Moon Landing Paper

Moon Landing Each of these four texts uses essential rhetorical techniques in order to effectively get across each purpose, these purposes being quite different in each text. The Times article is very analytical, while the speech by Safire focuses most heavily on the emotional side of the moon landing in the hypothetical context of the text. Rand’s article paints the launch in an extremely positive and figurative light, while the Hemlock cartoon criticizes the attention that the mission receives given the many crises going on in the world at that time.
The first piece, an article by the Times of London, has the purpose of stressing the importance of the moon landing as an international event, important for all of mankind. The article serves to illustrate the magnificent nature of this accomplishment, given the preparation and technical skill needed to pull off the landing, the significance of the landing for humans as a whole, as well as the affect the landing had politically on the entire world. The audiences for this paper are both the people of London that read this publication, and anyone in the international community who followed the moon landing. The exact details of the landing are put forth for those in the audience who want to know technical information and Armstrong’s description of the moon, while the detail of leader’s reactions around the world are highlighted for those who look at events in a more political way. The ethos is a given considering the established credibility of the Times, while pathos is appealed to by describing the nerves of the men in Houston on the ground, the reaction of Richard Nixon when the shuttle descends back to earth safely, and the various emotional reactions around the world. Logos is appealed to by the accurate description of the mission’s details as well as the affect of the landing on the Cold War given the somber nature of Moscow Radio’s report. This text is quite successful at describing the events of the landing,