Essay #2

What’s better: Oral or Print?

Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian. All classical thinkers, all responsible with creating the basis of rhetoric. Aristotle, a man of wit, created the basis for what rhetoric is today. Cicero then showed up and became one of the most significant rhetoricians of all time. Cicero took the writings of past rhetoricians and became a renown orator and writing of rhetoric. Cicero was the first to introduce and set a new standard of rhetorician to be well-versed in multiple branches, not just persuasion. Quintilian then polished some ideas of an orator to become active, virtuous, and a well minded and public citizen. He changed the concepts of rhetoric and turned into a lifestyle. So how did that change of from print and text to oral speech affect people and their thoughts behind rhetoric? Overall, it would be believed that oral can be more effective in certain situations, while text can be effective in other ways. However, text articles can relay facts quickly, without distractions, while oral speech, such as a news casts can give off multiple aspects, including an emotional appeal to viewers as well as many different facets of news. So, depending on the issue will dictate the relationship and compel the audience to relate to the speech or text in a different ways. 

Currently, the United States has been stuck with the well known virus called Ebola. Ebola is a “rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus strains.” (CDC) The article then continues on to explain the origin of the virus. “Ebola viruses are found in several African countries. Ebola was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” (CDC) Since the outbreak the USA has seen six outbreak of Ebola, with only one fatality. According to the text article that Forbes Magazine has produced, says that the worst possible scenario for the United States is becoming less and less each day. “With no more U.S. Ebola patients and no more deaths, that worst-case scenario begins to look more and more unlikely. And the best-case scenario - that the United States has weathered a public heath crisis and will be stronger for it - is starting to become more realistic, too” (Diamond) With the optimism that Forbes is producing, the text of this article seems calm and relays the message that the United States in strong. Concluding the article, Forbes continues to express concern that Ebola is still not going away. “Tens of thousands remain sick or at risk in West Africa, and the longer there’s an Ebola hotspot on any part of the globe, the worse it will be for the rest of the world.” (Diamond) By stating such a powerful accusation, Forbes uses certain rhetoric techniques, such as ethos and logos to convince the reader the strength and power behind the deadly virus. Forbes then ends the article by saying this: “Ebola came to America. And America is beating Ebola back.” (Diamond) With this window of truth, the message is strong and clear to any reader that Ebola is losing the fight and America is coming back swinging. The message of this article seems fit and clear dictating the reader to assume optimism in the fight against Ebola, in addition to relaying credible information. With only text, the reader can pick up on the context of the article without feeling the massive landslide of emotion, as well as learning more factual information. All text base articles only carry one main purpose, which is to inform the readers about news and give their audience as much information as they can.  With this being said, print and text articles can mandate how a reader can conclude an article. 

After proving that the main feature of a text article is to relay facts as quickly as possible, an oral speech varies, but usually zooms in more on the emotional appeal or also known as pathos. Although it does carry ethos, like any news story should, the emotional response is what draws the viewer back time and time again.  A short clip posted by CNN on October 19, 2014, answers some the United States’ questions about decontamination for Ebola. Erick McCallum, Owner of CG Environment, otherwise known as the “Cleaning Guys” are put on the case of decontaminating the apartment of deceased Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan, along with taking care of Bentley, the dog of nurse Nina Pham, who was recently just cleared of Ebola. With this short four minute and forty-second clip, the audience is introduced to how the decontamination process works. CNN anchor asks McCallum a serious of questions about the decontamination process, what they must do and how the company handles it emotionally. In this video, both anchor and McCallum resume serious faces and genuine voices, letting the audience know that the topic of discussion is severe. While the two are conversing, the clip is also showing a silent clip on the other half of the screen of two employees of McCallum’s that are cleaning the apartment. Among the images that are being displayed, these employee’s are in full body, yellow hazmat suits transporting tightly wrapped objects and boxes that were in the apartment with the potential risk of Ebola on them. After the decontamination process was explained, the anchor also asks about Bentley and then show pictures of the dog in a quarantined area, unable to go outside. By using these almost Hollywood like pictures, the use of pathos taps into the audiences emotional appeal. Examining the facial features as well as the tone of their voices of the two gentlemen, plus CNN bringing pictures of Nina Pham’s dog, and showing clips of the deceased victim’s apartment, the entire clip is using pathos to show the severity of the situation. By using pathos, the persuasion is at full swing, bring back the viewers at a later time for more information about the disease. This video is a representation of the seriousness behind the issue and has many more facets than a print article does. 

Another example of extremely well played commercial that uses all three of Aristotle’s persuasion techniques is the oral speech of Sarah McLachlan’s ASPCA animal cruelty commercials. The use of dismal music, the pictures of dozens of hurt animals, and her popular reputation is the perfect use of ethos, pathos and logos. By using pathos, the commercial tunes into people’s emotional and sympathetic side for animals by going straight for their heart strings. Sarah McLachlan, a singer who is very well known for her emotional songs such as “I Will Remember You,” played into the commercial very well, due to her solid reputation for being soft hearted. By using her, people were more likely to view the commercial giving it creditability. While she is speaking, the audience is viewing many pictures of abused animals. By the end of the commercial and combining ethos and pathos, McLachlan asks for a donation for ASPCA to help these animals find loving homes which could easily appear as logos. Asking for donations, especially for injured animals appears logical to any viewer. This particular commercial uses all three techniques to a tee which ended up raising over 30 million dollars in the first year. (New York Times) However, the commercial does not give the audience any statistical information, like a text article would. If the ASPCA was trying to write a formal article, their only source would be that of logos, which would be proven through studies and surveys and giving correct numbers to their readers. Without the use of ethos and pathos, it could be predicted that the ASPCA would not have earned as much as they did with the commercial. 

After viewing Aristotle’s techniques of persuasion, (ethos, pathos, and logos) it could be stated that depending on the audience, if they are readers or viewers, will dictate how text or oral speech will effect them. If the audience tends to be readers, articles of text will do more using ethos and logos and giving them facts fast. If the audience tends to be viewers, all three will suffice. In the end, depending on the issue at hand will direct the audience to what will be more effective for them personally.    

Works Cited

"About Ebola Virus Disease." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/about.html>.

Diamond, Dan. "America Is Beating Ebola: Every Patient Taken To An Elite U.S. Facility Has Survived." Forbes 23 Oct. 2014. Print.

Strom, Stephanie. "Ad Featuring Singer Proves Bonanza for the A.S.P.C.A." The New York Times 25 Dec. 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/us/26charity.html?_r=1&>.

What It Takes to Keep Ebola Under Control. CNN.com, 2014. Film.