Category: Ethos

Introduction

On April 16, 1963, DR. Martin Luther King, Jr responded in the newspaper which had been written by some clergymen urging him to abandon the demonstrations which he was leading in Birmingham. In a letter, well known as the “letter from a Birmingham jail”, the King defended his organization’s non-violent strategies through three major principles of rhetoric; Pathos, ethos, and logos. Refutation is also a major aspect apparent throughout the letter. Actually, the three rhetoric devices have all been built around this refutation aspect. In this essay therefore, the focus will be on assessing how the King has made use of the refutation, pathos, ethos, and logos in persuading and convincing the audience to align to his school of thoughts and actions.

In the Birmingham letter, the King employs refutation throughout the letter to defend his course of action and to the larger extent that of his organization. While responding to the “unwise and untimely” accusations of his actions by the clergy, the King logically refuted this by stating that “the white power structure of this city left the Negro community with no other alternative” (King, 1). In this statement, the king tries to argue that his actions are not out-of-vacuum but rather are supported by a rich portfolio of facts and therefore his actions are wise and well called for. These facts emanate from the behavior of the whites who have structured the city in such a way that they are at a greater advantage at the expense of black Americans. Having been pushed to the corner, the blacks have no other alternative but to demonstrate. Regarding the accusation on the timing of demonstrations, the King states that “…and so we speedily decided to postpone action until after Election Day” (King 2).In this statement, the King is defending his cause of action against the clergy accusations that his actions are not properly timed. To prove them that they are wrong, the king brought about this statement which clearly shows that he is not out of order and is rather considerate on his timing of actions.

From the letter, the author has also managed to use ethos from two major approaches. The first one is what is known as ethos by default. In this, the author is a renowned and respected leader fighting for the wellbeing of African –Americans. He is an educated person and a priest who has wide influence especially in southern America. Therefore, the fact that Martin Luther King is an educated African-American figure and also is a priest qualifies him to have automatic ethos. In this, it is good to note that priest are usually trusted and more so respected something which gives them an automatic embodiment of ethos. The second way in which ethos have been developed in the letter is through the language used. In the first two paragraphs, the King starts by stating what he and his audience share in common. This is the participation to the Mayoral election. The king says that “then it occurred to us that the March election was ahead, and so we speedily decided to postpone action until after Election Day” (King, 2). In this, the author purposes to depict his understanding of important events and the respect he and his organization bestow on crucial matters of the society. Therefore, there is no way the clergy can purport that the King is not sensitive to the time issue considering he not only participate in elections but he also asks his supporters to refrain from any kind of social unrest during an election time. The king also uses another ethos by stating that “Just as Socrates felt” to sensitive the fact that it is not only him who is feeling the need to use non-violent means to condemn the increased discrimination of black Americans (King, 2). Instead, Socrates, who is considered the father of philosophy also made use of nonviolent demonstrations to achieve his intended objectives during his time. Therefore, there is no way that this approach can be considered illegal or bad just because it is the King who is leading it.

The King makes use of pathos on page five of the letter to support his affiliation’s pacifist tactics. He accomplishes this by depicting how the South would look like if his organization had resulted to violent methods, and also how the Negroes would trudge along if they were totally complying with the segregation policies. After highlighting his non-violence approaches to condemning discriminative rules, the author states that “if this philosophy (of nonviolence) had not emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am convinced, be flowing with blood” (King 4). In this testament, the author is convincing the audience via a clear and emotion-provoking approach, that the nonviolence method is the way to go in handling the situation. Through this statement, the king also paints a vivid mental picture on how the situation would be if actually violent methods were being used by his organization. The King further displays the use of ethos when he stated that all those black Americans who had adjusted to the segregation laws were simply “drained of self-respect” (King 4). This phrase by the king is purely meant to touch the emotional aspect of the readers so that they could see that his actions were really justified.

In the Birmingham letter, the author makes use of logos on page two to further support his nonviolent approaches. In this, the author states that “nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King 2). In this statement, the author is stating the goal of nonviolent actions. In simple terms, it is to force the Whites until they accept to come to the table of negotiation. This statement further reveals that the king is defending his tactics since he is aware that violence is bad, and will usually results to pointless spilling of blood .The author also says that the nonviolence approaches seeks to “dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored” (King 2). This statement reveals the major purpose of all the social unrest planned by the king. The major aim was not to be violent but rather to create a hot air environment until the whites gave in to discussions.

