Culminating Activity p. 30: Analysis of thematically-linked text
The following four texts apart of the Culminating Activity were all related to the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, which had first put a man on the moon. The first article was from the Times of London, and served to describe the events of the moon landing from the astronaut's point of view. The article used anecdotal evidence to describe Aldrin and Armstrong's experience in order to inform the audience of what had occurred, as well as the reactions in several different countries.. The speaker is a from a reputable news source, The Times, and is informing the European audience - as this event was apart of America’s space program, NASA - of the landing as a great success. Although
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Furthermore, the subject is not just the greatness of the moon landing, but the greatness of mankind’s achievements, causing the text to be more of a personal reflection/commentary rather than a narrative. This writer has established ethos because they had attended the event herself. Rand describes it with great imagery and explains humankind’s greatness with figurative language, appealing to pathos. Furthermore, Rand appeals to logos by uses the moonlanding to prove human kind’s greatness by saying that “[it] was not the product of inanimate nature, like some aurora borealis… [but] that it was unmistakably human.”, and that it was a feeling of “‘How great is man and how safe is nature when he conquers it!”. Finally, in the final piece of text by the famous cartoonist HerbLock (automatic ethos), a lone man stares at a TV set atop of the moon, while the Earth below is covered with a thick smog of War, Poverty, and Prejudice. The symbolism of the smog and single man on the moon appeals to pathos. The text displays the plague that has taken hold of the Earth, but with an emphasis on the wonder and …show more content…
Beginning with the Times article, appeals by describing the events that occurred on the moon and across the globe to achieve its purpose. However, the text hardly explained why the event was so great, causing it to lack a bit of reason and logos. On the other hand, Nixon’s speech explains that the stranded astronauts are going to be remembered as a great sacrifice, and supports his argument by saying they did it for mankind and that it brought mankind closer. It not only explains mankind’s greatness, but how the launch made it greater.. The speech appeals to pathos as well, and although Nixon never used the speech, it engages with the audience and establishes ethos with shared values. This doesn’t necessarily occur in the Ayn Rand’s personal commentary, though she does build ethos because she attended the space launch. Rand recalls the launch, and then analysis the event and explains the greatness, showing exactly why it made man great. Finally, when I first saw the comic strip by Herblock, I had different interpretations regarding exact purpose, and I was confused as to whether it portrayed man as great, or flawed.. However, the layout of the comic is attractive to the eye, and allows the audience to ruminate on its purpose. Personally, if I were to rate the four texts from best to worst, I would rate it as such: (1) Nixon’s Speech (2) Rand’s commentary
The world would have been very different if we had not landed on the moon and made it back safely those couple days in July of 1969. Many people were nervous and skeptical that the mission of Apollo 11 wouldn’t work, some even coming to the worst case scenario. As a president, President Nixon had to be prepared for any outcome of this great event in history. Regardless of the mission’s success, a speech was prepared for the outcome of Apollo 11 failing. The speech, In Event of Moon Disaster, written for President Nixon, effectively uses pathos and logos to appeal to a distraught nation in fragile time and uses descriptive language to regain the embodiment of hope again in the country. Because it was written before the event took place, however,
Kennedy uses an analogy in the fifth and sixth paragraphs; he compares the entire history of man to a single half century “the 50,000 years of man¹s recorded history in a time span of but a half-century.” This analogy creates a sense of urgency and need for the space program, if the world is moving forwards so fast, if America doesn’t reach the moon first someone else will. This sentiment is highlighted by the quote “The exploration of space will go on ahead, whether we join in it or not.” Kennedy constantly piqued the curiosity of the crowd, using the appeal of the unknown. Referring to “the vast stretches of the unknown”. Kennedy also links the moon goal to the fabric of the nation, continually stating “This country was conquered by those who moved forward--and so will space.” And suggesting that failure would be betraying the founding fathers of the nation. Kennedy also uses humour at key stages, to break up the seriousness of the speech. The lines “Why does Rice play Texas” and “I'm the one who is doing all the work, so we just want you to stay cool for a minute.” In the first statement Kennedy is referring to a rival university’s football team, relating the crowd to Kennedy and his goals. The other example of humour is where he was talking about the high temperatures of the sun and only a sentence later tells the audience that they should stay
Launch: A Symbol of Man’s Greatness, an article published by Ayn Rand, aims to convince the audience that the takeoff of the Apollo 11 is a representation of man’s highest level of capability. By using diction that describes primal feelings and long sentences, Rand fully achieves this purpose. Diction describing primal human feelings--such as “anxiety” and “involuntary” is used before Rand finishes describing the takeoff of the rocket, but is not seen through the rest of the text (Rand). What is normally seen as uncontrollable human tendencies disappear once the rocket leaves, showing how powerful the structure, made possible by man’s ability, is. When those watching the takeoff no longer experience anxiety or fear as a result of the rocket’s successful takeoff, they control nature because this extension of humankind can channel natural tendencies. Being able to control something thought as uncontrollable and unpredictable exemplifies how man can overcome adversity and possess the capability to achieve great actions. Another device that Rand uses to achieve her purpose is long sentences. In several areas of the text, Rand writes using sentences that can span almost six lines in length. For example, the text describes the importance of the launch by stating “The meaning of the sight lay in the fact that when those dark red wings of fire flared open, one knew that one was not looking at a normal occurrence, but a cataclysm which, if unleashed by nature,
If Apollo 11 had failed, if two of our nation's greatest heroes were left stranded on the Moon with only hours of oxygen, the President would have been asked to give a speech. This speech was written, but fortunately, was never required to be shared. In this never given speech, William Safire (President Nixon’s head speech-writer) puts into words a remarkably effective sentiment that truly serves what would have been its intended purpose, to comfort the American People, and reassure them that this is not the end of Apollo. Safire brilliantly uses rhetoric to further his argument, utilizing primarily pathos supplemented by logos. Safire knew that Nixon would have gone into this speech with a strongly established ethos, President of the United
On July 16, 1969 the space ship Apollo 11 left from Kennedy Space Center en route to the moon. The crew consisted of Neil A. Armstrong, the commander; Edwin E. Aldrin, the jr. lunar module pilot; and Michael Collins, the commander module pilot...
