Rhetorical Analysis Of Tear Down This Wall

Throughout history, many famous and important people have given empowering and compelling speeches. One of the most famous speeches in history is “Tear Down this Wall” given by President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin, in 1987. In the speech, the President urges the Soviet Union leaders to free East Berlin from communism and tear down the Berlin wall. He tries to convince the audience that the only way Berlin can move forward is by embracing freedom and individualism. In an attempt to make his speech more convincing and memorable, the President used rhetorical devices such as figurative language and appealed to the SOAPSTone strategy. However, he was not successful in delivering a very persuasive speech as his speech was disorganized and he expressed next to no emotion in his tone.

Reagan started the speech by talking about Berlin’s past, the Berliner’s unfortunate experiences, the aftermath of WWII, the Marshall Plan, economic prosperity in the West, individual rights, freedom, and the downsides of communism. He does not even introduce his motive till halfway through the speech by which the majority of the audience is disengaged. Right after he tells the Soviet leader, Gorbachev, to “tear down this wall” and to free Berlin, he immediately changes his talking point from the liberalization of Berlin to the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union (Reagan 13). Afterwards, Reagan does the same exact thing and goes from talking about the arms race to how “Sport represents a source of enjoyment and ennoblement” (Reagan 26). The disordered subjects cause the audience to feel confused and lose focus on the message he’s trying to convey. The various subjects make the speech feel overwhelming and have less of an effect on the