In the memorable eulogy to the American people in honor of former United States president Ronald Reagan, the former prime minister of Great Brtain Margaret Thatcher has utilized various rhetorical techniques, namely parallelism to emphasize the greatness of Reagan, juxtaposition with anecdote to portray a valuable aspect of the former president, and a tone shift with paralellism and pathos appealing to the Red Scare and patriotism in order to honor and highlight the great personality of Ronald Reagan as a leader and a human being.

To start, Thatcher uses the rhetorical method of parallelism to implant into the minds of the American people of how great their president was. The former prime minister states that "we have lost a great president, a great American, and a great man." Thatcher starts her speech by using the personal pronoun "we" as a way to express that the world is siding with American in this moment of loss and grievance, while also reminds the audience of how Thatcher was a close friend with Reagan, supported when she says "and I have lost a dear friend." By stating the word "great" three times, Thatcher highlights the the great career that Ronald Reagan had. Ronald Reagan did not start his political career early in his life; he was an actor at first. Yet, with his skills of talking in front of public, he won the votes and eventually the hearts of many people around the world after demonstrating the great leadership during the final eight years of the Cold War. The message Thatchet wants to emphasize is clear: Ronald Reagan was a great president not just because of his leadership but also because of the talents and friendliness the former president showed to everyone. To further emphasize the greatness of Ronald Reagan, Thatcher again utilizes parallelism when she says that Reagan "sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism." Reagan had big dreams, and they were not just selfish dreams, they were goals that Reagan set for himself in order to serve the people as the leader of the free world. The goals that seemed to be "hard to accomplish," Reagan turned them into the truth, while still being humourous on televisions since as the President, Reagan knew how to assure the American people. That is the greatness of a President, humble, yet firm and determined. Thatcher's eulogy is to honor the president of the people.

Thatcher then introduces a contrast between the humourous side of Ronald Reagan with the distress of the world at the time. The juxtaposition is seen when Thatcher says "his easy jokes gave assurance to an anxious world." Placing words with opposite meanings "jokes" and "anxious" in one sentence reminds the American people of how life used to be under the administration of Ronald Reagan. Yes, everyday people were living on fire as the risk of a nuclear war could explode at anytime, and yet life still went on, people still enjoyed their colorful life of the 1980s. Why was there such a contrast between the fatal risk and how people reacted? Many reasons, but Thatcher emphasizes on the fact that it was Reagan, the president, who made life better than it seemed to everyone, by assuring his people that he would make peace. Reagan's tactic was the same as the "fireside chats" of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression when he would also address his people and assure them of a better future. In both times, the tactic worked. Thatcher then elaborates on the humor of Reagan more when she shares a story that after a recovery, Reagan told the priest that "'Whatever time I've got left now belongs to the big fella upstairs.'" This short moment for the audience to have fun actually reveals another great side of Reagan: under pressure, he was still optimisitic. A trait that any president should have, and Thatcher wants to say that it was the trait that Reagan had, the trait that dictated his actions and feelings in order to fulfill of mission of restoring peace. Using the anecdote is this case also strengthens Thatcher argument as she proves that Reagan was a close friend to her, the two leaders of the world shared stories to each other, and that is a good thing for the people to see how leaders work together to insure peace for them. Juxtaposing the "anxious world" with "Ronnie"'s little world of humor demonstrates how under any circumstances, Ronald Reagan still knew how to turn challenges into opportunities, emphasizing the greatness of Reagan as a president.

After focusing on the humourous yet valuable personality of Ronald Reagan as a president and as a normal person, Thatcher now focuses on the specific actions of Ronald Reagan during the last eight years of the Cold War; a section that utilizes many rhetorical devices such as a tone shift, parallelism, and pathos to appeal to the scare of communism and American patriotism. The shift in tone is established when Thatcher states one short sentence: "He knew almost instinctively what to do." A shift from honoring Reagan's life and career with humors and grievance to actually emphasizing the firm actions of the leader of the world against the great, "evil" enemy. This shift is necessary because Thatcher understands that in order to further highlight the greatness of Ronald Reagan, his great achievement of contributing to the dissolution of the Soviet Union has to be mentioned. Thatcher then lists how Reagan deals with challenges of the Cold War using parallelism, as seen in a section of her speech "When his aides [...] they were able [...] When his allies [...] they could look confidently [...] when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding." Thatcher intentionally uses the term "American resolve" that appeared in George W. Bush's speech when addressing the people about the 9/11 terrorists attacks, which is still relevant when Thatcher gives the eulogy. This way, American people can feel stronger about Thatcher's message. But that is not the main thing. Parallelism once again helps implant the image of the firm and strong leader into the minds of not just American people but the world, for them to remember the name for man who actually "free[d]" them from communism. Thatcher wants to remember that when they needed help, Reagan delivered, as a president should do. Yet, the fall of the Soviet Union was not the greatest thing Ronald Reagan ever achieved according to Margaret Thatcher. To Thatcher, and to many people, his greatest achievement was that "he loved America and what it stands for: freedom and opportunity for ordinary people." An appeal to patriotism, American values, and the people's admiration for Ronald Reagan for how simple this man was. There is no better way start a eulogy by softly stating the greatness of the man, then going through the firm and great actions of the man using a serious tone, and closing the eulogy with a soft reminder that Reagan was just like any other American: he loved his country so much, he cared for the people of the world so much, and he sacrificed so much for his dreams to become reality. And that is what makes Ronald Reagan the great, one-of-a-kind president that America needs to honor.

The life of Ronald Reagan, the humourous, simple, yet great and heroic life, was captured and honored in the eulogy full of rhetorical techniques of Margaret Thatcher on June 11, 2004. Looking back, people see the impact of having a president that knows how to address the people, how to address the world in a positive way. A president that makes threats while being incompetent could bring the country to chaos, or a president that makes people laugh and assured while doing all the tough work behind the scene could be a great leader. Ronald Reagan was a great man that came to the highest position in the right place at the right time, and his eight years of hardwork have left the world the sweet result. Understanding the message of Margaret Thatcher, people should honor Ronald Reagan, his career and his life even more.