The letter logically and intelligently blends the refutation aspect with the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos to bring about an amazing work of literature. The King’s reference to Biblical episodes is also an amazing way to keep the readers engaged and also persuade them to align to a certain school of thoughts. For instance, when the clergymen referred the author as an extremist, he responded with a series of rhetorical questions; “Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ?” and also “Was not Jesus an extremist in love?” (King 4) (King 4). In this, the King capitalizes on the word ‘extreme” bestowed on him by the clergy and explains it from another perspective. This logical approach is meant to make the audience understand that what the king is doing is not bad but rather important for the greater good on the course of justice.

From the above analysis, it is clear that the use of ethos, pathos, and logos have effectively and logically convinced the audience that the segregation laws are unjust and therefore they must end. Throughout the letter, the King has applied these rhetorical devices in a manner which the audience won’t fail to align to his line of thoughts. The structure of the letter has also been appropriately laid down with each paragraph addressing a specific theme. This does not only contribute to the ease in understanding the overall message of the letter but also in perceiving the various rhetorical and other literal devices applied in this work. Such amazing blending of facts, analogies, logic, refutation, and other persuasive approaches in literature usually enhances the realization of intended goals as far as convincing of the audience is concerned.

Work Cited

1. King Jr., Martin Luther. “ Letter From Birmingham Jail.” The Writers Presence: A Pool of Readings. Ed. Donald McQuad and Robert Atwan. 7th Ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2012. 716-731. Print.

In this excerpt, Othello is watching Desdemona sleep and repeatedly telling himself that he has to go through with killing her. Othello uses the pronouns “i” and “me” to show that he is taking credit for all he is going to do. He will not state what his reason is but promises to not ruin her beautiful skin by cutting her up. Then he notices a candle in the room. He says that he has to “Put out the light, and then put out the light” (Shakespeare 5.2.7). The first light Othello is referring to is the flame of the candle and the second is Desdemona. If he puts out the candle, he can light it again if he has second thoughts. However, once he puts out Desdemona’s flame, as in killing her, there is no way to bring her back. He says he does not know where to find Promethean heat, which is a representation of something incredibly powerful, to revive her. Knowing that this action is permanent, Othello wants to enjoy her while she is still alive. Othello kisses Desdemona a couple of times and says her beauty is almost enough to stop him. This section of the scene ends with Othello crying a little and then Desdemona waking up.

Pathos is mainly used in this excerpt because Othello is having internal struggles on whether or not he should kill his wife. He tries to convince himself he needs to go through with this. He claims that “she must die, else she’ll betray more men” (Shakespeare 5.2.6). He even kisses her a couple of times and begins to cry. Othello lacks logos in this excerpt. He lets his emotions convince him his wife is guilty but does not use any credible facts or evidence. He allows his emotions to overwhelm any logical thinking. Throughout the play, Othello believes he is using ethos to make his argument stronger. When in actuality his source, Iago, is not credible or reliable. During this scene, Othello does not seem to try to convince the audience to believe his argument. He does not even want to explain his reasoning for wanting to kill his wife. Othello uses pathos the most in this excerpt but does not use logos or ethos much at all.

Throughout this play, Iago works to manipulate Othello into believing that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. Iago does not provide any actual proof of this but gradually messes with Othello’s head. Iago tells Othello that he heard Cassio talk about Desdemona in his sleep. He also claims the handkerchief Othello gave Desdemona as a gift has now been given to Cassio. He says “I am sure it was your wife’s-did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with” (Shakespeare 3.3.497-498). Later in the play, Othello overhears Iago and Cassio talking about about marrying Bianca. However, neither of them says her name, leaving Othello to believe they are talking about Desdemona. Othello becomes jealous and is unable to control his anger. These events lead up to Othello’s gloomy monologue of convincing himself he needs to kill Desdemona. When Desdemona wakes up, Othello tells her to pray before he kills her. She begs to know why he is going to kill her. Othello brings up the handkerchief, but Desdemona claims she never gave it to Cassio. She tries to convince him that she did not cheat, but he does not listen. Othello has become so fixated on the idea of Desdemona cheating, that there is no point in trying to convince him otherwise. He then smothers Desdemona with a pillow, killing her. Emila, Iago, Monatno, and Graziano come into the scene. Emila speaks up about the fact that Desdemona did not cheat and calls out Iago for lying to Othello. Iago then kills Emila and leaves. Then, out of remorse for killing Desdemona, Othello kills himself.  

