Rhetorical Analysis

Hunt 1
Ethan Hunt
Ms. Hunter
ENG 1101
September 20, 2019
“Addiction Is a Disease” Rhetorical Analysis
It is commonly known that there is an addiction crisis in America. One in ten American
citizens abuse the use of prescription and illegal drugs, alcohol, or many other brain boggling
substances. Michael Botticelli, a former addict and the Director of National Drug Policy for the
United States gives a TED talk titled “Addiction is a disease. We should treat it like one”. His
speech is about the treatment, or lack thereof for people with addiction. He describes addiction as
a disease while telling his story of substance abuse. During the talk, Michael uses a strong, truly
effective mix of ethos, pathos, logos, and metaphor to both inform all of America about addiction
stigmas, and to persuade the multitude of Americans in recovery to speak up against those same
stigmas.
The first reason that this TED talk is effective is because of Michael’s use of metaphor.
He uses disease as a metaphor for addiction that works well at putting addiction in the limelight
for the whole audience to see. In the speech, Michael laments, “Today in the United States, only
one in nine people get care and treatment for their disorder... Generally, people with other
diseases get care and treatment. If you have cancer you get treatment... but somehow people with
addiction have to wait for treatment” (Botticelli 2016). This comparison between disease and
addiction makes the fact that only one in nine people get treatment for addiction seem ridiculous
since all other diseases can easily get treatment and is why this metaphor is so eye opening.
Next, a sizeable amount of persuasion comes from his use of ethos, or credibility.
Credibility is extremely important when trying to inform or persuade someone and he shares his
Hunt 2
credibility with some backstory. Aside from being the Director of National Drug Policy, which
already gives him credibility in this field, Botticelli also tells the audience about his struggle with
alcohol addiction. In the first few minutes of the TED talk, he states with regret, “Like millions
of Americans, my disease progressed undiagnosed. It took me to people and places that I never
would have chosen” (Botticelli 2016). Michael shows his credibility through this quote as he
opens up about experiencing addiction firsthand.
Thirdly, Michael’s establishment of empathy, or pathos early on makes his message even
more effective. When you empathize with someone, you start to feel that you know this person
on a deeper level. This then leads to trust, which is invaluable when attempting to convince an
audience. The most obvious time when he effectively established pathos was when he recounted,
“My insides were rotting away. You see, I grew up in a family riddled with addiction, and as a
kid, I also struggled coming to terms with my own sexuality” (Botticelli 2016). In this quote,
Michael reveals the very personal information that he came from a bad family as well as his
mental struggle of being attracted to men. Touching pieces of backstory like this is a great way to
make you feel that you are truly getting to know Michael, and you begin to trust him in the
process. This quote is used early in the speech to establish that trust early and pave the rest of the
talk.
The last important thing that Michael does is use logos, or logic. This comes out in the
form of statistics. “During 2014 alone, 28 thousand people died of drug overdoses associated
with prescription drugs and heroine” (Botticelli 2016). What this statistic does is prove and
remind everybody that addiction is not just some small problem that only he cares about.
Michael wants that statistic to make people think ‘Oh wow that’s a lot of people’. The use of
logic contributes greatly to the effectiveness of this TED talk.

Hunt 3
As expressed, Michael Botticelli’s TED talk was extremely effective because of his
powerful use of metaphor, ethos, pathos, and logos. Comparing addiction to disease was a
brilliant way to shed light on the topic of addiction. Michael sharing his troubles with addiction
coupled with his job as the Director of National Drug Policy established a well-founded
credibility. The use of backstory to create empathy was done with flying colors in use of the right
tone of voice and body language. His use of statistics brings a good balance of logic to
effectively inform the audience and put the icing on the cake. All these factors come together to
create an inspiring, masterfully done speech to inform and persuade the listeners.
Hunt 4
Works Cited
Botticelli, Michael. “Addiction Is a Disease. We Should Treat it Like One.”
TED xMidAtlantic, an independent event. October 2016.
Staff, NorthPoint. “What Percentage of the Population Struggles with Addiction? The Answer
May Surprise You.” Northpoint Washington's Blog, 11 July 2019,
www.northpointwashington.com/blog/percentage-population-struggles-addiction-answer-
may-surprise/.

Rhetorical Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rhetorical Analysis

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rhetorical Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hunt 1

September 20, 2019

“Addiction Is a Disease” Rhetorical Analysis

opens up about experiencing addiction firsthand.

logic contributes greatly to the effectiveness of this TED talk.

Botticelli, Michael. “Addiction Is a Disease. We Should Treat it Like One.”

TED xMidAtlantic, an independent event. October 2016.

May Surprise You.” Northpoint Washington's Blog, 11 July 2019,

You might also like