English II Pre-AP Unit 1 – Rhetorical Analysis Paper

1 Ronald J. Feudo, 2014 English II Pre-AP unit 1 Rhetorical Analysis Paper Sample Planning and Prewriting: Mr. Feudo s Essay Analyzing Mary Fisher s A Whisper of AIDS SOA (Establish Rhetorical situation/context SOA, and then come back and do purpose and tone after completing the Big 5.) Speaker Mary Fisher; HIV positive patient; contracted the disease from her husband in marriage and found out a year after their divorce when he was diagnosed; mother of two children one biological, one adopted neither of whom are infected; a white, Republican woman Occasion 1992 Republican National Convention an event designed to bring the party together as they nominated George Bush for reelection as President and Dan Quayle as reelection for Vice President.

2 A time period when HIV/AIDS is a death sentence and is associated primarily with homosexuals and drug addicts and, to a lesser extent, black people; believed by many to be a punishment from God; AIDS is relatively new, so it is misunderstood and stigmatized, and most people unaffected are not inclined to do anything about the issue Audience Immediate: Republicans at the convention motivated and politically engaged; Larger: the American public (speech reached 27 million people in its initial broadcast) The Big 5/PSTone 1. What is the passage about (Subjects = also the second S in SOAPSTone)?

3 The stereotypes surrounding HIV/AIDS and the fallacy of those stereotypes The effect of AIDS on individuals and families What needs to be done on the issue Minor: What has been done by the President on the issue of AIDS 2. What is the narrative perspective or speaker/author s position? More needs to be done to address the HIV/AIDS crisis, and stigmas and stereotypes need to be ignored in order to embrace all people with the disease and to prevent those who believe they are not at risk from contracting it. 3. What does the passage say?/4. How does the author develop meaning through the text?

4 How is it organized? See chart Par/ Section What does Fisher say/ What does Fisher do? How does Fisher try to affect her audience here? What does she want them to think or do? 1 Three months ago, I spoke about raising AIDS awareness in the party. I have come here to do the same. Establishes that she s spoken about this before to a significant audience (appeal to ethos) Establishes her purpose (at least in part) Understand that she is an authority on the issue Understand what she wants from them 2 I am HIV positive. 200,000 are dead/dying; 1,000,000 infected; could be 100,000,000 infections in coming years.

5 AIDS is winning. Establishes her HIV status, further appealing to ethos. Provides statistics regarding the numerical impact of AIDS. Personifies the disease as an enemy which is winning. Understand that even someone like her (someone like many of them) can be infected See the disease as a real and present threat 3 AIDS is not political and does not discriminate. Counters any opposition resulting from the fact that this was also an issue at the DNC Argues that AIDS does not care about the differences humans care about, including the common stereotypes View the problem objectively and divorce it from political views, arguments, and stereotypes Ronald J.

6 Feudo, 2014 4 The AIDS community has members of all kinds who have not chosen to be there. Because of AIDS, I am like a black infant or a gay man despite the fact that I am literally a member of none of those groups. Calls herself a representative of an AIDS community that is not made up of members by choice. Equates herself to a black infant and a gay man in order to illustrate that all kinds of people have this disease. See that basically no one chooses to have AIDS, and these people are victims Understand that AIDS makes people equal because all that it cares is that you are human regardless of age or group 5 AIDS is a very real and immediate danger.

7 Rate of infection increasing fastest among women and children AIDS = 3rd leading killer of young adult Americans HIV is transmitted by people unlike the other big killers, so it will grow quickly. We have helped it ( killed each other ) become such a big problem by ignoring it, avoiding it, and stigmatizing those who have it. Refutes the idea that AIDS is not an imminent threat. Provides statistics to prove that it IS an imminent threat and that it is an imminent threat to very common people. Establishes that the statistics will get direr as a result of the fact that we help the disease along.

8 Asserts that we have killed each other as a result of our perceptions regarding the illness. Accept AIDS as a threat to everyone and not just the stereotypical risk groups Feel fear and responsibility regarding the spread of the disease and a sense of duty to stop it 6 Stereotypes cannot protect us; the disease does not look for stereotypes; it looks for humans. HIV/AIDS patients are still human and deserve to be treated as such with support and compassion. Argues that stereotypes cannot protect us, because AIDS does not seek kinds of humans; it just seeks humans Argues that we must treat patients with class, dignity, and compassion, because they are still human and deserve at least that.

9 Give up stereotypes and understand that any human can contract the disease, so anyone with the disease must be treated like those who don t have the disease 7 The Party needs to take a stand like President and Mrs. Bush. The Bushes have been kind and compassionate to me and to my parents. Encourages the party to follow the lead of their President on the issue. Establishes how the Bushes have handled her personal issue. Follow the lead of President Bush (which would involve voting for Bush AND being compassionate to AIDS victims like he has) 8 The President has done much good on the issue, and much of it has gone unnoticed.

10 There is more to be done like the President says. We do the President s cause no good if we praise the American family but ignore a virus that destroys it. Establishes that the President has quietly done a lot in support of the issue. Agrees with the President that more needs to be done. Calls the HIV/AIDS crisis the President s cause Points out the irony in supporting the family but not supporting the fight against a disease that destroys it. View the President favorably on the issue AND support him in his endeavors See the irony in being the party of family values if they re not doing something to prevent the destruction of the family 9 We must be consistent with our values or we have no integrity.