MY CRAZY AUNT SUE 449
My Crazy Aunt Sue
1 The strongest person I know cannot peel a potato. The strongest person I know has trouble
putting on her makeup. The strongest person I know needs a special key holder to turn the key in
her car’s ignition.
2 For the past 15 years, my 47-year-old aunt Sue has been living with rheumatoid arthritis, a
painfully debilitating disease in which the joints of the body become intensely inflamed due to the
4 And yet despite all of this, I can’t recall ever hearing her complain about her fate. After
all the indignities and inconveniences her illness has thrown at her, my aunt Sue still finds the
energy to devote much of her time not to herself, but to those less fortunate than her. This past
Thanksgiving, for example, she helped organize a dinner for more than 500 poor and homeless
people. My aunt Sue, who has her medications put in non–childproof containers so she can open
them, helped coordinate a dinner for those in need.
5 The picture I have painted of my aunt Sue thus far is of a kind woman, a determined
woman, a warmhearted woman whose own suffering seems inconsequential when compared to
that of others. This is all completely true, but there is something else about my aunt Sue that
makes me admire her so. Actually, it’s what makes me love her as much as I do.
450 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
9 I complain about trudging through the snow to class, but I’m walking pain free. I com-
plain about driving my friends around town, but I’m steering the wheel pain free. I complain
about the final exams I’ll have to write, but I have the mobility in my wrist to write pain free. I
MY CRAZY AUNT SUE 451
My Crazy Aunt Sue
Commentary
“My Crazy Aunt Sue” is a heartfelt commemorative speech that focuses on how the speaker’s aunt has
turned what some would call a weakness into a strong mark of character. The speech shows how com-
memorative speeches can employ simple language and vivid imagery to affect the audience’s emotions.
A video of the speech is available online and on the DVD of student speeches that accompanies this
edition of The Art of Public Speaking. Here is a brief synopsis.
Introduction: The introduction consists of paragraphs 1–2. Paragraph 1 uses vivid imagery and repeti-
tion to capture the audience’s attention by arousing curiosity about the identity of the “strongest
Body: The body of the speech runs from paragraph 3 through paragraph 9. It revolves around three
main points—Aunt Sue’s courage and refusal to complain about her fate (paragraphs 3–4), her
sense of humor (paragraphs 5–7), and the lessons she has taught the speaker about being hap-
py for the things one has rather than worrying about what one does not have (paragraphs 8–9).
In each main point, the speaker uses imagistic language and well–chosen examples to illustrate
why her aunt Sue is so commendable. These examples provide information about Aunt Sue, but
they are employed here for the purpose of praising her and inspiring the audience rather than
for the purpose of presenting a biography of her life. This is a key difference between an in-
formative speech and a commemorative speech.
Conclusion: The conclusion consists of the final paragraph—a single, memorable sentence that encap-
sulates the central idea and stresses the point that having a physical disability in no way dimin-
ishes a person’s spirit or inner beauty. As in the rest of the speech, the language is strong,
concise, and poignant.
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