While seated in the Oval Office of the White house, January 28, 1986 President Ronald Reagan delivers his speech The Challenger Disaster; hours after the space shuttle The Challenger explodes while in take off. Thousands witnessed this horrifying event live in person and on television. This mission was very unique allowing the first civilian to ever be allowed in space during a mission. She was aboard The Challenger as an observer in the NASA Teacher in Space Program. Ironically, nineteen years before this disaster, three astronauts were tragically lost in an accident on the ground.
President Reagan remembers those astronauts that were lost not only the day of the disaster, but also those who were lost nineteen years before. He conducts this speech not only to mourn the death of The Challenger astronauts, but for the families and those who were impacted from this event. He especially calls out to the schoolchildren of America who were watching this event live as the shuttle took off. As the President of the United States, Reagan earned the nickname “The Great Communicator” due to his ability to convey his beliefs concerning economic and domestic policies to the public.
This speech is just one example of how well Reagan spoke to the American public on a personal level and profoundly influenced the nations confidence in itself after this tragic event. Reagan used his speaking ability to explain the important policies of his administration. Speaking directly to the American people as a “citizen-president,” Reagan delivered addresses that conveyed his views of national security, the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), economic policies, and the nation’s war on drugs.
Delivered with sincerity uncharacteristic of the stereotypical politician (http://reagan. webteamone. com). The Challenger Disaster is just another example of Reagans profound speaking abilities. This speech has meaning, excites emotions and reaches out to all, which makes it a great speech. Although Reagan chooses to ignore his administrations responsibility in The Challenger disaster, he concentrates instead on reassurance of the nation which makes this speech uplifting to the American people. Invention
To do a rhetorical analysis of this speech we would follow the Neo-Aristotelian approach. The Neo-Aristotelian approach consists of five canons which are invention, organization, style, memory and delivery. First I will start off with Invention. According to Foss the critics concern in applying the canon of invention is with the speakers major ideas, line of argument, or content (29). Invention is divided into two categories: external proofs and internal proofs. External proofs include sources used by the author but does not create, including testimony of eyewitnesses (Foss 29).
I will focus on the internal proofs of this speech, which are logos or logical argument; ethos, the appeal of the speakers character and pathos, emotional appeal. In the speech of The Challenger Disaster Reagan does not necessarily present an argument, but rather a speech to console and find meaning. He starts the speech by recognizing the terrible accident that happened nineteen years ago and relates it to The Challenger disaster. The events are factual and therefore are logical to be included in the opening of this speech.
To begin the speech by referring to another tragic incident of this kind was very effective and draws some attention from The Challenger disaster. He also acknowledges that although this type of event has occurred before, the nation did move on and overcame the pain of the event. Reagans opening in my opinion captures the audience and prepares the audience for a brighter tomorrow without being disrespectful to the families of those who were lost in the disaster. Another positive statement he makes is no one is mourning this event by themselves, he says we mourn their loss as a nation together.
This brings people together to share the pain not individuality, but a nation as a whole. The second form of internal proof is ethos, which we call today, speaker credibility. This deals with the effect or appeal of the speakers character (Foss 29). Ethos is determined by three characteristics: moral character or integrity, intelligence and good will. As stated before Reagan was known as the great communicator. Reagan was not afraid to speak his mind about controversial issues. He was not afraid to speak on school prayer and abortion, though his aides warned him it hurt him in the polls.
He cared about the polls but refused to let them silence him (http://reagan. webteamone. com). This proved that Reagan stood up for what he believed showed the American people his moral character. In doing all this, in taking the actions he took at home and abroad, in using words and conviction and character to fight, he produced the biggest, most successful and most meaningful presidency since Franklin Roosevelt’s(Reagan 2001). Reagan stood up for America and fought for what the people wanted.
He was intelligent and the American people thought and spoke very highly of him and his years in the oval office. When Reagan lost, he gave a valiant speech to his followers in which he spoke of the cause and signaled that he’d be back ( Reagan 2001). Not only did Reagan profess moral character and intelligence he gained rapport with the American people. The last internal proof is pathos. Pathos concerns appeals designed to generate emotions in the audience (Foss 29). Pathos strives to discover what emotions were generated by the outcome of the speech.
From the very beginning Reagan generates emotions for those who lost their lives in the space shuttle incident that had happened nineteen years before The Challenger Disaster. I feel emotions are generated in the conclusion of the speech. Reagan says that while the Challenger crew died, they achieved their aspirations in the service of their country and they were able to explore the universe. They were presented with a challenge and they met it with joy. Organization The second Neo-Aristotelian method is organization or the arrangement of the speech.
Foss states the critics task here is to determine the general arrangement adopted for the rhetoric (30). The organization of this speech is very simplistic. From the beginning Reagan states the purpose of the speech and captures the audiences attention. He gives proper respect to those who were lost in the incident by addressing their names and recognizes the families of the seven. He brings our attention to the schoolchildren who might have been watching the disaster via television in their classrooms.
He does this to bring awareness to teachers and parents of the impact of this on the children who may not understand the realism of this event. As President of the United States he immediately assumes the credibility of his position. This speech is arranged in a topical manner, identifying the problem and reassuring the nation that the problem was not without justification. Style The next canon I want to address is that of style. The canon of style deals with the language used by the rhetor (Foss 30).
Reagan chooses to pursue a personal approach in this speech rather than a technical analysis of just what happened and why. His choice of a personal approach in my opinion reaches out to the nation on a personal level and not just the president addressing the nation after a horrible disaster. He chooses his words carefully not to disrespect the families of the seven. And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly.
He focuses not on the negative aspects of this disaster, but tries to focus on the positive aspects. Saying they were aware of the dangers, but they died doing what they loved and did it brilliantly. In his conclusion, he once again restates his main point that the Challenger crew were not only valued, but were pursuing their life long dreams. Memory While memory is not an important aspect in this rhetorical analysis, Reagan does not appear to be reading off cue cards, but to have memorized this speech. The last line of Reagan speech leaves us with a hope that the nation will recover and everything will be alright.
We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God. Delivery Reagans delivery is one of the most important aspects of this speech and, indeed, most of his speeches. According to Foss; the canon of delivery is concerned with the speakers manner of presentation (31). In a recent pole Ronald Reagan, along with Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, was identified as one of the greatest presidents.
Reagan became president not because of his family background, but because of his speaking skills and actions. He rose to the most powerful position in the world and held that position with dignity. The challenger speech was no doubt written very quickly and very informally on scraps of paper hours after this disaster. Reagan puts his thoughts together into a profound speech that reassures the nation. We have the good fortune to have been given an inside peek into Reagans speech writing habits by the man himself in his recent publication of Reagan, In His Own Hand (Reagan 2001).
Although his administration could have been linked to this disaster, Reagan was able to use his skills as a speaker to take an even firmer grasp on American hearts. In conclusion, through Reagans organization of the speech, delivery method, style and strong speaking skills, he makes this a memorable speech which will always be remembered by those who watched horrible explosion of The Challenger. Reagans goal to reassure the nation of a better, safer tomorrow was met in his delivery of this speech. He effectively addresses the families of the seven, the school children and the nation in a respectable way.
