Sample Speeches
MINGLED BLOOD
PALPH ZIMMERMANN
"Mingled Blood" won first place in the men's division of the 1955 Interstate Oratorical Contest. Later that year, Mr. Zimmermann graduated from Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire; in the fall, he entered law school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison; and the following spring, in March 1956, he died, a victim of hemophilia, the blood disease he describes so eloquently in this speech. That year's edition of Winning Orations of the Interstate Oratorical Association made the inclusion of "Mingled Blood" especially poignant, for it was dedicated to his memory. The speech was also printed and distributed by The National Hemophilia Foundation of New York City.
In this speech Zimmermann relies upon compelling personal narrative, which he occasionally supports with scientific and historical data. In this way he seeks to make the problems created by hemophilia real, painful, and tragic. Which portions of the speech do you find especially effective? Do you feel that Zimmermann's descriptions are so realistic at times that they might be too painful to a listener? Does the speaker's ethos derived from personal affliction mitigate this problem?
Zimmermann's conclusion is worth special attention. It brings the speech to an emotional climax and simultaneously creates admiration and respect for the speaker as a hemophiliac. Note those aspects of the conclusion that you think are instrumental in bringing the speech to such a moving end
1. I am a hemophiliac. To many of you, the word signifies little
Startling statement or nothing. A few may pause a moment and then remember
gains attention and that it has something to do with bleeding. Probably none of establishes personal you can appreciate the gigantic impact of what those words credibility. mean to me.
2. What is this thing called hemophilia? Webster defines it as "a
Definition adds clarifi- tendency, usually hereditary, to profuse bleeding even from
cation and quotes an slight wounds." Dr. Armand J. Quick, Professor of Biochemistry
authoritative source. at Marquette University and recognized world authority on this
topic, defines it as "a prothrombin consumption time of 8 to
The question adds a 13 seconds." Normal time is 15 seconds. Now do you know personal touch to a what hemophilia is?
clinical definition 3. It is by no means a 20th century phenomenon. Ancient writings reveal the Jewish rabbis, upon the death of first born sons from
Historical information. bleeding after circumcision, allowed the parents to dispense with this ceremony for any more sons. Family laws of ancient Egypt did not permit a woman to bear any more children if the first born should die of severe bleeding from a minor wound. How odd it seems to link the pyramids of the 4th dynasty with prothrombin consumption of 1955. 4. Hemophilia has had significant influence on the pages of history. Victoria, the queen of an
empire on which the sun never set, was a transmitter of this dread ailment. Through her daughter, Alice, it was passed to the Russian royal family and Czarevitch Alexis, heir apparent to the throne of Nicholas II. Alexis, the hemophilic heir apparent, was so crippled by his ailment that the Bolshevik revolters had to carry him bodily
Adds a bit of "news" to the cellar to execute him. And through Victoria's daughter,*
and human interest Beatrice, it was carried to the sons of the Spanish monarch, Alfonso XIII. While this good queen ruled her empire with an iron hand and unknowingly transmitted this mysterious affliction, my forebears, peasants of southern Germany, worked their field, gave birth to their children, and buried their dead sons. Hemophilia shows no respect for class lines. It cares not whether your blood be red or blue.
mixed with metaphors for greater impact.
.
of 5. For hemophilia is a hereditary disease. It afflicts only males, but paradoxically is transmitted only by females. The sons of a victim are not hemophiliacs, and do not pass it on. However,
Technical terms are all the daughters are transmitters. Of the transmitter daughter's children, half of the girls may be transmitters like their mother, and half of the sons may be hemophiliacs. Thus the net spreads out and on. Theoretically, it follows stria Mendelian principles. But because it is a recessive characteristic, it may lie dormant for generation after generation. As far back as my ancestral line can be traced, there is no evidence of hemophilia
Startling statement gains attention and establishes persona credibilityl Definition adds clarifi- cation and quotes an authoritative source
The question adds a personal touch to a clinical definition
Historical information.
