In the year of 1984, a shroud of silence was hovering over the concern of the HIV/AIDs disease. AIDS activist, HIV-positive Mary Fisher, lifted that shroud of silence on August 19, 1992 with her "A Whisper of AIDs" speech. From examining Mary Fisher's speech, who effectively wants to convey her message of acceptance to the nation and many political figures at the Republican Convention in Houston, Texas, it is clear that HIV/AIDs is a disease that needs support instead of rejection.
Mary Fisher spoke to an audience of political figures who had a silenced fear over the newly discovered disease, AIDs. Being an AIDs activist, Mary exclaimed in her speech that HIV/AIDs should not be a fear nor something that is rejected but supported. While
…show more content…
Mary's goal was to reveal every truth and concern about the disease. Pathos, logos, and ethos led her to this goal by creating emotion, keeping a sensible and flowing order, and using credibility from political figures. Mary used many examples of pathos by describing her life story behind becoming HIV-positive, and the obstacles she had to overcome. For example, Mary reveals a message to her children in her speech which …show more content…
She uses another strong example of pathos that shows both the acceptance side and rejection side of the disease. She states, "Though I am female and contracted this disease in marriage, and enjoy the warm support of my family, I am one with the lonely gay man sheltering a flickering candle from the cold wind of his family's rejection" (Fisher). Although Mary has support from her family, there are many people with the disease who fear the reactions from their families, in this case being rejection. This creates a high level of emotional appeal for her audience. Logos also comes into play in her speech. She creates an order that flows and allows the audience to engage in the sequence of events. To make her strong argument, Mary uses ethos by incorporating a political figure to give her credibility. She announces in her