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Jessica Snyder

Prof. Cook

ENG 1101

25 October 2019

The Tragedy of HIV and AIDS

AIDS and HIV are both diseases that everyone is aware of, but no one ever thinks they

will be one of the unfortunate to get it. What most don’t know is how common the disease

actually is. Mary Fisher was the speaker of this speech and her purpose was to spread awareness

and inform people that “This is not a distant threat…”(5) and is something that everyone should

be aware of. She gives a powerful speech trying to get people to join her “party”(7) and raise

awareness. She uses examples of ethos, logos, and pathos in order to get the point across when

she gave her speech.

From the beginning, Mary Fisher shows ethos. She gave statistics to the listeners in order

to gain their attention and to show them she is knowledgeable in what she is talking about. “Two

hundred thousand 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”(2). By giving these facts early on in her speech, she gives the audience confidence. This

was definitely a good decision she made because, by establishing credibility from the beginning,

it sets a great foundation for the rest of her speech. Fisher then, continues to show her

credibleness by the tone of her voice. When talking, she makes sure to take pauses where they

are necessary. By doing this, she doesn’t make it seem like she is nervous at all. By not making it

seem like she is nervous, it further gives the audience confidence because now they know she is

an expert in what she is talking about.

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The speaker’s use of different types of logos in her argument were two great points. One

way she used it was by informing people about how truly common these viruses are. She puts

fear into their minds and hen you put fear into people’s mind, it makes them want to become

safer and be more careful. “If you believe you are safe, you are at risk. 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. Until we genuinely embrace this message, we are a nation at

risk”(12). Because she made it apparent that we are all clearly in danger, she got her message

across to raise awareness and make to a difference. She also uses persuasion in ordeer to get the

message across. “My call to the nation is a plea for awareness. If you believe you are safe, you

are in danger”(9). Similar to the last quote, she uses, ‘plea for awareness’ as a technique of

persuasion in order to make the listeners not only want to be aware of the tragedy, but want to

also spread awareness. When the message was heard from the listeners, a real change would

have been made because of her usage of these skills when she gave the information, whether it

be informative or persuasive.

Fisher’s use of pathos in her speech was very strong. She told a lot of personal stories

about her family members and how they dealt with having someone in their family have a virus

that cannot be treated. “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”(14). By telling

personal stories, she knows the audience will create an emotional connection with her. When you

bring in emotion to anything people are much more susceptible to open not only their hearts to

what you have to say, but also their ears. She further describes what she wants her own children
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to take away from this experience. “My son Max, now four, will take the measure of his mother.

My son Zachary, now two, will sort through his memories. I may not be here to hear their

judgments, but I already know what I hope they are. I want my children to know that their

mother was not a victim. She was a messenger. I do not want them to think, as I once did, that

courage is the absence of fear. I want them to know that courage is the strength to act wisely

when most we are afraid. I want them to have the courage to step forward when called by their

nation or their Party and give leadership, no matter what the personal cost”(16). This also creates

an immense amount of emotional support from the audience. Furthermore, because she gained

emotional support from her audience, she has now gotten her message across that much more.

The reason being, a person's emotions usually outweigh anything else, making that person wants

to help and in Mary Fisher’s case, spread awareness for the danger of HIV and AIDS.

By making careful choices in her usage of ethos, logos, and pathos, Mary Fisher, in my

opinion was definitely able to get her message of awareness across. Since her speech, 27 years

have passed and there have been several medical advancements made. Her speech made people

want to raise awareness and try and find a cure or something to help all of the victims who have

been one of the unlucky to get this terrifying virus. Not only have people wanted to find a cure,

but several different medical facilities have found ways to prevent getting the disease. All in all,

Mary Fisher gave an extremely powerful speech and it paid off because she got what she wanted.

Works Cited

Fisher, Mary. “Whisper of AIDS.” 1992 Republican National Convention Address, 19 August
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1992, Houston, TX