Com220: Rhetorical Devices In Speech
Com220 – Week 1
Assignment – Bias, Rhetorical Devices, and Argumentation
The speech in which I choose to complete my review on was the “1992 Republican National Convention Address: A Whisper of AIDS” by May Fisher (1992)
• What are some examples of bias, fallacies, and specific rhetorical devices in the speech you selected? For this question I would first like to address the question of fallacies as while the speech has to do with a serious topic, I found the tone of the speech to be using the scare tactic technique. Sentences such as this “…or listening in the quiet of your home, to recognize that AIDS virus is not a political creature.” Using the word creature put the image of a monster or something from your nightmare into your imagination. Other scare tactics used would be “littering its pathway with the bodies of the young” and “If you do not see this killer stalking your children, look again.” These statements bring terrible over the top images to mind, with no other purpose other than to scare you into following the direction laid out by the speaker. Also such fallacies as the slippery slope are used. In the paragraph: AIDS is the third leading killer of young adult Americans today. But it won’t …show more content…
The argument Mary Fisher presents is for more attention and awareness to the reality and epidemic of aids, partially through her own story and partially through using scare tactics to make the reader. While I could not find that Mary Fisher used counterarguments in her speech there could have been a counterargument made for programs or processes that were currently operating or in process to be deployed that were also working to spread awareness and prevent the spread of the disease and possibly research efforts. Also it could have been mentioned that there were other people, political parties, groups and health organizations and how they are helping with the effort and not just the
Assignment – Bias, Rhetorical Devices, and Argumentation
The speech in which I choose to complete my review on was the “1992 Republican National Convention Address: A Whisper of AIDS” by May Fisher (1992)
• What are some examples of bias, fallacies, and specific rhetorical devices in the speech you selected? For this question I would first like to address the question of fallacies as while the speech has to do with a serious topic, I found the tone of the speech to be using the scare tactic technique. Sentences such as this “…or listening in the quiet of your home, to recognize that AIDS virus is not a political creature.” Using the word creature put the image of a monster or something from your nightmare into your imagination. Other scare tactics used would be “littering its pathway with the bodies of the young” and “If you do not see this killer stalking your children, look again.” These statements bring terrible over the top images to mind, with no other purpose other than to scare you into following the direction laid out by the speaker. Also such fallacies as the slippery slope are used. In the paragraph: AIDS is the third leading killer of young adult Americans today. But it won’t …show more content…
The argument Mary Fisher presents is for more attention and awareness to the reality and epidemic of aids, partially through her own story and partially through using scare tactics to make the reader. While I could not find that Mary Fisher used counterarguments in her speech there could have been a counterargument made for programs or processes that were currently operating or in process to be deployed that were also working to spread awareness and prevent the spread of the disease and possibly research efforts. Also it could have been mentioned that there were other people, political parties, groups and health organizations and how they are helping with the effort and not just the