In Event Of Moon Disaster Rhetorical Analysis

Analysing “In Event of Moon Disaster”

Revealed in 1999, “In Event of Moon Disaster”, written by William Safire and meant for President Richard Nixon, was to be used in case of an accident on the moon. Within the speech, it addressed to the public of the loss of two astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. Safire uses the rhetorical appeals ethos, logos, and pathos throughout the speech.
In an attempt to unite the audience with the speaker, Safire uses specific pronouns such as “we” and “our”. He writes, “In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.” By this specific choice of wording, he tries to connect with the audience and not single the speaker out. In a time of tragedy, the country is better
off united than bitter and distant. The phrase “epic men of flesh and blood” further connects the astronauts to the public due to the simplicity of the statement, and the fact all people are made of flesh and blood. In the sentence, “But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts,” Safire continues to relate with the audience by stating that everyone, including the intended speaker, is thinking about the two astronauts. The speech also includes built-in authority considering the speech is meant for the president of the United States, Richard Nixon.
The appeal to reason and logic is slightly shown in the written speech by Safire. He states the mens’ names, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. These two names are widely known as a result of their participation in the Space Race, as well as most of the world watching to see if their mission would be a success. The writer continues later by saying that even though the two astronauts “known they have no hope for recovery”, they “know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice”. This tells the audience that not only did the astronauts know the mission would fail, but they also knew mankind would continue to try and explore the moon and not give up. Safire also writes “In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times… our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.” By saying this, Safire compares the two astronauts who lost their lives to great ancient heroes and alluded to the past curiosity of the stars. By his statement of “our heroes”, he is saying the two astronauts will be remembered in current history, and their heroic bravery will not be forgotten.
Furthermore, Safire’s writing includes a strong appeal to emotions.
His use of personification in his sentence “they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown,” brings us all together in the way that Mother Earth lost her sons, making the correlation that the people of Earth are also her children, meaning everyone has lost two brothers. The quote is also comparable to a real mother’s grief of losing her own child, something many people find difficult to discuss and process. Another example of the writer’s use of an emotional appeal through personification is, “Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.” Safire makes it seem as though a physical embodiment of Faith personally ordained the two astronauts. He also makes Armstrong and Alden sound serene due to the repetition of the word peace, as well as intentionally calming the audience and giving them the image that the two passed in a nonviolent way. Safire states, “For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.” In this, he sparks feelings of optimism by expressing all mankind will identify the reality that though they didn’t make it back, their sacrifice was not in vain. The world will remember the two astronauts every time the moon lights up the night
sky. William Safire effectively used an appeal of character, reasoning, and feeling to write his “In Event of Moon Disaster” speech. Throughout his writing, Safire emphasized the loss of the two astronauts not only has a national tragedy but a worldwide one. He goes on to say that Armstrong and Alden will not be forgotten and the American space industry will continue to reach for the stars.