Rhetorical Analysis Of President Reagan's Speech

I choose this speech because I remember this tragedy and I currently live in the Space Coast of Florida where NASA is located, so it is of great interest to me. President Reagan gained the attention of the audience by foregoing the planned state of the union address and explaining he was only going to discuss the subject of the tragedy that occurred earlier that day only, helping to emphasize the severity of what occurred. The purpose of this speech was to show compassion to a nation that has great pride in the space program and to encourage those who might be feeling disheartened and discouraged about it all. He reminded us of the dangers of space exploration and the tremendous courage the crew possessed to take on the endeveor in spite of the risks and that we should all draw comfort from that, they knew what the possibilities were and for the sake of knowledge and the hopes of advancing technology they jumped in feet first and accepted these risks.
He made sure to show to the audience that regardless of the tragedy, the spirit and confidence in our nation’s space program would be unwavered and continue to go on. He exuded confidence in his delivery and I feel that he always did in all his speeches, but he managed to show just enough empathy and a human side to the whole matter. He transitioned to the conclusion by comparing this tragedy to explorers of the past, that without their bravery and drive to explore the unknown the world would be a much different place today and without the willingness to take on these dangerous endeveors, mankind would never leave it’s own little bubble and never learn about the world and universe around