The speaker of the speech “A Whisper of Aids” is Mary Fisher. The audience comprises of delegates participating in the Republican Convention of 1992. Since the convention consists of members of the political class, the purpose of the speech is to persuade them to come up with appropriate policies to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. The most prominent rhetorical tools Fisher uses in her speech are ethos, pathos, and logos.
Use of ethos is evident in the speech because Mary Fisher herself is infected with HIV/AIDS. Mary Fisher, says, “Tonight, I represent an AIDS community whose members have been reluctantly drafted from every segment of American society” (Par. 5). Therefore, the audience listens to the experiences of an individual suffering from the HIV scourge.
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Fisher uses pathos in the way she appeals to the emotions of her audience. A good example is where she says, “Tonight, HIV marches resolutely toward AIDS in more than a million American homes, littering its pathway with the bodies of the young” (Par. 14). With this sentence, the audience is made to reflect on the havoc HIV is causing to the communities and the country at large.
Regarding logos, Fisher uses facts and statistics as evidence of her message. For example, she says, “Largely unknown a decade ago, AIDS is the third leading killer of young-adult Americans today-but it won’t be third for long” (Par. 6). Such evidence shows how the disease is quickly turning to be a menace, and in this way, the audience needs to do something urgent to curtail the spread of the disease.
In conclusion, use of ethos, pathos and logos is very effective in Mary Fisher’s speech, especially in making her audience to act. The audience comprises of important political players who can influence policy to ensure that HIV does not spread and cause great danger in the country.