Since winning their independence and ratifying their Constitution, the United States began expanding across North America through purchase, conquest, forced migration, and genocide, bringing in new territories to the Union. Since its colonial times, America saw a huge trade in slaves from Africa as these people were bought and sold as property. After independence, states in the North looked against slavery, believing it to be contradictory to the ideas of the republic.

The millions of soldiers who served in the Civil War each represent a unique story waiting to be told. Although no two men had the same journey into the army, experience in battle, or emotional response to their involvement, similar threads weave their way through a significant number of these narratives. However, while both armies were drastically different, soldiers within the armies had similar ways of relieving boredom. Both Union and Confederate armies employed professional bands composed mainly of brass and percussion instruments such as the “drums and bugle.” The Civil War soldier had many words to describe his participation in that war, and he used all of them at one time or another. Since “letters from home were critical to boosting soldier morale,” soldiers quickly had to learn the delicate art of recreating the comforts of physical presence using only the written word. Because of the increase in writing, literacy in the Union and Confederate armies drastically improved. Pictorial snapshots had appeal too, “quickly [becoming] an easy way to preserve a moment during tumultuous times. Alcohol was a staple in a soldier’s daily life, “instill[ing] a sense of well-being and normalcy.” It also played a role in behavior and courage, giving soldiers a boost of confidence before diving headfirst into battle.

Being the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln inherited a level of situated ethos. In his introduction to the Gettysburg Address, he utilizes borrowed ethos when referencing the founding fathers and how they founded this nation in liberty. This invented ethos uses the founding fathers to develop Lincoln’s purpose for the remainder of the speech and allows him to gain his listener’s attention by referencing history to bring relevance to the speech all while bringing credibility to himself. Lincoln also uses invented ethos when referencing to those who gave their lives in the battles. In the third paragraph, he states “the brave men living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it. . . to add or subtract,” referencing the soldiers and providing evidence that supports Lincoln’s point that the citizens should continue to support the soldiers cause and not give up. Lincoln’s first utilization of pathos to appeal to his audience appears in the second paragraph where he announces “We are met on a great battlefield of that war. . .we have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place. . . the nation might live,” emphasizing the remorse and empathetical aspect for the lost loved ones. By effectively using contrast, he states “those who here gave their lives that this nation might live,” making the ultimate contrast: life vs death. Contrast produces a compelling effect and emphasizes the difference between life and death. The last two sentences of the address urge a call to action, a solution to resolve the “unfinished work”. Lincoln concludes with an impactful triple extension that has become famous throughout the world: “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

The book is an account of Lincoln’s foresight and genius for gathering a most improbable assemblage of adversaries to serve in his cabinet — not just rivals of one another, but of President Lincoln, too. Within the interview, we get a glimpse of Lincoln’s emotional tolerance and his personality. Goodwin speaks of his three cabinet members and how Lincoln “somehow managed these people, who as I say, oftentimes hated one another,” by “understand[ing] that human relationships are at the core of political success.” Goodwin described the qualities that made it possible for Lincoln to “bring disgruntled opponents together to create the most unusual cabinet in history.” His qualities as a listener allowed Lincoln to become close with his cabinet members and make the most efficient decision as shown when he “took into consideration, agreed with Seward [to wait for a victory], and waited until the battle of Antietam was fought and successfully resolved before he finally said he was going to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.” When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, he knew that he was doing something deeply radical and that he was vulnerable to those who were prepared to wage war to defend the Union but would balk at the idea of a war to emancipate slaves.

Introduction:

On December 8, 1941, following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his Address to the Nation, a speech that aimed to inform and rally the American people in the face of a national tragedy. In this essay, we will conduct a rhetorical analysis of the speech, focusing on the persuasive techniques of ethos, pathos, and logos employed by Roosevelt to effectively address the nation’s emotions, establish credibility, and present a rational argument for entering World War II.

