Ronald Reagan: Challenger Speech

921 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rhetorical analysis of Reagan's The Challenger Speech

On January 28, 1986, a day that was supposed to be filled with excitement and exploration, suddenly turned into a day filled with tragedy and sadness. The space shuttle Challenger was supposed to carry a seven member crew into orbit with one unique member along for this particular mission. Christa McAuliffe was supposed to be the first teacher to go into space as a member of the Teacher in Space Project. Due to this occasion, the media coverage and the number of viewers of this mission was extensive, particularly in schools across the nation. The Challenger lifted off shortly after 11:30 A.M., but tragically only seventy three seconds after takeoff it exploded sending debris and the seven crew members back to earth and into the Atlantic Ocean. All seven crew members aboard were killed in the crash as America helplessly watched. A faulty O-ring in the right solid rocket booster was said to have been the cause of the crash. Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, was in office at the time of this tragic event. President Reagan was scheduled to deliver his State of the Union Address that same evening. His intentions were to mention the Challenger and the significance of that particular mission during his speech. This would not be the case following the events of that day. President Reagan did not give his State of Union speech that evening, but decided instead to address the nation on that day’s unfortunate events. He acknowledged the bravery of each member of the crew. He named each person who was killed on the space shuttle and also addressed their families extending his sympathy and gratitude. And went on to point out that though the crew members were aware of the dangers they met the challenge with courage and ... ... middle of paper ... ...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. Works Cited n.a. American Rhetoric. n.d. 26 October 2011 . n.a. Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. n.d. 30 October 2011 .

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Persuasive Symbols in Ronald Reagan's The Space Shuttle "Challenger" Tragedy Address

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    Politicians frequently receive negative publicity at the hand of their own use of language. Their uses of words as they relate to persuasion typically fall within one of the three dimensions of language functions, semantic or thematic. Often their persuasive language can be found to closely resemble any of these three categories simultaneously. There are many tools for analyzing persuasive symbols, many of which should be utilized when analyzing great communicators such as President Ronald Reagan. In response to the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on January 28th, 1986 where seven brave American’s gave their lives. President Ronald Reagan made history with his famous speech, which didn’t only serve to address the great tragedy, but served as a focal point of comfort for the grieving nation. He commemorated the seven heroes who had fallen that morning in route to outer space; he expressed gratitude to NASA for their past developments and encouraged further explorations. Ronald Reagan was a great communicator, a charismatic persuader whose words delivered focus of the message through utilization of persuasive symbols. This paper aims not to be an all-inclusive guide for analyzing persuasive symbols, but will sufficiently guide the reader to be a more perceptive of persuasive language.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of President Reagan's Challenger Address

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...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.

    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

  • Analysis Of Ronald Reagan's Speech

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States of America during the Cold War era. On January 28th, 1986, he gave a speech to discuss the tragedy of the Challenger Space Shuttle, which exploded in atmosphere. The speech was delivered in the Oval Office during his State of the Union Address. He was attempting to inform and comfort America about the disaster. The author uses multiple rhetorical devices in his speech. The importance of these devices is to convey a goal of the author to persuade the reader to a certain perspective. A speaker uses these devices to give the speech more impact. Rhetorical and persuasive devices can make a speech more effective since the devices can use emotional and logical appeal. In this speech, Reagan does not use very many complicated devices, but he does use appeal, anaphora, repetition, and allusion.

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan Challenger Explosion Speech Analysis

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of We Go To The Moon Speech

    1671 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout history, there had been various types of accomplishments that made an impact to the nation. Every effect in the past is what sculpted the present time as today. Although the several altercations in the past dealt with several wars that made impacts towards the future, there had been other types of certain events that improved the future. In addition, the United States has always been known as being number one in multiple criteria performed. So it was no surprise when the U.S. decided to launch a mission to moon back in 1961. Nonetheless, John F. Kennedy had been the current president at the time in which he delivered the famous “We Choose to go to the Moon” speech. The type of format he used to deliver his speech was encouraging to his audience. In the “We Choose to go to the Moon” speech John F. Kennedy used anaphora, parallelism, and metonymy to encourage his audience that traveling to the moon was the right thing for the nation.

