Thatcher's Eulogy In Honor Of Ronald Reagan On June 11, By Margaret Thatcher

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In her eulogy in honor of Ronald Reagan on June 11, 2004, Margaret Thatcher effectively supports her claim in her opening sentence that, “We have lost a great president, a great American, and a great man, and I have lost a dear friend.” She contrasts many items in her speech, but a few of the most important instances are in lines 9 through 12, line 22, and lines 73 through 81. In paragraph 2, the paragraph after the opening sentence, Thatcher tells us about the goals Reagan set for himself, contrasting some of his international, more daunting ones with one that was simply part of his personality: “what Arnold Bennett called ‘the great act of cheering us all up.’ ” (line 12) She juxtaposes Reagan’s “lightness in spirit” (line 10) with his goals’ …show more content…

In lines 73 through 81, Thatcher speaks of how Reagan acknowledged both the good and the bad, contrasting the “many sides of truth” (line 74) that Reagan saw. By telling of how he correctly predicted, accepted, and spoke of the good and the bad, Thatcher shows he had the courage to face …show more content…

In line 34, she tells us how “He [Reagan] transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.” This strong imagery helps illustrate how bad the economy was, and how much Reagan built it up. This show of how successful Reagan was helps prove Reagan a great American, as he cared about his country, and a great President, as he led his country to this success. In lines 48 through 49, Thatcher states, “We live today in the world that Ronald Reagan began to reshape with those very words.” The imagery here in the word “reshape” (line 49) is used to try to convey to us how much influence he had on the world, and how much he changed it - enough to change its “shape”. This helps prove him a great President, as he led not only America, but also the world, turning it into a better