Berlin Wall Rhetorical Analysis

On the 12th of June, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered a powerful and emotional speech in west Berlin, Germany. This speech was addressing the Berlin Wall, and all of the political issues that came with it. 26 years prior to Reagan’s speech, the Berlin wall was built to separate the communist East from the “Allied” west, this wall was extremely controversial and kept any people from leaving west Berlin without great difficulty. Reagan’s speech had immense impact on Berlin, 2 years after his speech, the Berlin Wall was taken down and both East and West Berliners couldn’t have been happier. Reagan successfully motivates his audience to continue their fight for freedom and unity by appealing to pathos using vivid imagery and contrasting ideas of East and West. Reagan appeals to ethos by using personal appeals and speaking German during some parts of his speech, which creates solidarity with his audience and builds his credibility. Reagan’s contrasting visions of East and West Berlin invokes an prideful and emotional response in his audience. He describes western Berlin (where he made the speech) by saying “in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history”(Reagan). This is a drastic contrast from what he later says about communist land (Eastern Berlin), saying “In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind—too little food” (Reagan). The way Reagan flatters and praises the West for their incredible success, while taking pity on the poor Easterners who are “failing” appeals to pathos by making his audience very proud of themselves and their leaders. Contrarily, this strategy can further reach his listeners in Eastern Berlin, who may hear his words and realize that …show more content…
He is empathetic when speaking about what his audience has been through. “I understand the pain of war and the fear of division”(Reagan). In this quote he is empathizing with the people of West Berlin, telling them that he understands and feels their pain. This tactic appeals to ethos and builds his credibility by showing his crowd that he is relatable and is an authority on his subject, since he has been through a similar situation. Because of his empathy, he was very effective in getting his point across and in motivating his onlookers to continue their …show more content…
This element of the speech is also an appeal to pathos, and helped to regain the hope and fire in the hearts of the people of West Berlin. Reagan said “we” when talking about the people of West Berlin, and East Berlin was referred to as “they.” As a result, his listeners felt more connected and closer to him. It also built his credibility by showing that he is an “equal”. Reagan’s use of “we” statements gave his speech more of a caring and convincing tone, and helped the audience to really connect with him.
Ronald Reagan’s ‘Tear Down this Wall” speech was an event that sparked a revolution of freedom and change in Berlin’s torn society. The meticulous placement of each rhetorical strategy used in his speech resulted in a powerful and historical speech that changed Germany forever. Through the use of vivid imagery and contrasting ideas of East and West, and his various appeals to ethos by using personal appeals and speaking German. These strategies all worked together to create a speech that changed the lives of a