After you read the chapter on “Pathetic Proof” in Ancient Rhetorics for Wednesday, I’d like you to identify an editorial or op-ed piece from the past week that draws heavily on or features a striking appeal to pathos. In your comment, I’d like you to summarize briefly the main argument of the piece. Then, describe the appeal to pathos and explain how it works. That is, what emotional response or psychological condition does it attempt to cultivate within its readers? How does this state of mind work to the advantage of the rhetor? How does the rhetor’s writing foster this state? As you respond to these questions, please draw on specific phrases or brief passages from the text to support your claims.
Please post your response as a comment to this post on our course blog before class on Wednesday, February 2. Aim for 250 words.
In the editorial, “Ignoring Superman,” Dan Haley reflects on his thoughts of the film “Waiting for Superman.” The film portrays five different children stuck in failing schools trying to receive a good education. It shows that inner-city schools are not providing a good enough education for their students and that the teachers are not being blamed for their poor teaching. Haley argues that this is one of the best documentaries he has seen and “if you care about the future of our country, [you will] watch it.” Haley begins his editorial stating, “I think it's fair to say a movie has impact if you feel like you've been punched in the gut after watching it, or if it causes a slight watery, salty discharge to well in your eyes. (I don't cry at movies unless they involve old dogs.)” This quote shows that Haley honestly cares about the film and the future of these less fortunate children. It appeals to the reader because the reader begins to view Haley as a considerate honest writer. They believe that if a grown man will cry over such a strong important issue, it ought to be worth the while to do something about it. Throughout the article, the reader experiences a sad sorrow emotion. The fact that Haley is informing people of this documentary and the importance of it also give them a sense of hope towards the end. Haley’s ending quote, “but we'll be waiting for Superman forever if we resist the progress underway,” makes the reader have a strong opinion about the situation. They feel almost motivated to do something to change the school systems because they know that it will affect not only their future, but their children’s too.
ReplyDeleteThe editorial Clamp down on gun-clip overkill discusses the shooting in Tucson, AZ killing six and wounding 19, “including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,” (Clamp down). The editors begin the piece with a recollection of the incident in Tuscon to introduce the issue of high-capacity magazines. Through several short explanations of similar incidences and examples of political support, the editors come to the conclusion that the round count for one gun should be legally limited to a much lower number than 33.
ReplyDeleteThe authors recalled two separate examples of shootings (both of which the shooter used high capacity magazines). These examples attempt to invoke sympathy and remorse for the families of all victims involved. The first example is that of the shooting in Tucson, a recent event that is still hot in the minds of Americans. By choosing this setting, it is much easier to invoke a more elevated response of anger or sadness towards the incident and the topic at hand because of the recentness. There are also several uses of political stances on the issue of high-capacity magazines. Before 1994, a person would not be allowed to purchase a magazine the size of which Loughner (the shooter in Tucson). The authors place George W. Bush in a state of weakness to the NRA to not renew the law when it expired. This claim could remind people or make them angry about the presidency of G.W. Bush. They also use Cheney as an example of a far right wing who has “miraculously” reconsidered his stance on magazine capacity. The authors also use sarcasm towards the NRA and Glock to support their claim. Each of these examples can possibly invoke sadness and anger into the readers to hopefully convert them or to more robustly support the beliefs depicted in the editorial. The method (I believe) they used the most was that of pejorative language. The type of language they used managed to “disparage and downplay” certain people and ideas addressed in the issue.
In the recent editorial, “Keeping Felons out of Schools”, the authors address the controversial issue of ex-felons being hired within school systems. Many past drug addicts, people accused of indecent exposure, and people convicted of child abuse have been hired to teach in our school which is disturbing for most. Many people argue that educators with such a past should not be allowed to teach or work within school. Others believe these people have paid their dues or changed since their wrongdoing therefore should be given a chance for a fresh start. The authors in this article chose an emotional topic to begin with. Child abuse, drug abuse, and indecent exposure are tremendous offenses that more people are subjected to then we realize. The article states, “Prohibiting convicted felons from working in Colorado schools seems like a pretty easy notion to support. After all, people who have committed crimes such as child abuse or indecent exposure have no business working in schools.” Having ex-convicts in schools is a terrifying concept and through this blunt statement, the authors do a good job of evoking emotion from the reader. The article does comment on the fact that some people convicted of crimes have been clean for years since their offense and that drug crimes may not be a colossal as we may think. They state, “At the very least, legislators should consider making an old drug conviction — one that happened 10 or 20 years ago — to be a condition that could prohibit employment, not shall prohibit. That way, school districts would not be forced to fire or decline to hire people who had an isolated drug possession years ago but otherwise have gone on to lead productive lives.” This forces the reader to feel sympathy for these people who have moved on and learned from their mistakes in order to lead a productive life. The writers want us to feel some sympathy towards these people but also use solid judgment in hiring those with a past.
