In her eulogy honoring former president Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher used various rhetorical strategies, including an appeal to Ethos and parallelism, to convey what an influential figure Reagan was as both a president and a man, following his retirement. Through her intricate use of these rhetorical strategies, Thatcher expresses that Reagan was a great president for the United States and an excellent diplomat for the international community.
Thatcher begins with a concise and abrupt introduction to the speech; this establishes the fact that the former president has passed on and presents a reflective tone which reveals her vast knowledge of Reagan. The parallelism present in “Lost a great president, a great American, and a great man” shows Thatcher’s respect for President Reagan by describing him as an overall “great” person. As Thatcher concludes her introduction, she states, “I have lost a dear friend”; this establish her credibility on the subject of Ronald Reagan as she has closely interacted with him. …show more content…
Again, parallelism is used in the first paragraph to highlight the amount of achievements Reagan had. “To mend…, to restore…, and to free…” emphasized the efforts Reagan took to solve both domestic and international problems. Thatcher shifts from Reagan’s achievements to his personality in paragraph 2. Her statements: “…One great heart at least remained sane and jocular…” and “…Ronnie himself certainly believed that he had been given back his life for a purpose” depicted Reagan’s positive outlook on life and stressed that this was one of the main reasons he was so successful. Finally, Thatcher concludes her descriptions of Reagan using 3 short parallel structured paragraphs, all the while emphasizing Reagan’s most notable
Thatcher begins with a concise and abrupt introduction to the speech; this establishes the fact that the former president has passed on and presents a reflective tone which reveals her vast knowledge of Reagan. The parallelism present in “Lost a great president, a great American, and a great man” shows Thatcher’s respect for President Reagan by describing him as an overall “great” person. As Thatcher concludes her introduction, she states, “I have lost a dear friend”; this establish her credibility on the subject of Ronald Reagan as she has closely interacted with him. …show more content…
Again, parallelism is used in the first paragraph to highlight the amount of achievements Reagan had. “To mend…, to restore…, and to free…” emphasized the efforts Reagan took to solve both domestic and international problems. Thatcher shifts from Reagan’s achievements to his personality in paragraph 2. Her statements: “…One great heart at least remained sane and jocular…” and “…Ronnie himself certainly believed that he had been given back his life for a purpose” depicted Reagan’s positive outlook on life and stressed that this was one of the main reasons he was so successful. Finally, Thatcher concludes her descriptions of Reagan using 3 short parallel structured paragraphs, all the while emphasizing Reagan’s most notable