Rhetorical Analysis of “Tear Down This Wall” Speech by Reagan

Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
Rhetorical Analysis
Introduction
East German officials in the year 1990 opened the border to the Western part of Berlin. During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall was the figurative divide between communism and democracy. People in West Germany and East Germany had been disallowed from communicating with each other for 28 years. The demolition of the Berlin Wall resulted in the emotional reunification of Germany, and reversed what the then British Prime Minister described as the iron curtain (Langenderfer 71). For most people, the renowned Tear Down This Wall speech in 1987 marked a new age – a crucial defining moment in history that brought together a world that was formerly divided. Thesis statement: this paper provides a rhetorical analysis of the “Tear Down This Wall” Speech by president Reagan. Logos, pathos, ethos and different linguistic strategies are analyzed in an in-depth manner.
Background/Audience/Purpose
Berlin Wall was erected in the year 1961. On 13th August 1961, German Democratic Republic’s Communist Government started building a concrete wall and barbed wire between the Western and Easter sides of Berlin, which almost immediately symbolized communist oppression. The Berlin Wall was aimed at preventing Western ideologies from interfering with the communism in East Germany and to impede the likely disloyalty of East Germany citizens. Former American president John Kennedy during his time as president had declared America’s support for the democratic West Germany. Although he never made significant progress in Germany, President Ronald Reagan a number of decades later was somewhat successful. In 1987, he delivered a speech in West Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate (Herskovits 19). The speech came at a time of increased tensions between the West and the East largely brought about by the contention over America’s placement of missiles in Europe and America’s defense buildup, which was a great time for addressing the problem at hand.
The purpose of the speech was to persuade Gorbachev to demolish the Berlin Wall. The words/phrases in the speech that help in identifying the purpose include the following: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (Reagan). These words inspired the rallied German people in the early afternoon speech and sparked a movement of insuperable measures. Using this speech, Ronald Reagan also sought to challenge the leadership of the Soviet Union and to give the people of West Berlin hope and assure them that the United States and its allies supported them. The purpose of Ronald Reagan was clear. As the president of America and just as previous United States presidents, it was his duty to visit the oppressed Germany to foster and advertise the message and means of freedom (Langenderfer 72). He effectively did that using the persuasive and rhetorical facets of his speech. He said “We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it is our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. Freedom leads to prosperity” (Reagan).
The audience comprised West Germans and Gorbachev. The intended audience of Ronald Reagan comprised all Americans, all West Germans and p...