2/11 Blog
Pathos is the rhetorical appeal that appeals to a reader’s emotions. Many advertisements are pathos-geared. In the example of an ad I chose from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcroQsUN60s, the advertisers are using emotions in a sexual way to reach the audience. In this case, the advertisement is an appeal to sex to sell the Pepsi product. In Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education,” pathos is also being use. In this case, however, the appeal is sympathy from the audience. He uses brutal and somewhat disturbingly vivid examples of his treatment to elicit emotions from the reader. “They pushed me down, buried me in the snow until I couldn’t breathe, thought I’d never breathe again” is a direct quote from “Indian Education” that effectively uses pathos as a rhetorical device. It was highly effective because using descriptive words such as “pushed” and “buried” draw out pictures of what is happening to the character and therefore forces the reader to feel emotions for the character.
8:15 pm - 2-10-2009
Alana,
I used pathos in my blog entry, too. I do think it is the most commonly used rhetorical appeal and for a good reason: simply put, it works. I think it’s great that you found an older commercial that draws on the human emotion of desire for the effect, especially in a Pepsi commercial. There’s a reason sex is everywhere and it’s because it sells. When you consider the rhetorical appeals, it isn’t hard to wonder why this works. That was a great excerpt you chose from Alexie’s “Indian Education.” When I reread it, I did notice that I felt more sympathy for Alexie in this situation. Definitely a great excerpt to use!
-Jilian
12:30 am - 2-19-2009
[…] Teacher Education » Blog Archive » Leveled Books–Grade 4 […]