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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Challenger Tragedy Speech By Ronald Reagan

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The 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster was a heartbreaking event that happened in our Country’s history. According to the History Channel (2010), “the American shuttle orbiter Challenger broke up 73 seconds after liftoff, bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th mission”(Staff, 2010). Seven significant lives of astronauts were lost that day. Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States during this time, gave a very successful speech to the country regarding the disaster. The Space Shuttle “Challenger” Tragedy Address had several different things that made it historically successful. There are many ways a writer can make a speech persuasive and successful. Two examples found in Reagan’s speech are emotional appeal and ethical appeal. …show more content…

Emotional appeal or Pathos is persuading the audience by appealing to their emotions (“Big Fish Presentations,” 2013). Seven lives were lost that day in this terrible disaster. Reagan takes in account each and every live that was lost on the Challenger Space Shuttle; he speaks out to the families of their loved ones. That is emotional appeal because he linking his words to the audience with a personal connection. An example of Pathos personal connection in his speech would be when Reagan directly stated to their families by saying:
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us. (Reagan,

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