemed in congruous (Weinraub).” He showed the country that his priority is the emotions of his people by, for the first time in history, postponing on the State of the Union speech in order to discuss the current event. This strengthened the creditability of his argument immensely. He likened the astronauts to pioneers and stated in his speech that “They had a special grace, that special spirit that says, ‘Give me a challenge and I’ll meet it with joy.” With this he appeals to the spiritual side of his audience using the word grace to describe the fallen. Again, “The president concluded by attaching the nation’s sorrow to God’s grace (Ritter, 4).” He said “As they prepared for there journey and waved ...
Life, it can be beautiful, happy, or sad. Life can be any emotion that you can think of. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser, puts us through all these emotions in showing us the extremes in happiness, sadness, anger, and many other emotions to show us what real life is like. To do this most accurately, Dreiser bases his two-book story on a true-life tale about a man and what his rage did to his life.