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Rhetorical Analysis Of The July 16, 1969 Launch By Ayn Rand

Decent Essays

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Individualism, freedom, and reason; the three main ideas of objectivist, Ayn Rand’s, philosophy. These ideas are expressed in the article “The July 16, 1969 Launch: A Symbol of Man’s Greatness”, where she also describes and explains the significance of Apollo’ success. Through detailed imagery and comparisons, Rand persuades her audience that a historical achievement like landing on the moon represents man’s capacity for greatness. What makes you understand something better: words or images? In this case Rand uses words to help us with a mental picture. Detailed wording is what put her article above others. For the reason that not a lot of people were able to witness this event first hand, she made it simple to imagine the take off of the rocket and what it might have felt like. For example, “The dark red fire parted into, as if a hydrant were shooting streams of fire upward and down…”. By using these type of descriptions, the readers are now able to put the mental images together like a puzzle to make a whole image of the event as best as possible. Readers also get to thinking about the event and how it must have felt to attend that history making moment on July 16, 1969, which is an appeal to logos. …show more content…

She also uses more common scenarios to compare the launch, so her audience has a better chance of receiving a mental picture. Like in the previous example, Rand compares the fire bursting out of the rocket to water exploding out of a hydrant upward and down. Comparisons give us an idea of the intended words of the speaker or author. By using this device, Rand allows us, as the readers, to comprehend her better. In this case, these comparisons give off an appeal to pathos because the readers feel a sense of achievement once completing the read due to the tone of the article, which is success, pride, and

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