Establishing Ethos:

To establish credibility and trust with the audience, President Roosevelt leveraged his position as the President of the United States. Roosevelt’s status and authority automatically lent credibility to his words, making his message more persuasive. Furthermore, he addressed the nation with a calm and composed demeanor, instilling confidence and reassurance during a time of crisis. By invoking his position and projecting a sense of leadership, Roosevelt successfully established his ethos.

Appeals to Pathos:

Recognizing the emotional impact of the Pearl Harbor attack, Roosevelt strategically employed pathos to evoke strong emotions and rally the American people. He used vivid and descriptive language to convey the severity of the situation, stating that the attack “will live in infamy.” This phrase not only captures the attention of the audience but also elicits a powerful emotional response of outrage and indignation. Roosevelt’s appeal to the emotions of the audience helps to unite them in a shared sense of patriotism and determination.

Employing Logos:

In addition to emotional appeals, Roosevelt utilized logos, or logical reasoning, to justify America’s entry into the war. He presented a timeline of events leading up to the attack, outlining Japan’s aggression and the failure of diplomatic efforts. By providing this factual background, Roosevelt built a logical argument for the necessity of war as a means of self-defense and protecting American interests. His use of logical reasoning aimed to convince the audience that entering the war was a rational and justifiable course of action.

Unity and National Identity:

Roosevelt emphasized the importance of unity and national identity in his address. He repeatedly used inclusive language, such as “we” and “our,” to create a sense of shared responsibility and belonging among Americans. By addressing the attack as a direct assault on the nation, Roosevelt fostered a collective identity and encouraged citizens to stand together in the face of adversity. This appeal to unity reinforced the pathos of the speech and strengthened the resolve of the American people.

Inspiring Action:

In the final section of his address, Roosevelt called for action and sacrifice. He urged the nation to remain steadfast, stating, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.” By instilling a sense of determination and resilience, Roosevelt motivated the audience to support the war effort and remain committed to the nation’s ultimate triumph.

Conclusion:

President Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation effectively utilized the rhetorical techniques of ethos, pathos, and logos to inform, persuade, and inspire the American people. Through his establishment of ethos as the President, emotional appeals that invoked pathos, and logical reasoning presented as logos, Roosevelt created a powerful speech that united the nation and galvanized support for entering World War II. The address stands as a testament to Roosevelt’s skillful use of rhetoric to address a grieving nation and ignite a collective spirit of resilience and determination.

The purpose of this essay is to break down how Leadership attributes play an essential role in shaping a good leader. Possessing a good leadership attribute will not only make a person stand out. Also setting the standard for which someone will like to follow. Leadership attributes can be broken down into three categories, character, presence, and Intellect. The role of an ethical leader is to imply the army values, Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. Every army leader should be living by the army values. Empathy is also a character of ethical leadership; this is the ability to comprehend and share the feelings of another. Without empathy, you cannot build a team or nurture a new generation of leaders. The warrior ethos is an important attribute to have as a leader.

The Army implements the Warrior Ethos in all-new Soldiers by the way we train, live, and fight. Most new Soldiers that entered into the Army learned that the warrior ethos works cohesively with the Army values. Also, established on the premise that service to our nation is a responsibility and honor. Warrior Ethos requires selfless service and drive to uphold. The warrior ethos has enabled Soldiers to endure the hard times in combat and distinguish our Army on the battlefield by the character of our service. Presence is the military bearing, professional bearing, and resilience. Military bearing, this a soldier practices maintaining professionalism and discipline, and having proper military bearing aids in being a good leader, regardless of what is happing around you.

Applying professionalism plays an essential role in being a good leader both in the military and civilian organizations. Professionalism is essential to into military bearing because, they possess the same outcome of taking pride in what you even positively representing the organization do. According to worrier care and transition, ‘Resilience is having the mental, physical, emotional and behavioral ability to face and cope with adversity, adapt to change, recover, learn and grow from setbacks. ‘ Resilience is a vital skill to have to overcome certain life circumstances as a soldier, For example, wounded, ill, or injured. Intellect is an essential foundation of the leadership attributes; having Intellect will help a leader think critically. Fitness plays a vital role as a leader; a good leader will always lead his or her troops from the front.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Warrior Care and Transition Program, wct.army.mil/modules/soldier/s1-wctpProgram.html.]