ReplyDeleteThe Opinion Article written by Mike Littwin is about the protests pertaining to the 30 year long rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Some people speculate that the president is already overthrown. Some think otherwise. What Mike Littwin is arguing in his Opinion article is that there’s no way for us to know how the situation is going. It is very topsy turvy, in this moment: “No one is in charge. No one knows what will happen next.” (Littwin) The last line of his article is “No one knows. What we do know is where we've been. And that it's time to hope for better.” (Littwin) In essence, we don’t know what is going to happen; we can only wish for the best.
ReplyDeleteLittwin’s article is a pathetic one, indeed. He effectively elicits emotion from his audience through various means. One method utilized by Littwin is enargeia, otherwise known as describing a scene so vividly that the audience feels as if they are there. Littwin illustrates when he attended a freedom of speech trial in Egypt: “the courtroom was in a military camp in the desert north of Cairo. And the defendants were in a cage. Yes, a cage…the undeniable truth of the courtroom was the cage itself and the men who climbed, like animals, along the wire mesh to be able to touch hands with a wife or child.” (Littwin) By describing the scene in this manner, an unmistakable image of men climbing around in a cage reaching out (literally) to loved ones is fabricated in his audience’s mind’s eye. Another time that Littwin causes his audience to feel a certain emotion is when he juxtaposes the Egyptian situation to the Tiananmen Square situation of 1989. The Tiananmen Square incident was a horrific one indeed, and bringing up such a scathing memory is bound to make someone frightened/angered/displeased/etc. After all, they must have felt really upset when the Tiananmen Square incident took place.
Through Littwin’s means of eliciting emotion from his audience, his piece becomes very much more persuasive. Wouldn’t you feel swayed after picturing a man climbing around in a courtroom as if he were a deranged beast, clambering about the enclosure to reach out to his wife? How about when he talked about Tiananmen Square? I know I felt something.
In the editorial “Keeping Felons out of Schools”, the author states their opinion about new laws regarding convicted felons working in schools. The article discusses the limitations on a law such as this and how the specific wording of the law may affect the outcome of it. The law “would prohibit Colorado school districts from employing support staff, such as custodians and lunch workers, who have felony convictions for child abuse, crimes of violence, unlawful sexual behavior, indecent exposure and drug crimes.” (The Denver Post) This all seems reasonable, except for the argument that the author brings up about not letting people that were charged with drug crimes work in a school. Although drug crimes are still a big deal, the author argues that the drug conviction from when drug laws were more strict. In addition, someone might have had a drug conviction and had a clean record since then and has clearly led a professional life. The author puts a lot of emphasis on keeping these people out of schools which is very important to parents and students alike. Although citizens without kids might not feel as impacted by this law as parents with kids in school do, it is still an important law with a lot riding on it. I think by pointing out the risk of felons in schools riles people up and strikes a slight fear in their hearts to make people a little bit more aware of the people working in their children’s schools. This article forces the reader to think about the distinctions between different types of felons and that way they can make a fair decision.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to writing my main paper on the Presidents recent State of the Union speech, I also feel it is a solid piece to discuss pathos. Pathos appeals to emotion, all kinds of emotion, which is exactly what the President is trying to do. If he can use pathos to capture a moment, or more importantly your attention, then you will listen to what he has to say. By using kairos, he discussed the tragedy in Tucson, appealing to our sorrow and sadness of the event. Right after that, he countered with a strong argument that the economy is on the rise and that the future looks bright. All this was conveyed in Mike Littwins article written last week about the address. He called it the “optimism card,” and used other examples of how past presidents looked to the future to strike hope into Americans. This is no different; the speech was about hope, optimism, and cold hard facts. Everything that the President said appealed to somebody’s pathos in one way or another. If you are a democrat you were happy to hear him talk about health care reform, and re-election in 2012. However, republicans were not happy to hear about this, but were happy to have The Speaker of the House on their side, as well as a stronger Congress in their favor. All these emotions were embedded in the story through examples, both good and bad, along with direct quotes from the President. I feel that by inserting certain phrases, an author can also appeal to pathos making you agree or disagree with his article.
ReplyDeleteThe editorial I picked is the one that is about the capitol dome in downtown Denver. In the piece the editors of the Denver Post discuss the topic of the capitol dome in Denver that is in major disrepair. This issue is obviously much more apparent in the city of Denver then it would be in any other city. It appeals completely to the emotions of the readers of The Denver Post. The citizens of Denver should want the building to be fixed and reconstructed because it is an icon in their city. Because it is an icon in their city then they should have pride in their state and their government and want to fix the building as soon as possible. The readers should want to donate to the cause because they should want this state icon to be restored quickly. The gold dome is a central part of the city of Denver and so the audience that the editors are appealing to should want to fix this soon. He almost uses guilt to make the citizens of the state of Colorado want to help the cause as well as have greater pride in their state and its heritage.
