Ronald Reagan Rhetorical Analysis Essay

June 12th, 1987, upon a podium directed at a vast crowd of West Germans, and speakers targeted over the rigged-explosive and barbed-wire bound fence to East Germany, President Ronald Reagan’s voice pierced the air with cries for liberation from the tyranny of the Soviet regime. Standing in the midst of fluttering American and German flags, and armed with a lone microphone, his remarks at Brandenburg Gate were a commemorative attempt to obtain freedom, and abolish the evils that plagued the nation of Germany. Equipped with careful diction, varied tones of voice, and strong figurative language Reagan is able to become a steeple of strength and confidence for the West German quest for destruction of the Berlin Wall.
The path to understanding

the truth is clearer when the words being utilized pull at emotion and rouse the mind. Reagan’s usage of the word “wall,” becomes a symbol of repression from the Soviets to the Germans; high and wide, visible and invisible, threatening and impassable, the wall stands as a constant source of ridicule for hope. Even the sun is not strong enough to withstand the lies of the horizon that make it rise later, and set earlier. Despite the still-standing barrier against independence, Reagan declares,” As long as the gate is closed, as long as this scar of wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind. Yet I do not come here to lament… a message of triumph.” Within the Soviet hostility, the message of freedom is a vision that is “transforming the globe.” It is an unstoppable force that births and rebirths; it revolutionizes; it has become a community in which all but one has joined. In spite of the reluctance that shines in the eyes of the people of Berlin, Reagan’s choice of words is able to instill the assurance that “there is no better place to start than Berlin,” that there is no better place to let the wall of oppression come down, and allow the feeling of freedom to burrow deep into the hearts of every Berliner.
Granted that President Reagan is an American, he has the ability to relate to the German population by becoming almost one with them through his tone.

He reasons that he came to Germany to perform not only the duties of his job, but also the duties of a tourist; indeed, he came to witness “the feeling of history” and “the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten” for himself. By establishing the fact that Reagan partakes in common practices, his tone brings about the realization that he is a normal human being to the audience. The manner in which he addresses his listeners, as friends do, gives the German public a sense of unity; as a result; they allow Reagan an entryway into the festering wounds that they continue to endure. Once an accepted companion, he takes his role as a leader once more, and thusly transitions his tone regarding the Soviet antagonists. Protective to the ears of allies, unwelcoming to the enemies, President Reagan makes a bold proclamation directed toward the East: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev…tear down this wall!” Spoken firmly, forcefully, and challengingly, Reagan is pulling the trigger of determination, and it is aimed at Gorbachev’s

temple.
Reagan enables the use of figurative language to communicate his message of the bright future that Berliners hold in the palm of their hands. He alludes to the “spring of 1945,” when World War II had come to a close, and raises the spirits of West Berliners by proclaiming that “where four decades ago there was rubble, today in West Berlin there is the greatest industrial output of any city in Germany.” However, he uses metaphor to remind the audience that while they are successful, they remain burdened by the “scar” the wall makes, and how it devalues not only the city itself, but the inhabitants as well. Even with the harsh truth revealed, Reagan still encourages his viewers through personification, spreading his belief that they can be equal to the countries in South and Central America where “democracy has been given a rebirth.” Reagan nurtures the idea into a blossoming flower, and in doing so, figuratively damages the wall with crack upon crack that comes with every rise of character in every individual.
Ronald Reagan was a man of victory. Succeeding in verifying his purpose and his duty, becoming a friend to the chained and free, fighting the emotion with powerful wordplay, diverse tones, and passionate figurative language, he educates the indifferent and the ignorant whilst backing the enemy into a corner of submission. His words cause walls to collapse like a scared bully faced with outraged parents.