In order to accomplish this, a leader must take pride in physical readiness. Makings sure he or she can carry their weight. A leader will not get the respect they need if they are unable to lead from the front. Physical fitness is a big deal in the Army. A leader cannot help their team to get better or motivate their team is they cannot stay physically fit. Lacking Intellect can cause someone to make a drastic decision without applying any knowledge. Innovation also aids intelligent choices or ideas. Innovation is figuring out the box and coming up with new ideas, accomplishing the goal by working smarter and not harder. Finally, we have expertise, being a subject matter expert in what you are doing. Expertise skill as a leader sets you apart from your peers and not only makes you a member of the team but an asset to the team.

This brings us to mental agility; this is usually one’s openness to investigating new ideas. Event going beyond breaking closely held beliefs and preferences. It is the ability to be open-minded to think about something without rejecting it. Simply because it does not automatically, fit previously made decisions, allegiances, and biases. According to Jim Pruitt, Senior Editor at VMEdu, ‘it was considered philosophically possible for a person to think about some new idea, investigate it thoroughly, and still reject it’.[footnoteRef:2] In conclusion, we can see how leadership attributes can be broken down into subcategories. Character, Presence, and Intellect and how each skill correlates to each other. Most of these skills learned over a period. As a leader, it is vital to take the initiative to learn these leadership attributes. You cannot be an effective leader without applying these leadership attributes. Every soldier and civilian should utilize these attributes and incorporate them into their day-to-day duties. They are great tools to use when conducting performance objectives and evaluation. The goal is being able to look back after your career ends and be confident that you were a good leader and that you made a difference. [2: ‘A Place to Share Knowledge and Better Understand the World.’ Quora, https://www.quora.com/.]

Advertisements are all around us: on television, magazines, billboards, and even on park benches. The advertising genre promotes a company’s product in a way that will appeal to consumers. Commercial advertising is one of the most influential ways to increase sales. Some common ads are Toyota, Budweiser, and Geico. Some commercials have a deeper message to give their company a positive image and connect with the audience on an emotional level to persuade them to purchase their product. This deeper message usually pertains to a global issue occurring at the time. One ongoing issue in the world today is feminism and women’s empowerment. Beauty on Your Terms by Dove, Dream Crazier by Nike, and Like a Girl by Alway are all advertisements that have a deeper message of women empowerment while promoting the brand. These three artifacts consider their audience of women while creating their advertisements attempting to connect with them. Nike, Dove, and Always used the issue of gender inequality in commercial advertising to promote their brand through the use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos and pathos.

The Dove advertisement Beauty on Your Terms includes women being defined by how they look. Pathos is present in the Beauty on Your Terms commercial through women speaking about how society judges them based on physical appearance to connect with other women who encounter the same obstacles. The beginning of the advertisement is a series of women stating what society has defined them as and the end of the video shows the women’s reaction to their labels. A woman named Jessica was told she was “too fat, only skinny girls can dress well,” so she made a fashion blog to prove her peers wrong. An additional woman, Marcia, is a lawyer who gets faced with judgments daily. People look at her and wonder how she is a lawyer due to her appearance and Marcia responds by saying, “Her looks have nothing to do with her capabilities.” These statements connect with women in the audience who face these same judgments which will encourage them to choose Dove over other hair products. In the middle of the advertisement, the women are all stating labels, such as: “too chubby,” “too skinny,” “crazy,” “manly.” Following this the women say “he said” and “they said” and Dove puts an emphasis on “I said” to show the world that it does not matter what other individuals define women as, as long as the women know their value. The overall exigence is that labels do not phase women, they are more than just a label given to them by society. Ethos is also evident in the advertisement through the credibility of Heather Hardy. Heather Hardy was labeled as “too pretty to fight,” yet is ranked number one in the country and number two in the nation for boxing. At the end of the video, Harding stated, “My face has nothing to do with my boxing.” Other women athletes look up to professional athletes, such as Heather Hardy, so if Hardy uses Dove this will convince those women to purchase Dove. The commercial concludes with #MyBeautyMySay to remind women they are in charge of their beauty and capabilities. The advertisement is empowering and encourages other women to stick up for their beauty and use judgment as motivation.

The Nike advertisement Dream Crazier touches on the fact that when women do the same as men they are labeled as crazy. Yet again, this commercial displays women as inferior to men. This Nike advertisement also uses pathos to trigger women’s emotions and agree with the message Nike is sending in hopes that women will purchase their products. Nike uses examples to display the unfair labels given to women that would not be the same for men. The commercial begins by declaring, “If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic,” with a clip of a woman athlete crying. Righeir brand a positive, uplifting image.

