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Figurative Language In Ronald Reagan's Speech On 7 Astronauts

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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. “We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together” (2). Listing creates a moment for the nation to mourn together. Also shows how much care and empathy Reagan has for the families who had loss their member from the …show more content…

As well, figurative language in his speech showed the passion and bravery the astronauts had. “As they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of god’” (8). His use of personification justifies to all citizens that the journey that turned into a disaster was not their last. It was only the beginning for them. “In his life time the great frontier were the oceans” (7). The symbolism expresses the passion Drake had for traveling on the sea. Which expresses the message to the nation that the seven astronauts passion was to seek adventures like the one they were loss on. Reagan’s use of rhetorical tools creates an optimistic thought to the all citizens that the seven astronauts passion and bravery has just started their

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Later that night President Ronald Reagan came on air to give the State of the Union address and talk on the tragedy that had just unfolded. Through this speech President Reagan consoles the families of those who lost their lives, the American schoolchildren, and the American public as a whole. He also gives this speech to reassure America of the viability of the NASA program and the light in the future. By the use of rhetorical skill, including analogy, strong emotional appeals, and his position of power, President Reagan manages to convince America that despite the tragedy the benefits of keeping a space exploration program greatly outweigh the losses.

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In my opinion this helps comfort the families by informing them that we all stand with them One example of this is when Reagan says “But we feel the loss” in the fourth paragraph. Also Reagan strays away from the negative aspect of the disaster. The focus of staying positive provides a sense of purpose. Regan explains how the “seven” was full of courage and that they died doing what they

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