    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

  • 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

    Since the presidency of George Washington, the people of The United States have turned to the commander in chief in times of distress to receive assurance and hope. Kurt Ritter comments on President Reagan’s address to the nation given on January 28, 1986 saying, “Perhaps no president could have fulfilled the country’s need to mourn and, then, to begin to heal as skillfully as Ronald Reagan (Ritter, 3).” On that morning the space shuttle “Challenger” violently exploded while the nation watched live televised coverage of the shuttle’s launch. President Reagan was scheduled to give his State of the Union Address on that date, but instead he reached out the country in this time of mourning. He spoke from his oval office to heartbroken teachers, children, NASA Space Engineers, and the entire country. President Reagan’s reaction to the tragedy of the challenger guided the United States out of despair and into a new light of hope behind seven fallen heroes. In this essay I will show that Reagan gave our country a new light of hope through his emphasis on Pathos but also incorporating Ethos and Logos in this memorable presentation.

    Read More

  • Speech On D-Day Speech

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ronald Reagan gave a famous speech to honor the soldiers that were a part of the Normandy landings. His speech titled, “Remarks on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day” praises American soldiers for their bravery on June 6th, 1944. It is known as one of the greatest patriotic speeches in American history. Reagan’s speech is a great speech because of his use of ethos, pathos, and logos to help us understand the importance of the D-Day.

    Read More

  • Research Paper on Ronald Reagan's Innaugural Address

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    Charisma is defined in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as “a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure” (Merriam-Webster Online). Throughout history successful public speaking is a dominant trait for influential historical figures: persuasive speakers use charisma and charm to capture their audience and spark a difference in society. Political figures use charisma in order to campaign and promote their own political ambitions. Every fourth year a politician is elected President of the United States. Upon taking office, that politician, recites an Inaugural Address addressing his/her plans for the presidency. On Tuesday January 20th 1981, Ronald Reagan, remembered in history as the Great Communicator, recited his highly influential inaugural address on the West Front of the Capitol. Using his charismatic abilities Ronald Reagan recited an influential inaugural address that connected to the average American person. His inaugural address highlighted his own political beliefs and caused the Republican Party to regain its former strength.

    Read More

  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roosevelt wanted this speech to sound serious and unforgettable. He used several techniques to conquer his task.When Roosevelt expressed his speech he promised fast action and he portrayed own unshakable self-confidence Americans listening on various radios everywhere(Franklin).

    Read More

  • Ronald Reagan’s A Time For Choosing Speech

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    Millions of viewers tuned into the National Broadcasting Company television network for a special broadcast on the 27th of October. Viewers were anticipating Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech. Reagan was acknowledged for his acting in motion pictures and television episodes since 1937, and was now being seen in an unfamiliar role. Reagan emerged in support of the Republican nominee Barry Goldwater. Barry Morris Goldwater was a businessman and five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for president in the 1964 election. “A Time for Choosing” was effective, because he gave personal examples to capture the audiences’ attention, and gave humor to a tough subject.

    Read More

  • Jimmy Carter Persuasive Speech

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oil is an important resource in America but what most do not know is oil drilling comes with a price. Former president Jimmy Carter, prepared an arguement to try to save a beautiful land he once visited from the destruction of oil drilling. Carter uses the three methods of persuasion, pathos, logos and ethos, to present his arguement to his audience to preserve Alaska.

    Read More

  • Presidential Election Speech

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hello my as many of you know my name is John Moriarty. I am running as the Democratic Candidate for President of the United States of America. So that you understand my positions on certain issues I will tell you a little about myself. I was born on August 16, 1948, my father was a former U.S. senator. I grew up in the Bronx, of New York, and I received a degree in Government from Harvard University. After I graduated I volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Army and I served in Vietnam.

    Read More

More about Ronald Reagan: Challenger Speech

Open Document