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Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address Rhetorical Devices

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On Tuesday, January 20, 1981, the special occasion of Ronald Reagan's inauguration, he gave his First Inaugural Address speech. Claiming that the government can not complete the job that they have been given to accomplish, he announces his plan for his term, and enforces it patriotically with powerful rhetoric. As the newly elected president, Ronald Reagan’s first speech to America, was full of patriotism as he told America his plan to lessen the government's power during his time in office. He effectively used rhetorical devices such as a synecdoche to optimistically show we are a whole made up of strong individuals. He also uses anaphora to repeat the main message to convey the seriousness of his message to establish a trust between him and his audience. Along with the rhetorical devices he gets his message across more effectively by using stylistic devices such as looking into his audience with acknowledgement throughout each sentence and lack of distractive gestures. All of the rhetorical work furthers his purpose to reveal his presidential intentions in office to the people of America and leaders in other countries.
Reagan breaks down who the United States is made up of by using a synecdoche to support the people, and encourage them that all …show more content…

While his posture is stationary it is not static, by looking and slightly turning to view the entire audience throughout the his speech, Reagan keeps his audience focused more on his words than over exaggerated movements to emphasize the points he is trying to make. Many speakers with written down speeches hold their papers and are not able to move their hands, but this becomes a pro for Reagan by keeping himself, and his audience, solely focused on him instead of on being overly animated with annoying gestures. By keeping his speech free of distractions, Reagan presents himself as an engaging and poised

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