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Reagan's Eulogy During The Cold War

Decent Essays

During Reagan’s office as president of the United States in the 1980s, tensions between America and the Soviet Union formed a time period in history known as the Cold War. As time went by, Reagan was able to improve relations between the two countries. Reagan’s accomplishments during the Cold War are clearly showcased in his eulogy, written by British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Her eulogy, directed towards Americans and the rest of the world, accomplishes her purpose to show that Reagan was adamant in solving the United States problems and never gave up. By employing laudatory diction; appealing to the audience with pathos, ethos, and logos; and utilizing parallelism to emphasize Reagan’s accomplishments, Thatcher expresses her message. …show more content…

As Thatcher depicts Reagan’s achievements , she uses parallelism by the repetition of the word “[o]thers”(30) then going on to describe what Reagan did despite what most people thought. She contrasts others beliefs with juxtaposition by the repetition of “[h]e inspired”(31), “[h]e transformed”(32) and “[h]e won”(36). This parallelism with the use of juxtaposition contrasts the pessimistic beliefs of others with Reagan’s optimistic goals to improve relations with other countries, showing that he was adamant to find solutions. In addition, parallelism is used when Thatcher states how Reagan saw “many sides of the truth” (74); she goes on to list his ideas about the Soviet Union by repeating the word “Yes” (74), to acknowledge that Reagan saw evil and adding “but” (76) to explain how Reagan acknowledged the deeper struggles of the Soviet Union. Thatcher emphasises Reagan abilities to see more than surface level; therefore, proving that he searched for ways to improve relations with the Soviet Union, despite the qualities of the country that American disagreed with.
Conclusion:
By using parallelism, employing ethos, and adopting a praising tone, Thatcher makes her point that Reagan desired to help relationship with the Soviet Union in and unrelenting manner. Thatcher not only achieves her direct purpose to honor Reagan and his accomplishments, but she also continues on to impact future politicians. By praising Regan of his accomplishment, she presents an example of how politician should deal with affairs in the

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