Rhetorical Analysis Of Margaret Thatcher And The Loss Of President Ronald Reagan

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On June 5th 2004, America lost one of the greatest American leaders. Americans are now dealing with post 9/11 and the loss of president Ronald Reagan. On June 11th 2004, Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of Great Britain who concomitantly worked with Reagan before and during his presidency, delivered a eulogy speech to Americans. Thatcher starts her eulogy by talking about Reagan’s accomplishments that have not been achieved before. Thatcher uses imagery for Reagan’s goals by stating that he worked to “mend America’s wounded spirit, restore strength of the free world, and free slaves of communism.” She uses this imagery to describe how Reagan revived and extolled the economy and society. Although all these tasks were risky and difficult to accomplish, Reagan approached the risks with “optimism that won converts from every class and every nation” which resulted in progress to overcome. With the optimism Reagan had, he got to the “heart of the evil empire” that was the Soviet Union and fought against communism. …show more content…

The way Reagan climbed the ladder of success included easy jokes that reassured the anxious world, and Reagan “remained sane and jocular” which eased everyone. Thatcher amplifies Reagan’s lightness of spirit to create an informal tone which creates pathos between the audience and Reagan, but also gives the reader the idea that Thatcher and Reagan had a close relationship. Reagan was pugnacious about keeping the country safe and peaceful. Thatcher reveals that Reagan “transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity” by accomplishing things no other leader has