Riley Sackett Irving Eng 1021 28 Feb 2023 Ronald Reagan Challenger Shuttle Address Rhetorical Analysis 2.5 million students witnessed the tragedy of the Challenger space shuttle explosion. Following the explosion, United States president Ronald Reagan delivered his Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger speech. Reagan speaks to the people of the United States, with a goal not of informing, but to comfort, to give respects, and to reassure. President Reagan provides information about the incident, and pays respect by giving uplifting statements about the astronauts. He also dives into why he remains in faith in the space program, and why the American people should too. Reagan’s speech, providing sympathy in response …show more content…
Earlier in the day, on the 28th of January, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle had been launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This particular shuttle launch especially mattered to the American people, as one of the members aboard was an elementary school teacher, who was to be the first ever teacher in space. Millions of Americans tuned in to watch the launch, including millions of children, watching from their schools. The speech Reagan delivered was intended for the entirety of America, as so many people, of all ages, had witnessed the devastating event. Reagan’s words comforted and inspired America, and restored faith in NASA and the space …show more content…
Later in his speech, Reagan addresses future plans of the space program, and expresses that although the events that had occurred were tragic, it would not be a setback in vain. “We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue” (Reagan). In saying this, Reagan is informing his audience that the space program would continue to operate and push the boundaries of technology. He informs the audience of plans of the future, and reassures that although failure occurred, it was not means to stop trying. He inspires hope and trust into the space program, ensuring that the things he mentions would be accomplished, specifically stating “Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue” (Reagan). Reagan aimed to prove the perseverance of the space program and of the American
She starts off by stating that he had “sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free slaves of communism”(5-8). Thatcher acknowledges all of Reagan's accomplishments and states that even though all of the “daunting historic tasks” came with heavy risks, Reagan pursued them with a “lightness of spirit”(5-10). He was not only a great President and a great leader, but also a loyal and loftfull friend. Margaret Thatcher uses striking evocative diction to garner the memories of Ronald Reagan and make sure he is never
In order to accomplish his purpose, the writer of this speech used diction and tone to show sorrow for the families of the men and women whose lives were lost on the Columbia and organized the speech by talking about how the lives lost will not affect moving forward in space advances. The writer expresses his grief for the family by using “great sadness” and naming the seven astronauts who died on this mission. While setting a tone of grief for these astronauts families, George W. Bush also organizes the speech by talking about how the men and women knew the risks of their travel. He first explains his feelings of loss and mourning for the men and women who lost their lives, but also says that this tragedy will not be a setback for space travel.
The oration was momentary; it only lasted for a little more than four minutes and added up to just 650 words in total. Nevertheless, it was concise and efficient in serving its purpose. Through the brief speech, Reagan not only alleviated the despair suffered by the different groups of audience, but also retained the nation’s spirit in space exploration: “We mourn their loss as a nation together…I’ve always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it.” As the top leader of the country, Mr. Reagan demonstrated his support for more research and discovery, and were trying to convince the rest of the American population to do the same.
President Barack Obama follows a long history of leaders in the exploration of space, the pursuit of international cooperation, and defining mankind’s future within the universe. An examination between the presidency of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama reveals a multitude of similarities in space policy challenges. The two presidents share a common passion to promote space efforts even when up against tight budget constraints and international tension. Administrative differences of the two presidents are apparent in their space program initiatives. President Reagan, known for supporting a smaller government, encouraged the private sector to pioneer space expansion and make investments in the efforts.
The idea of space and the exploration of it is still a fairly new topic to most people. Even today, there are still conspiracies on whether or not the moon landing is even real. But before any of these conspiracies could even start, America’s exploration of space needed to be pioneered by John F. Kennedy. In his speech on September 12, 1961, delivered at Rice University, Kennedy appeals to both Americans’ emotion and trust in order to convey his message that space exploration is worthy for Americans to invest their time. Kennedy tried to build trust and credibility with the audience by acknowledging that space exploration will not be easy.
