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Essay / Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate Rhetorical Devices
He describes the physical wall in Berlin and the wall of restrictions that divides the rest of the country as a scar, insinuating that it is ugly, unnatural and undesirable. In the third paragraph, he creates a connection between the people of the East and the West by describing them as "compatriots", then saying: "Es gibt nu rein Berlin." [There is only one Berlin.]” This connection sets an enthymeme that people on both sides of the wall have common goals: freedom, security and prosperity. Reagan then relates these goals to the rest of the world by saying: “Before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner obliged to look at a scar.” So far, Reagan's audience appears to be limited to Germans. By unifying these groups, he forces the world to sympathize with their German brothers. The pain and suffering felt by the German people becomes that of humanity, encouraging the rest of the world to understand that the wall is falling on a personal level. This is further illustrated in the following paragraph when Reagan states: "As long as this door is closed, as long as this scar of wall may remain, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom." for all