In conclusion, Nike, Always, and Dove effectively use exigence, ethos, and pathos to promote their company and promote women’s empowerment..ht off the bat pathos is used to engage emotionally with women watching the advertisement who can relate to the crying woman. In contrast to Dove using everyday women, Nike uses women athletes which contributes to selling their sports gear. The commercial continues to focus on all the times women are considered crazy in sports: if women dream of equal opportunity they are delusional, when women stand for something they are unhinged, and when women get angry they are hysterical or just plain crazy. Nike is sending a message to their audience that to accomplish big goals, one must dream big, there is no such thing as dreaming too big. Additionally, Nike uses gender roles to grab the attention of the audience. “A woman boxing is crazy, a woman dunking is crazy, a woman coaching an NBA team is crazy,” Nike is using exigence to make it known that women are capable of the same things men are. Nike also uses ethos by having Serena Williams narrate the advertisement. Serena Williams is ranked number one in the world for tennis, winning twenty-three major single titles which is more than any other man or woman has ever won. Serena Williams is also used as an example in the commercial, “Winning twenty-three grand slams, having a baby, then coming back for more, crazy.” Serena Williams is an extremely popular woman athlete so using her in the commercial enhances Nike’s credibility. If a successful tennis player wears Nike, then viewers are persuaded to purchase Nike gear because they trust Serena Williams’s judgment. Nike ends the commercial with a black screen reading, “It’s only crazy until you do it. Just do it,” giving a dramatic effect. Nike created a social response and inspired women athletes all while promoting their company.

Always Like a Girl advertisement interviews men and women and asks them to describe what it means to do something “like a girl” to demonstrate how society views women. Pathos is used in the advertisement to trigger an emotional response from women. The director asked teenagers to run like a girl and the individuals exaggerated kicking their feet towards their back, worried about their hair, and flapping their arms around. When the teenagers were asked to throw like a girl and fight like a girl the actors pretended to drop a ball and throw their hands clumsily. Next, the director asked younger girls the same questions. When asked to run like a girl the younger girls ran with power and determination. Additionally, when the young girls were asked to throw and fight like a girl they did it passionately. By comparing the teenage actors to the younger actors the audience will engage with the advertisement and wonder what is different between the age groups. In the middle of the ad the words, “When did doing something “like a girl” become an insult?” “Essentially, there is nothing wrong with throwing like a girl. Always attempted to create a more positive connotation with the phrase “like a girl.” Always intends for the audience of this commercial to be girls between the ages of ten and twelve who are going through puberty. Always promoting feminine products, they want their audience to relate to their advertisements. This commercial was effective in communicating the message that acting “like a girl” is not a bad thing. Girls perform activities “like a girl” simply because they are a girl. The advertisement concludes with the phrase “Let’s make “like a girl” mean amazing things.” Always communicates the overall exigence that doing something “like a girl” is not an insult, but rather a compliment. By ending with such a statement it is initiating women’s empowerment. Always encourages girls to be themselves and embrace being a girl while also giving t

Rhetorical Analysis on “In gun control debate, the logic goes out the window”.

This article talks about how the former president of America Barack Obama decided to take drastic action on the gun control measures and how Sen Dianne Feinstein introduced a ban on weapons. In the Aristotelian rhetoric model, Logos means to reason with your audience using proof and facts. The author of this article used proof and reasoned with the readers to persuade them reader on the problems of gun control in America. (Rottenberg and Winchell)

First and foremost, logos was used in two different categories in this article, the major and the minor premise. These two were used in the argument. The premise is used in the argument to persuade the readers to support gun control in America. The Major premise is to create a database that will help to speed up the tracking of guns that were found at crime scenes, it will be beneficial to protect the lives of the people. It helps to identify people who are involved in the killings by firearm. The minor premise talks about how the federal database will work on how they will work on speeding up its tracing of guns and how it will be beneficial to the public. This author used logos in a way that provided solutions and some benefits for gun control. The author also used logos by reasoning with the audience, using references, and providing the audience with facts to state his points. (Rottenberg and Winchell)

