Topic > Remarks on the Rhetorical Devices of the Brandenburg Gate

Describes the physical Berlin Wall and the wall of restrictions dividing the rest of the country as a scar, implying that it is ugly, unnatural, and undesirable. In the third paragraph, he creates a connection between the people of the East and West by describing them as “fellow countrymen” and then saying, “Es gibt nu rein Berlin. [There is only one Berlin.]” This connection poses an enthymeme that people on both sides of the wall have common goals: freedom, security, and prosperity. Reagan then connects 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, forced to look at a scar." Up to this point, Reagan's audience appears to be limited to Germans. By unifying these groups, he forces the world to empathize 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 the desire for the wall to fall on a personal level. This is further exemplified in the next paragraph, when Reagan states, “As long as this door is closed, as long as this scar of a wall can stand, it is not only the German question that remains open, but also the question of freedom.” for everyone