The Challenger space shuttle, meant to carry a schoolteacher to space, had exploded and killed seven of its passengers. President Ronald Reagan had to tell the country what had happened and throughout his speech he spoke directly to many different people. He addresses the public, families of the victims, children, and the NASA employees. He tells the families that the country is thinking about them very much and feel terribly. He addresses the public and tells them what happened to the shuttle. He speaks to the children and tells them sometimes painful things happen. Finally, he says to NASA that their work has always impressed him and the country.
Overall, Reagan’s speech was written to explain to the country that we all face challenges but that doesn’t mean we should stop exploring and we should never falter at the face of hardship. Exploration and discovery are very important and we honor those who go out and do those things for the nation.
Reagan uses a lot of pathos in his speech. He uses terms such as “us”, “we”, “we’re”, and “we’ve” to bring us closer together as a nation during this time of loss. Using such diction, he is able to evoke certain emotions. Reagan expresses his sadness in the very beginning of his speech when he says he is “pained to the core” because of the tragedy that struck America (1). Using diction, he is also able to rally us and give us hope. He says, “ Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue,” to emphasize how we can move forward and our endeavors can never end because there is a major or minor bump in the road (9).
Reagan is able to achieve his purpose by appealing to his audience’s emotions. He is able to connect to the people and make them believe what he says.
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