Rhetorical Analysis Of Mary Fisher Whisper Of Aids

Mary Fisher, an HIV-positive white woman, stood before her audience to inform them on the present danger of the rapidly spreading HIV epidemic. She delivered her powerful speech titled, “A Whisper of AIDS”, during the 1992 Republican National Convention Address. Fisher told her audience, “My call to the nation is a plea for awareness,” upfrontly stating her purpose is not to immediately stop the fatal epidemic, but to stop the ignorance surrounding it. With her strong utilization of the rhetorical appeals; ethos, pathos, and logos, Fisher was able to powerfully deliver her speech and its purpose, as well as bring a majority of her audience to tears while doing so. HIV originally being seen as a “GRID” (Gay Related Immune Deficiency), and also seen as a disease only targeting a specific group of people, upfront gives Fisher a large amount of credibility (History of HIV and AIDS). Since she does not fall into the category of people that was originally thought of as the only ones affected by the HIV virus, her audience is able to see that there are more people at risk. She even brings this to the audience's’ attention when she states, “it does not ask whether you are black or white, male or female, gay or straight, young or old.” Fisher strongly establishes ethos through being a white/married

Immediately off the bat of being a white woman affected by the HIV virus, establishes her credibility. In her speech she addresses statistics to support her claim of how AIDs had already affected the country due to little awareness. The most powerful aspect of her speech is her ability to fabricate strong emotion from the audience through mentioning the drastic effect HIV has had on families (including her own) and the effect it’s had on the nation. Fisher through these devices was able to eloquently get her plea for awareness across to the