Mary fisher speech analysis

Rhetorical Devices Chart for Speech Analysis

Source Information: American Rhetoric

Title of Speech: A Whisper of AIDS Republican National Convention Address

Speaker: Mary Fisher

Event: Republican National Convention Address

Where speech was delivered: Huston, Texas

Date: 19 August 1992

URL: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html

Device

Example 1

Example 2

Audience

Mary Fisher addresses a global audience. She calls all the American people and officials as she says: “I stand before you and before the nation gladly”

Mary Fisher wants everybody to recognize that HIV is a real threat to American people and despite all that has been done, it’s still growing. She says: “In the context of an election year, I ask you, here in this great hall, or listening in the quiet of your home, to recognize that AIDS virus is not a political creature.,

Purpose

Mary Fisher states that curing HIV should be taken more seriously because “This is not a distant threat. It is a present danger. The rate of infection is increasing fastest among women and children. Largely unknown a decade ago, AIDS is the third leading killer of young adult Americans today”

Mary Fisher’s purpose is to educate people that those with HIV shouldn’t be outcast from the society because “they don’t benefit from being isolated or treated as outcasts. Each of them is exactly what God made: a person; not evil, deserving of our judgment; not victims, longing for our pity -- people, ready for support and worthy of compassion.”

Repetition

At the end of his speech, Mary Fisher repeats two sentences that are very similar to emphasize that she would not stop fighting no matter how much society doesn’t want to change. In the first sentence she says” I will not give in” and in the second sentence she says: I will not rest, Max, until I have done all I can to make your world safe.”

Mary Fisher wants to persuade her listeners that America can be in great danger if they don’t take action against HIV and they should be aware that no one is immune against HIV no matter the race or religion.

In the first sentence she says:” If you believe you are safe, you are at risk” and in the second sentence she says:” we are a nation at risk.”

Imagery

According to the article: “Because people with HIV have not entered some alien state of being. They are human.” Mary fisher compares HIV patient to aliens to create a mental image for the reader, she explains that those with HIV aren’t so different from other people.

Mary Fisher compares HIV to a killer. “If you do not see this killer stalking your children, look again. There is no family or community, no race or religion, no place left in America that is safe.” The writer is trying to help the reader to visualize how dangerous this disease is.

Ethos

Mary Fisher establishes credibility with her audience by referring to the fact that even the President and Mrs. Bush support her and believe in her viewpoint. “The President and Mrs. Bush have embraced me and my family in memorable ways. In the place of judgment, they have shown affection. In difficult moments, they have raised our spirits.”

Mary Fisher tries to convince her audience by sharing her own story and revealing that she has HIV herself.” I would never have asked to be HIV positive, but I believe that in all things there is a purpose”

Logos

Mary Fisher uses statistic as her evidence to show facts and logic. She states:” Americans are dead or dying. A million more are infected. Worldwide, forty million, sixty million, or a hundred million infections will be counted in the coming few years.”

Mary fisher tries to convince her audience by using logical appeal. She persuades her audience based on reasoning. She states:

” This is not a distant threat. It is a present danger. The rate of infection is increasing fastest among women and children. Largely unknown a decade ago, AIDS is the third leading killer of young adult Americans today”

Pathos

Mary fisher developed an emotional connection with her audience, she explains that her family don’t blame her for having HIV but rather sympathies and support her. “My 84-year-old father, who has pursued the healing of the nations, will not accept the premise that he cannot heal his daughter. My mother refuses to be broken. She still calls at midnight to tell wonderful jokes that make me laugh. Sisters and friends, and my brother Phillip, whose birthday is today, all have helped carry me over the hardest places. I am blessed, richly and deeply blessed, to have such a family.”

Mary Fisher ends her speech with an appeal to her listeners that also suffer from HIV. She asks them to come of the shadows of hiding and take courage to tell others they have HIV. “I ask no more of you than I ask of myself or of my children. To the millions of you who are grieving, who are frightened, who have suffered the ravages of AIDS firsthand: Have courage, and you will find support. To the millions who are strong, I issue the plea: Set aside prejudice and politics to make room for compassion and sound policy.”