Rhetorical Appeals Homework
1. Pathos is the use of emotional appeals to make a stronger point.
2. The advertisement I chose is for animal cruelty. It’s the longest commerical ever and really makes their point by making the commercial as sad and depressing as possible. Sarah McLachlan is the spokesperson of the SPCA and they use one of her more popular songs, “Angel,” to make it more effective. The commerical is trying to get you to donate money monthly, to help abused and neglected animals. They show really cute animals that look sad and some that are unhealthy or hurt. Even if you don’t like animals all that much, this commercial is so sad to watch. The pathos are used very effectively and the commercial makes you want to donate the money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gspElv1yvc
3. The quote I chose is from Atwood. I think that it uses pathos effectively to make the extreme situation seem like the hard life it is to live. He says specifically what they use to make food and what they wear, and it really does make their living conditions seem like a hard life.
“Life has never been easy for the people of the far north. For many centuries they lived
in one of the most unforgiving climates on earth: no trees, no agriculture, extreme cold and
darkness for many months of the year. Using tools made of stone and bone, wearing clothing
made of skins, relying largely on fish and on the meat of seal, caribou, polar bear, walrus, and
whales, they had a culture finely tuned to their environment. In this culture, men and women
were interdependent: hunters provided most of the food, but their clothing was made by
the women, and unless it was made very well the hunter could die: a leaky kamik could
mean a frozen foot. Each set of skills was known to be necessary to the survival of all, and
each was respected.”