By having the “more” repeated, Reagan expresses also that, despite this tragedy, the quest into space will not
By mentioning his wife’s name instead of calling her the First Lady and by saying, “We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country”, shows that the grief is shared on both a national and personal level. President Reagan made connections with the American people by saying “we” instead of saying “I” or “The President.” These connections are seen throughout his
On January 28th, 1986, Ronald Reagan, the president of the United States at the time, in his speech, entitled “Challenger Disaster,” addressed the Challenger Disaster. He supported this claim by first mourning over the tragedy, then he promoted NASA, also he tried to make sense of this calamity, and finally he informed the audience that the seven astronauts will never be forgotten and as a country we will be forever thankful for their service. Through Reagan’s use of tone, rhetorical analysis, and rhetorical tools he effectively persuaded America to mourn and appreciate the lives of the seven astronauts loss and to convince American people to continue their support for NASA and move forward as a country. Reagan unified America with his supportive
Raegan states that “the future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.(7)” By using this type of syntax, it gives the audience a ray of hope and encouragement to tell them that if we want our space endeavors to reach up to its fullest potential, we need to take risks and not let this tragedy affect our plans. If these crew members were brave enough to “lead us into the future,” then it is our job to finish what they started and not let their dedication be in vain. Another way in which Reagan effectively applies parataxis is when he says that “nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.(8)” By saying this, Ragen establishes a bit of a general truth that essentially encourages his audience that they should not take this tragedy as a loss, but instead take it as a lesson learned.
He brings us together in this sorrowful time in order to remember those who died because “We mourn seven heroes” (Reagan, 1986) and “We mourn their loss as a nation together” (Reagan, 1986). The President’s loss of emotions creates an assuring tone that
Reagan applies oratorical devices and figurative language to explain to the nation the passion and bravery the seven astronauts have. He uses parallel structure and listing to imply the passion and bravery the Challenger crew have. “But, we never lost an astronaut in flight, we’ve never had a tragedy like this” (2). The parallel structure creates a cause and effect to the tragedy. Its shocking devastation, however, it shows the nation how the future is creating new things.
His inclusion of analogies and emotional appeals, combined with his strong sense of authority, brings his arguments into focus and gives them a punch. His power in delivering this speech quite possibly kept America looking towards the stars and propelled them into the next age of space exploration. President Reagan’s speech serves as a touching conclusion to a tragic event. Despite the terrible catastrophe, Reagan’s four-minute speech provided closure on the one-minute tragedy whose impact will be felt for
Alejandra Morales 4 English February 23, 2017 Challenger Rhetorical Analysis (Rewrite) President Ronald Reagan, in his speech, “Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger,” emphasizes the tragedy that occurred on January 28, 1986. Reagan’s purpose is to take America out of their misery. He wants his citizens to no longer feel sadness and grief for the seven heroes that died on the mission, but rather feel honor, admiration, and appreciation toward the those who gave their life to space. In addition, he hopes to motivate future space explorer in his speech of the Challenger tragedy. Reagan adopts a motivational tone in order to inspire America to stop mourning for the seven heroes that died.
Analyzing Challenger’s Address Delivered on January 28, 1986, Ronald Reagan’s speech addressing the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a plausible proof of the possibility to communicate various ideas during a tough situation effectively and efficiently. In a speech that lasted less than five minutes, Ronald Reagan managed to express his thoughts verbally and attempt to persuade his audience through an eulogy, a speech characterized by its epideictic occassion, that had been infused with a deliberative content that did not conflict with the core of the speech. Before one can analyze the details of Ronald Reagan’s speech, understanding the purpose behind the creation of the speech might be useful for understanding the context of the speech as a whole. Based on the speech how it relates to common speech purposes
With this success NASA was improving rapidly, constantly advancing their old tech. Now that NASA had all these advancements and a reinforced determination, they could now set their sights on something greater, something far better than sending a man to the moon. The end of the Cold War was drawing near, and NASA had officially entered the Space Age. In Neil Armstrong’s speech, taken place in 1994 at the White House, he says, “During the Space Age we have increased the knowledge of our universe a thousandfold…to you