Rhetorical Analysis On Space Exploration

1957 was a big year for mankind. It was the year that the very first rocket ship was launched with a radio transmitter. It was the year that started a competitive atmosphere in the scientific field of work. It was the year that opened many possibilities to mankind. It was the year that Sputnik was launched. It was the year that launched the modern world into motion with satellites, space stations, and wireless connections around the world. The passages presented are introductory passages to a larger excerpt that remains unpresented. Both passages use stylistic and rhetorical devices to capture their opinions and easily convey their standings on space exploration.

Passage 1 uses diction to produce and satisfy his opinion of space exploration
In Passage 1 the author uses hyphens to separate the phrase “the sun, the moon, and the stars”. He does this to exaggerate how separate or distant mankind is to being even close to god-like, which is ironic considering man likes to play god when it comes to the fate of other species that inhabit Earth. Furthermore, the author uses commas to separate another phrase “bound by earthly time”. The author intends to make the gap between man and god even larger by giving time to man and eternity to god and the sun, the moon, and the stars. The eternity that the author refers to has not been achieved by mankind and the author wants to be able to experience it and be given the chance to travel beyond Earth’s reaches and mankind’s past adventures. The next detail the author uses is a quote from an American reporter, “...[the] first step toward escape from men’s imprisonment on Earth.” This quote is used to solidify the author’s standpoint on the topic of space exploration, the author dislikes not being able to go farther than earth’s atmosphere. He wants to travel through space and see things that have only been observed by the “celestial bodies” that have an infinite eternity to reside in