Adds a bit of "news" and human interest
Technical terms are mixed with metaphors for greater impact
Back to the personal side of the story Points to the irony and tragedy.
Use of statistics for perspective.
Specific and graphic examples add powerful emotional appeal
Relates to listener's value of physical health
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1. I am a hemophiliac. To many of you, the word signifies little or nothing. A few may pause a moment and then remember that it has something to do with bleeding. Probably none of you can appreciate the gigantic impact of what those words mean to me. 2. What is this thing called hemophilia? Webster defines it as "a tendency, usually hereditary, to profuse bleeding even from slight wounds." Dr. Armand J. Quick, Professor of Biochemistry at Marquette University and recognized world authority on this topic, defines it as "a prothrombin consumption time of 8 to 13 seconds." Normal time is 15 seconds. Now do you know what hemophilia is? It is by no means a 20th century phenomenon. Ancient writings reveal the Jewish rabbis, upon the death of first born sons from bleeding after circumcision, allowed the parents to dispense with this ceremony for any more sons. Family laws of ancient Egypt did not permit a woman to bear any more children if the first born should die of severe bleeding from a minor wound. How odd it seems to link the pyramids of the 4th dynasty with prothrombin consumption of 1955. 4. Hemophilia has had significant influence on the pages of history. Victoria, the queen of an empire on which the sun never set, was a transmitter of this dread ailment. Through her daughter, Alice, it was passed to the Russian royal family and Czarevitch Alexis, heir apparent to the throne of Nicholas II. Alexis, the hemophilic heir apparent, was so crippled by his ailment that the Bolshevik revolters had to carry him bodily to the cellar to execute him. And through Victoria's daughter, Beatrice, it was carried to the sons of the Spanish monarch, Alfonso XIII. While this good queen ruled her empire with an iron hand and unknowingly transmitted this mysterious affliction, my forebears, peasants of southern Germany, worked their field, gave birth to their children, and buried their dead sons. Hemophilia shows no respect for class lines. It cares not whether your blood be red or blue. 5. For hemophilia is a hereditary disease. It afflicts only males, but paradoxically is transmitted only by females. The sons of a victim are not hemophiliacs, and do not pass it on. However, all the daughters are transmitters. Of the transmitter daughter's children, half of the girls may be transmitters like their mother, and half of the sons may be hemophiliacs. Thus the net spreads out and on. Theoretically, it follows stria Mendelian principles. But because it is a recessive characteristic, it may lie dormant for generation after generation. As far back as my ancestral line can be traced, there is no evidence of hemophilia until my older brother Herbert and me. The same is true of 50 percent of America's bleeders. 6. And there are many of us. Medical authorities estimate that there are some 20,000-40,000 hemophiliacs of all types in the United States. Clinically we divide into three groups: classic hemophilia AHG, and two other less common types of hemophilia, PTC and PTA. I am a classic hemophiliac—the real McCoy. 7. What does it really mean to be a hemophiliac? The first indication comes in early childhood when a small scratch may bleed for hours. By the time the hemophiliac reaches school age, he begins to suffer from internal bleeding into muscles, joints, the. stomach, the kidneys. This latter type is far more serious, for external wounds can usually be stopped in minutes with topical thromboplastin or a pressure bandage. But internal bleeding can be checked only by changes in the blood by means of transfusion or plasma injections. If internal bleeding into the muscle or joint goes unchecked repeatedly, muscle contraction and bone deformity inevitably result. My crooked left arm, the built-up heel on my right shoe, and the full length brace on my left leg offer mute but undeniable testimony to that fact. Vocal evidence you hear; weak tongue muscles are likely to produce defective L and R sounds. 8. Childhood and early adolescence are the danger periods of a hemophiliac's life. As recently as November, 1950, The Science Digest reported that 85 percent of all hemophiliacs die during
Citing other sources of authority.
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