Throughout the philosophical novel known as Atlas Shrugged, its author, Ayn Rand, leaves no question as to the primary theme within the story. In fact, Rand herself stated that the theme “is the role of the mind in man’s existence.” The story indicates that it is the presence and awareness of the mind that promotes prosperity and morality. For the duration of the book, as the men of reason and strong morality disappear, panic spreads through the remaining men in power, who are representative of the incompetent. They represent the men who avoid reason, acting upon such things as feeling and responsibility. Rand, through her lead character, condemns men of this nature, writing; “Are you seeking to know what is wrong with the world? All the disasters
America went to the moon in the 1960’s, during a time of war, a time that was so far behind in technology compared to now, but yet human beings went to the moon . Human beings are capable of many wonderful things and their potential has no limits, except for the limits that are placed by government and society. Neil deGrasse Tyson attempted to liberate NASA from the limits of low funding by giving a speech to the U.S Senate. Tyson used emotion and logical thinking to make the complexity of NASA as relatable to the audience as possible, and by doing so he wanted to convey to them how important NASA is in our society today and the future of the human kind.
The television broadcast of the Apollo 11 lunar-landing on July 20, 1969 had a significant impact by creating a sense of community on a national, international, and global level. During the broadcast of the first lunar landing, Americans experienced a moment of unity and patriotism in the midst of societal issues and geopolitical conflict. The Apollo 11 broadcast also had a significant worldwide impact, surpassing international boundaries as people witnessed the first of mankind to set foot on another planet. Yet possibly the most remarkable and unforeseen effect of the moon-landing television broadcast was that it changed the public perspective of the world, showing people the relative fragility and insignificance of the Earth in the vast
[REVISE] The success of Apollo 11 which included the historic presence of the first humans on the moon signified the greatest extent of human intellectual advancement. Various circumstances were undertaken throughout the effort in success that established the United States’ superiority in terms of scientific and military progress.
There are many definitions to theory. According to Akers (2009) “theories are tentative answers to the commonly asked questions about events and behavior” (Akers, (2009, p. 1). Theory is a set of interconnect statements that explain how two or more things are related in two casual fashions, based upon a confirmed hypotheses and established multiple times by disconnected groups of researchers.
This particular rhetorical device appeals to those listening because they can trust a man who is sure of what he is talking about and can back up the facts with ease, for example in paragraph five he says “Nations own scientific manpower is doubling ever 12 years in a rate of growth more then three times that of our population” verifying his theory thus gaining the audiences trust in order to support his main idea. Kennedy strongly demonstrates logos through comparing the cost of the space program to the amount of money people spend in the United States buying tobacco products a year. This negative cause verses a positive cause makes it clear to the audience that only good can come from supporting NASA because “that budget now stands at $5,400 million a year--a staggering sum, though somewhat less than we pay for cigarettes and cigars every year” making the positive choice obnoxiously obvious. Kennedy choice to use logos within his speech is ideal for evidence to back his speech can only result in the audience having no reason to doubt therefore
Rand vividly explains what he observes as the space shuttle burnt into ashes. Rand uses ethos to appeal to the audience by stating that ‘what was seen was in naked essentials but in reality it cannot happen in work of art’. It is therefore; clear that what happened was observed as a reality but was a critical mistake in the work of art. Pathos is used to explain how the speaker joined the applauding cloud.
There are many definitions to theory. According to Akers, “theories are tentative answers to the commonly asked questions about events and behavior.” Theory is a set of interconnected statements that explain how two or more things are related, based upon a confirmed hypotheses and established multiple times by disconnected groups of researchers.
The year before the moon landing, 1968, was one of the most violent and bitter years for American citizens. From the war in Vietnam to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Americans had begun to lose faith in their divided nation. With the activist riots in Chicago over preventing the election of Lyndon B. Johnson’s Vice-President, Hubert Humphrey, America was filled social unrest until the next year. In 1969, the uplifting broadcast of Neil Armstrong landing safely on the moon had given confirmation that America could still rise from the distress and achieve greatness. The significance of the moon landing became a symbol for the American people of all their nation’s accomplishments.