ReplyDeleteThe editorial I chose, “Keeping felons out of schools” is about House Bill 1121. This bill would prevent convicted felons from working in Colorado schools. In this piece the author discusses that their needs to be some editing to this bill in order for it to go into full affect. The author says that as far as supplying support staff, the rules are set in as far as child abuse, violence, sex crimes, and felon drug crimes. Although for teachers, felon drug crimes are not a part of the bill that keeps them from working. The bill should not be set in stone and should be looked at situation by situation because some people might have had a felon drug crime 10 or 15 years ago and they are now clean and able to work in the school system. The author focuses on the fact that by passing this bill it will keep children safe while at school, “With those caveats, we think the bill is another tool districts could use to ensure the safety of children.” By stating this, the author draws upon a touching feel for the reader as well as some concern and awareness. Every reader has a sore spot for children because older adults are always concerned about either their own children or other children around them because they are the future and must be kept safe. By creating a feel of awareness and concern the author draws in the readers and they begin to agree with that he/she is saying.
ReplyDeleteThe editorial that I looked at was “Organ donation should be voluntary. It talks about Sen. Lucia Guzman withdrawing the bill to be forced to be an organ donor whether you are okay with it or not. The author states various points about why the bill should not be passed and the negative effects of it. You can really tell the person who if writing this article is trying to get into your head about being a organ donor and how this bill would negatively affect society. She states that it should be totally up to the person whether they would like to donate their organs or not.
ReplyDeleteThe editorial "Yes, Virginia," is about a young girl questioning the existence to Santa Claus. In this editorial the author puts himself into the story by relating his own personal experiences to his own daughter and Santa Claus, to the issue at hand. The issue is that Virginia; the curious young girl wrote a letter to the New York Sun asking them to tell her the truth about Santa Claus. The author then takes this issue and presents this same issue he had with his daughter. He brings up this emotional topic by stating, "The question hit a nerve because I have my own 8-year-old "Virginia" at home who started questioning old St. Nick last year." This quotation quickly brings an emotional state to the editorial. It not only makes the reader feel attached to the author in a slight way, it also makes them feel a relation if they have had a similar experience in their own life. Not only does the author relate his life to editorial, he also presents examples of how his daughter searched to find the answer, just as Virginia is. The author’s daughter decided to become a detective in finding out the truth, “she's decided to leave a note for Santa, asking him if he likes the cookies. Then, she said, she'll compare his handwriting to ours.” This personal example of the author brings the editorial a sense of community. Since the author and the issue of the editorial have a relation in its stories, it brings a personal and emotional sense to the piece.
ReplyDeleteIn the editorial, “In-state Tuition for All Students” the author draws on the use of pathos to draw in his audience. This article is about the debate of whether or not to allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition. The writer argues that children who technically live in this country illegally, but have graduated from Colorado high schools, should be allowed to receive in-state tuition. The writer appeals to the audiences emotion by making this debate a moral issue. He states, “children should not suffer from the actions of their parents.” The writer realizes that society as a whole would normally agree with this statement. By applying this to the debate of in-state tuition, the writer makes it difficult for his audience to disagree with their own emotional opinion. At another point in the article the writer brings up another moral debate. He says, “The situation is not ideal but morally, and economically, it makes sense for Colorado to help those who want to help themselves.” This statement attempts to draw heavily on the emotional factors of this idea. People generally believe that we should reward people who make a good effort or try to help themselves, so why should we not give in-state tuition? By creating this into a moral dilemma, the writer’s audience has a more difficult time trying to disagree with this broad statement rather than agree with it.
ReplyDeleteThe op-ed piece I chose was called, “Sex comes faster for couples who text”. This piece was every interesting. The main focus of the article was talking about how technological advances and communication through electronics continue everyday to redefine human relationships. A Shape and Men’s Fitness Magazine put out surveys that said communication through electronics have very intimate affects, especially to new couples. Another statistic was taken and said that 80 percent of women said that their new relationships would more quickly lead to sex just because they are able to stay connected with their partners for a longer amounts of time, or almost at all times. In the article, they said that gadgets with smiley faces and things like that actually evoke those emotions. He doesn’t have to do much persuading in this article. He brings out facts and statistics, which automatically make the reader buy into what he is trying to say. And, a lot of people enjoy reading about topics like that. I know I do, not in a weird way, but its something that isn’t always talking about so when people do get to read about it, they eat it up.
ReplyDeleteThe article’s title is “should airlines pay us for those long delays”? The author use “us” in this title. It makes me feel that the author is facing this problem and he/she really want to find a way to fix it. Therefore, the author has more standpoint to talk about it.
ReplyDeleteEthos: The author first state an incident in European Union. This incident first let the reader think about their country’s flight. Are the flights always delay or canceled? When it happened, what was the airline’s response? Also, the author gave an example of a horror story. Because of the waiting time, the passenger turned to prisoners. After I saw this story, it remind me when I get stuck in the airplane and can’t go out. At that time, I feel so angry and feel like I am in prison, because I can’t do anything and can’t go out.