Bear 1

Olivia Bear
Benjamin Dudley
English 112
2 February 2015
Rhetorical Analysis: A Whisper of AIDS
Mary Fisher, a Republican political party advocate and an HIV/AIDS spokeswoman,
does not want the world to be silent about the pressing issue of her disease. In her speech A
Whisper of AIDS, Fisher delivers her alarming message to an audience that is unaware of the
terrorizing disease. She gives her speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention held in
Houston, Texas. This event is held to bring awareness of the upcoming running presidents and
current issues to the public. Mary Fisher gives her speech at this Convention because much of
the American population pays attention to the happenings at this event. Her goal is to inform the
national public of the dangers of AIDS and persuade them not to be silent about the disease. She
uses a number of techniques to get the audiences attention and to convince them to use their
voices and speak up against AIDS. In order to accomplish her goals, Mary Fisher provides
statistics, appeals to the electorates emotions, and relates to her audience by proving her
credibility.
The best way to inform an audience and make an argument rational is to give a number of
statistics. Presenting the cold hard facts and numbers about a disease is effective in scaring the
audience and forcing them to listen. Fisher explains how serious and relevant this disease really
is when she says Two hundred thousand Americans are dead or dying. A million more are
infected. It is nearly impossible to argue with these numbers and facts, giving her case a sense

Bear 2
of credibility. When the audience realizes how present the disease actually is, they will be more
open to the idea of lifting the silence that was brought on about AIDS. Fisher also uses the
statistic that Largely unknown a decade ago, AIDS is the third leading killer of young adult
Americans today. This also shocks the reader and gives them a sense of urgency when talking
about AIDS.
The main technique Fisher uses is appealing to the emotions of her audience. This
technique is effective because her neutral audience is swayed by the sympathetic statements she
delivers. She connects herself to the other AIDS patients while saying she is one with a black
infant struggling with tubes in a hospital[she] is one with the lonely gay man sheltering a
flickering candle from the cold wind of his familys rejection. By connecting herself with the
conventional image of an AIDS patient, she re-focuses the audience to understand that AIDS
does not discriminate between gender, race, or sexuality. She also brings awareness to her
audience by telling them that they all have killed each other with [their] ignorance, [their]
prejudice, and [their] silence. Fishers main purpose is to inform the audience and persuade
them to lift the silence. When she makes the audience aware that they are killing each other by
their own silence she appeals to their emotions, causing them to change the way they think about
being inaudible to the subject. She is hoping to achieve her goal of lifting this silence.
Mary Fisher is a credible source for the deliverance of this speech. She is a well-known
Republican party activist and also has HIV/AIDS. Her father, Max Fisher, is also an important
Republican party figure. Together, they are a strong representation for the Republican party and
have earned much respect of the general public. Because she has this respect, she is more
convincing to the audience. She says she stands before you [the audience] and the nation

Bear 3
gladly as an HIV/AIDS patient. She is representing the HIV community as a whole, and she is
an expert in her topic. To further establish her credibility and strengthen her argument, Fisher
explains a personal story of hers. She talks about the support that President Bush and his family
has shown to her family. By letting the audience know that both families are very dear to each
other, she shows that she is a reliable source because se is close with the president of the United
States of America.
Although Fishers speech was successful in shocking her audience and lifting the silence
on AIDS, there were some flaws that could have been avoided. Although she identified herself
with other AIDS patients very well, she did not give much evidence of the silence over AIDS. If
she would have given a few more statistics, her argument would have been that much more
effective. The key to a successful speech is to give the facts and numbers. To make a speech
more credible, statistics are key. Even though the amount of statistics was not up to par, her
speech was well backed by her credibility and her use of emotional appeal to the audience. She
was convincing and successful.

Work Cited

Bear 4
Fisher, Mary. A Whisper of AIDS. Republican National Convention. Houston, Texas. 19
August 1992. Address.