Marissa Fritz
Rhetorical Analysis Theme 2
Strength, courage, and perseverance, when most people think of these attributes in terms of sports, they picture strong muscular athletes. However, at the two thousand and thirteen ESPYS, ESPN’s night of awards for excellence in sports, the person honored for these attributes was not an athlete, but sports reporter Robin Roberts. After being called to the stage to accept the Arthur Ashe courage award, Roberts not only gave a speech to accept the honor, but also used the time to thank everyone who helped her in the fight against cancer and spread awareness to the cause. By utilizing the commonplaces of the audience as well as all three rhetorical appeals, Roberts successfully portrayed her gratitude towards the people who supported her while also reminding the audience that the fight against cancer far from over. Using emotions and profound diction in the appeals, Roberts conveyed her message in a short but effective speech moving much of the audience to tears.
From the moment that Roberts began her speech it was clear that she understood the immediate audience. Due to the fact that she was speaking at a sports awards ceremony, she was aware that the room consisted primarily of professional athletes. She drew on this commonplace by stating, “ I wanted to be a pro athlete, but there is something called, wait a minute what is that again, oh yes, ability that you must have. So I am in awe of your vast accomplishments and to be in your company tonight.” This line allowed the audience to come together and have an interest in the topic because it is one they could all relate to, sports. Furthermore, through the specific diction Roberts added comedy to the speech to keep the audience even further engaged. By making fun of the fact that she did not have the talents that the professional athletes have, she is able to bring the audience together while also creating a more relaxed and light hearted environment. This was an important part of the introduction because her speech was about a very serious illness and these light remarks enabled the audience to feel more connected before she began to speak of her gratitude and ask them to support others.
While the introduction focused more on the immediate audience, Roberts also displayed awareness for the countless people watching the speech from their homes. She did this through her specific diction used when describing cancer survivors. She stated, “ Those of us who are fortunate to over come some sort of illness or adversity are often told that we are strong…” Instead of simply saying that she has been told she was strong, she uses the word, “we”. This allows for anyone who has ever fought an illness or faced adversity to feel a deeper connection to Roberts. By including herself with all other survivors, she creates a commonplace and thus gets the audience engaged in the topic she is about to discuss.
Once she has both the athletes and the viewers at home engaged, she begins to use the three appeals to explain her gratitude as well as her desire to help others suffering. She first utilizes pathos to evoke emotions from the audience and enable them to understand why she is grateful. After already having established a commonplace, pathos enables the audience to empathize with Roberts. She achieves this by constantly connecting her story back to her family. She explains that she was only able to survive because of those who supported her, stating, “My family and friends, man there unconditional love brings me to tears.” In this sentence her choice of the phrase, “unconditional love” creates the idea that she relied on them for constant support. The idea of relying on family for strength and comfort in times of sickness is one that resonates with many. It draws on the audiences’ feelings, allowing them to understand the gratitude Roberts feels towards her friends and family. She then continues thanking her sister for donating her bone marrow. She states, “ My big sister, Sally Anne, I wouldn’t be standing here, heck, I wouldn’t be standing anywhere today if it were not for you…” This sentence serves as a stark reminder of the gift Sally Anne has given Roberts. By explaining that she would not be alive without her sister’s help, she draws on the emotions of the audience, allowing them to understand why she is so thankful.
After she has captured the audiences’ emotions, she uses her credibility to help persuade everyone to donate and volunteer to help fight cancer. She already has immediate credibility because of her affiliation with ESPN and ABC as an anchorwoman. She is positive and common household name, so the public is likely to listen and respond to her when she tries to raise funds and awareness for cancer research. However, she also mentions that she was very close with Arthur Ashe, the creator of the award. She explains, “Arthur Ashe was a dear friend…he taught me the importance of using the platform we were blessed to be given to be of service to others.” Knowing Arthur not only gives her more credibility, but also creates the idea that he instilled the value of helping others and now she is going to try and instill it into the community. She uses her relationship to Ashe to give her the authority to ask the audience for help.
While Robert’s appeal to ethos gives her the credibility to ask the community to aid in the fight against cancer, her appeal to logos goes a step further to logically explain why cancer foundations, specifically the V foundation for cancer research, need this help. She explains how her friend and national icon, Jimmy Valvano, set up the V foundation to help save the lives of generations to come. She then goes a step further explaining that this research has saved her life. Roberts says that twenty years after Jimmy gave his ESPY speech about his foundation, “Because of everyone that has responded to his challenge, because of all the donation, research, and support, mine has been one of the lives that has been saved. And now I ask you to save someone else, give strength to someone else…” In this quote she uses a logical argument that her life was saved because of the research, so more people should donate and help so more research can be conducted and more lives can saved. This argument follows a clear and linear path enabling the audience to see how the donations and help can make a difference. By drawing on her own experience, she can give evidence to explain why this research is important.
Within Robert’s logos she also includes very strategic use of karios. She has just given a five minute speech about how grateful she is to be alive and how the cancer research is making a difference. She then makes the logical appeal that because this work makes a difference everyone should help. There have always been arguments to explain why people need to donate and help with cancer research, but she uses her opportunity of being on a live award show to raise more awareness. This is a strategic way to utilize the current situation increase awareness and possibly gain new donor.
Marissa, this is excellent work! You already have a strong paper here. If I were to make some minor suggestions for deepening the analysis even further I would say: consider doing just a bit more to situate the speech in the broader cultural context — perhaps make reference to the significance of both cancer and sports in modern America. Otherwise, just re-punctuate the opening sentence with a colon instead of a comma after “perseverance”. I wouldn’t change very much as the essay is already really well-done.
Great topic choice and analysis! I never really followed sports, but I think it’s commendable that ESPN decided to recognize someone who demonstrated sportsmanship without actually being an athlete.