The following rhetorical analysis essay examines Ronald Reagan's Challenger's Speech, one of the most significant speeches in American history. The 1986 Challenger disaster was a tragic event that affected many people across the country. On that fateful day, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven crew members on board. Among them was Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who would be the first civilian to go into space. The disaster shook the nation to its core, and President Ronald Reagan gave a speech to comfort the American people. His speech was a powerful example of rhetorical strategy, using language to both console the nation and inspire it to continue the pursuit of space exploration. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Everyone in America watched the 25th shuttle mission take off without there seeming to be any problems and listened to the commentary. It seemed like a perfectly normal mission. Then, after just a minute and 12 seconds, the space shuttle exploded in a puff of smoke. All that was left to everyone watching were two smoking rockets from a giant cloud that had been the Challenger. This whole ordeal was seen by everyone in America and created a crisis that needed to be addressed by the president. Ronald Reagan was president at the time, and oddly enough, the day of the Challenger disaster was the same day the State of the Union was supposed to be delivered. Instead of addressing the State of the Union, Ronald Reagan addressed the ongoing crisis created by the tragic Space Shuttle accident. The speech about the “Challenger” tragedy was an attempt to help a nation recover from a terrible tragedy. The seven men and women were applauded and kept hope high among the American people. This was demonstrated by Reagan's statements: that the men and women of the Challenger were wonderful people and deserved to be remembered, that we will move forward, and that the space program will not end with this disaster. This is demonstrated through Ronald Reagan's manner of speaking, use of diction, and appeals to pathos. The main goal of the speech was to help America begin to recover from the loss of the men and women on the shuttle and the loss of the Challenger, to praise the seven men and women killed in the crash, and to keep hope high among the American people. Reagan begins his speech by saying, “Today is a day of mourning and remembrance…we are deeply saddened by the tragedy.” At other points in the speech he talks about "national loss". By confronting it and saying that he himself is hurt by it, he lets America know how much it has affected his life. A little later in his speech, he takes some time to talk about the schoolchildren who had witnessed the disaster, live. To explain to them that "it's difficult to understand, but sometimes painful things happen." The explanation is very similar to how a parent would explain the loss to a child. He concludes this part of the speech by saying, “The Challenger crew was dragging us into the future, and we will continue to follow them.” He turns to the other men and women at NASA and tells them that he wishes “he could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA, or who works on this mission, and tell them… 'We know your anguish. We share it.'” Reiterating how much this incident impacted everyone, himself, especially those too young to understand it, and the people who personally connected to it or the people on the shuttle. Reagan shows the American people that this affected everyone, even him. Then it involvespersonally his wife Nancy in her speech says that they are "grieved to the core". This personal connection further demonstrates the impact on himself and his family. When Reagan talks about the scope of the crisis and how many people were affected, he provides the framework for the recovery. He continues to talk about the losses faced by the nation and also addresses how America will "continue to follow [the Challenger astronauts] into the future", demonstrating to Americans that we will move into the future after this disaster. Now begin to recognize the loss of the seven astronauts who died. He describes the character they had: “[they were] pioneers… They had that special spirit that says give me a challenge and I will face it with joy… The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us with the way they lived their lives ”. He repeatedly praises them, their characters, their actions and their courage for adding to the loss their deaths represented for all Americans. He speaks to the families of the seven fallen astronauts and tells them how great the loss was for the entire country, stressing: "we can't bear... the whole impact... but we think about it so much", giving his condolences for how wonderful all the people were. All the mentions of loss in the speech help lay the groundwork for praising men and women. Reagan can say nothing to bring back their lives, but he can and does try to show what a loss their deaths were. The ultimate goal of the speech is to bring hope to the American people. Reagan does this by reassuring everyone that “we're just getting started.” He says that "nothing that happened today can detract from [the space program]." Concluding this part of his speech by saying "we will continue our research in space... There will be more... Nothing ends here: our hopes and our journeys continue." Continue talking about fears in the schoolchild portion of the speech. Reagan uses many techniques to achieve his goals of recovering the nation, to show his sadness for those who lost their lives, and to reiterate a new hope in the people of American. His delivery strongly shows his feelings. His tone throughout the speech is solemn and mournful, reflecting on the losses. He has a calmer speech to respect the lives of the Challenger's victims. The way Reagan gives this speech is very similar to George Bush's speech to the nation during the tragedy of September 11th. However, it is important to know that Reagan is speaking about a national tragedy, which allows him to be more emotionally raw in his speech, as opposed to Bush, who is facing a national attack and could not be as emotionally raw as Reagan. How they both pronounce it is based on the problems they are facing. Reagan's speech is effective because of the powerful diction he uses. This speech truly reaches and touches the hearts of all the American people. At the end of the speech, he says, "we will never forget them... as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye, and 'slipped the gruff bonds of the earth' to 'touch the face of God.'" his speech is full of other impactful quotes and powerful diction. This fully expresses the emotion of the speech. Another aspect of this speech is Reagan's appeal to pathos. He's clearly dealing with a very emotional situation. The best way for Reagan to achieve his goals of calming the American people and demonstrating that he will move forward and instill in America unity and a feeling of liberation, as the issue is resolved and has been addressed. He has a lot of emotional appeals in his speech, mainly through his strong words and playing with all the different groups of people in his speech to..