Rhetorical Analysis: The Challenger

Rhetorical Analysis

In the early spring of 1986, The Challenger was scheduled to launch in the morning from the Kennedy Space Center. The Challenger had seven passengers. One of these passengers was a Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher from New Hampshire. She was the first ordinary citizen to be going to space. The social studies teacher had won the opportunity through NASA’s Teachers in space program. The spacecraft was in the air only seventy-three seconds before it exploded and broke apart into the ocean. Everyone was in shock. All the passengers were killed tragically. This put a horrible mark on NASA’s reputation. Some even wanted to close the exploration to space. American was in mourning and everyone felt the blow of the tragedy. However, President Ronald Reagan saw it fit to continue space exploration. He gave an argument and a tribute to America and the families of the lost passengers. His tribute swayed American to see the silver lining in the tragedy and understand why we must continue the journey to explore space.

When Reagan gave this tribute, a nation was in mourning. America had just lost seven brilliant people in a tragic accident. Even though everyone was sullen over the deaths, Reagan saw what was at stake. The talk of the
disbanding of exploration of space was a hot topic due to the tragedy. Reagan knew that we needed to explore and continue the journey.

Humans have also been curious and needed to explore.
Space is a mystery, but humanity was getting close to entering and learning from it. Reagan knew that if the space exploration was terminated so much would be lost. He used emotional aspects in his argument to touch the people and convince them to see a new view. He showed how sorrowful he was toward the accident. Reagan connected on a personal level with the people. He mentions many people by name and shares their pain. This makes him seem like everyone else in America. He speaks of courage, bravery, and how the dedicated astronauts died for a worthy cause. He comforts people with his words and shows the good in moving forward and pressing
on.

Reagan also uses logic and ethics in his tribute. He talks about how with everything that people do their is always risk involved. In some situations, these risks can be lethal. While using logic, Reagan talks about how space is still so new. Space is still a large mystery that people are trying to slowly learn more about. He even mentions how this is freedom. Freedom is sharing everything and taking the future on full force. Reagan shows his ethical standpoints on well balanced approach to the argument. He understands the circumstances and was very credible as a leader.

This speech is memorable not only because of the circumstances, but Reagan argumentative tactics. He most definitely shared his remorse for the loved ones that were lost, but also expressed the great urgency to move forward. He motivated the people to strive for the future and to gain new knowledge. Space holds many secrets. Some secrets are better left unknown, but Reagan saw that the risk of space was worth it to discover what could possibly be out there waiting. Speeches and tributes are very influential in history and even the present. Speeches can motivate a nation and give them a drive to push on. Leaders hold this responsibility, as does everyone in the their lives. Everyone has to argue to express an opinion or point of view. Reagan used emotion and logic the most to help the people see the importance of space exploration. In the devastating time of the accident, many wanted to give up and abandon all that NASA had worked so hard for. Problems occur in everything. Risks are necessary to get results. Even though these risks can be devastating, they can bring people closer together and help them persevere to a better future.