In Event Of Moon Disaster Rhetorical Analysis
Analysing “In Event of Moon Disaster”
Revealed in 1999, “In Event of Moon Disaster”, written by William Safire and meant for President Richard Nixon, was to be used in case of an accident on the moon. Within the speech, it addressed to the public of the loss of two astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. Safire uses the rhetorical appeals ethos, logos, and pathos throughout the speech.
In an attempt to unite the audience with the speaker, Safire uses specific pronouns such as “we” and “our”. He writes, “In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.” By this specific choice of wording, he tries to connect with the audience and not single the speaker out. In a time of tragedy, the country is better …show more content…
His use of personification in his sentence “they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown,” brings us all together in the way that Mother Earth lost her sons, making the correlation that the people of Earth are also her children, meaning everyone has lost two brothers. The quote is also comparable to a real mother’s grief of losing her own child, something many people find difficult to discuss and process. Another example of the writer’s use of an emotional appeal through personification is, “Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.” Safire makes it seem as though a physical embodiment of Faith personally ordained the two astronauts. He also makes Armstrong and Alden sound serene due to the repetition of the word peace, as well as intentionally calming the audience and giving them the image that the two passed in a nonviolent way. Safire states, “For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.” In this, he sparks feelings of optimism by expressing all mankind will identify the reality that though they didn’t make it back, their sacrifice was not in vain. The world will remember the two astronauts every time the moon lights up the night
Revealed in 1999, “In Event of Moon Disaster”, written by William Safire and meant for President Richard Nixon, was to be used in case of an accident on the moon. Within the speech, it addressed to the public of the loss of two astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. Safire uses the rhetorical appeals ethos, logos, and pathos throughout the speech.
In an attempt to unite the audience with the speaker, Safire uses specific pronouns such as “we” and “our”. He writes, “In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.” By this specific choice of wording, he tries to connect with the audience and not single the speaker out. In a time of tragedy, the country is better …show more content…
His use of personification in his sentence “they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown,” brings us all together in the way that Mother Earth lost her sons, making the correlation that the people of Earth are also her children, meaning everyone has lost two brothers. The quote is also comparable to a real mother’s grief of losing her own child, something many people find difficult to discuss and process. Another example of the writer’s use of an emotional appeal through personification is, “Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.” Safire makes it seem as though a physical embodiment of Faith personally ordained the two astronauts. He also makes Armstrong and Alden sound serene due to the repetition of the word peace, as well as intentionally calming the audience and giving them the image that the two passed in a nonviolent way. Safire states, “For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.” In this, he sparks feelings of optimism by expressing all mankind will identify the reality that though they didn’t make it back, their sacrifice was not in vain. The world will remember the two astronauts every time the moon lights up the night