Pathos as used in the article was successful in convincing the audience to support gun control in America. Pathos is used to persuade people with an argument that emphasizes emotional feelings and values. The author gave an example in the article about the lives that could be saved using such a medium, he argued that “isn’t any life saved worth it or valuable?” This was to put in all the emotion and values to properly prove his point on supporting gun control in America. The author used pathos to explain his point in several paragraphs and different sentences. (Rottenberg and Winchell)

Ethos simply means convincing the audience about the credibility of the author. The author talks about how he was the assistant treasury secretary overseeing the bureau. He admitted that he was unable to convince the NRA to believe that he was capable of regulating gun control because he was unable to understand the values that are associated with the ownership of guns in America which proved his ethos as he didn’t do a background check before arranging a meeting. The meeting provoked the opposition and the congress took a drastic step towards the bureau and the proposal. (Rottenberg and Winchell)

Fallacies were present in the article. The opposition was not willing to see the truth of the matter. They made statements that had nothing to do with the proposal. There were fallacies such as the “slippery slope” argument and faulty logic. Mr Davies addresses this with the use of rhetorical questions which demands no answers but provides answers by themselves. The opposition also differentiated by the “Nazis” to gun control and they also used fallacies to throw the proposal out of the Congress, they also sent rhetorical notes that expressed their anger and dissatisfaction with the proposal made by the Congress and treasury, whereas giving declaration to the decision the congress had made on the proposal. (Rottenberg and Winchell)

In conclusion, Mr Davies expresses his disappointment and also believes that no proposals will stop all gun crimes. Also, the 1978 proposals could have prevented the illegal sales of guns. The author also talks about how gun control is not the answer to the issues of all the mass shootings. He also hopes that this time the debate on gun control will be more logical. He fully supports the need for gun control laws throughout the article. (Rottenberg and Winchell)

Works Cited

1. Rottenberg, Annette T., and Donna Haisty Winchell. In Gun Control, Logic Goes out the Window. New York: Bedford, 2015. Article.

Speaker

The Author, Steve Jobs, Jobs, is the -Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, accumulating over 1.2 billion in net worth.

Purpose

Jobs’ mission in sharing his anecdotes is to encourage Stanford graduating students and people, in general, to follow their hearts, do what they love, and strive for greatness, and to remind them that even if they face failures, they can overcome adversity.

Audience

Steve Jobs addresses the audience filled with young, gifted individuals at the commencement ceremony.

Context

Steve Jobs is widely recognized for his perseverance in revolutionizing the world of personal computers and cellphones by introducing iPhones to Mac software, which led to considerable developments that have affected the lives of every one of us. As he speaks in front of graduates, most of them are still searching for what to do with their after graduation, and Jobs, as one of the most intelligent, most prosperous men in the world, is willingly sharing some advice and insight on life.

Exigence

Steve Jobs gave the speech to Stanford’s 2005 college graduates because he wanted to remind them of the importance of staying true to their aspirations and pursuing their passions no matter the outcome. He understands that his audience is filled with young, intelligent individuals, who will enter the workforce and are destined for great things, but eventually, they are likely to face similar adversity or even lose everything they had once worked for and must not lose sight of what their heart says.

Choice

The author uses rhetorical questions to achieve his mission by leading into his speech with a rhetorical question,’ So why did I drop out?’. This immediately catches the attention of the audience because how could one of the most intelligent, most prosperous men in the world achieve such greatness from being a college dropout? In addition, Jobs encourages students through the use of repetition of the same phrases,’ Don’t settle’. By repeating this phrase multiple times, he stresses the importance of wanting the students to strive to be the best they can be and to never give up.

Appeals

While Steve Jobs’s status is a great use to build credibility with the audience(ethos), he skillfully uses intimate anecdotes to provoke the audience’s emotions (Pathos). It is effective because one of the most intelligent, most prosperous men shares that despite the adversity he faced, his success couldn’t have been achieved without failing first. By integrating past experiences with reflections, it persuades the audience to never settle for less, to not give up on their dreams, and their hard work will pay off.

Tone

The tone of speech is very inspirational and uplifting because Jobs motivates college graduates and people, in general, to live life to the fullest. Though at times where the tone of the speech is melancholy during the mentions of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer to facing poverty, it has motivational and heartfelt moments as he was able to pull through the difficulties he was faced with and be successful.