Pathos
Pathos - a rhetorical
appeal in which the speaker manipulates emotion by targeting his or her
audience’s values, desires, fears, or sense of humor. It is used to elicit a
visceral response from an audience by tugging on their heartstrings and prompting
them to feel something about a
certain topic as opposed to simply thinking
about it. This appeal typically involves the employment of figurative language,
loaded words, anecdotes, and vivid imagery.
Visual Example
This
advertisement from the World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF) makes a brutally effective use of pathos as a rhetorical
appeal. The image pointedly speaks to the audience’s sense of disgust in the
idea of shooting to death an innocent little girl. In using this child to represent
baby tigers, WWF strikes a deep emotional cord in the various people who constitute
its audience, namely soon-to-be mothers and fathers, experienced parents,
adolescents with younger siblings, children-lovers, and essentially anyone who
is human enough to be horrified by the idea of intentionally murdering a child.
The image is morbid as it provokes within viewers a profound sense of sorrow
for the tragedy that will result from this crime. In using an innocent little
girl in its advertisement, WWF makes a bold statement about how such a crime is
synonymous to animal cruelty. It depicts the ruthless inhumanity with which
mankind destroys animal species, thereby provoking viewers to think twice about
the importance of such an issue. In using a human child, WWF forces human
beings to view the concept of animal cruelty from a different perspective – one
that allows them to see that killing an innocent animal is no more different nor
justifiable than killing an innocent child. WWF builds a bridge between humans
and animals that allows viewers to sympathize with the plight of voiceless animal
species.
Textual Example No. 1
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards
Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the
Hands of an Angry God: A Sermon." Digital Commons @ University of
Nebraska. Electronic Texts in American Studies, n.d. Web. 21 Sept.
2013.
In his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,
Jonathan Edwards employs a brutal appeal to pathos, using fear as a visceral
weapon to curb people’s callous dispositions towards securing their salvations.
Devoted to revitalizing the religious zeal that had once defined Puritanism,
Edwards delivered this sermon with a compelling combination of loaded language,
metaphors, and vivid imagery buttressed by the use of an altogether abrasive
tone. He targeted Christians who had not been baptized in an uncompromising
manner, graphically depicting God’s wrath and the ruthlessness with which He
would damn to the pits of hell those who turned away from Him. Edwards
manipulated the emotion of fear in his audience so as to tug on their heartstrings
and catalyze within them a sense of urgency to secure their salvations. It is
human nature to fear doom. Fear of doom is what motivates us to do what we must
not to suffer. Edwards recognized this and emphasized the impending doom
non-believers subjected themselves to when the turned away from God. In the
end, he succeeded in making his audience feel the horror of their sinful state
and awakened their spirits to accept Jesus as their savior.
Textual Example No. 2
President Obama Speech on 9.11 Anniversary
"President Obama Speech on 9/11
Anniversary: 'Let Us Honor Those Who Have Been Lost'" NY Daily News.
N.p.,
n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.
In his
Presidential Address to the American people on the tenth anniversary of the
9.11 disaster, President Obama employs an effective use of pathos. First and
foremost, he uses the pronouns “we,” “us,” and “our” to place emphasis on the
fact that this burden is one that the Americans have carried and will continue
to carry as one. In doing so, he builds a bridge between himself and his
people, creating an emotional exchange in which Americans all across the United
States and around the world can share in. Secondly, Obama takes advantage of
this ineffaceable day in American history to reassert America’s strength as a
resilient nation. He inspires pride in his people, reminding them of their
identity and depicting the small building blocks of courage and heroism that
continue to make America great today. Thirdly, he zooms into the life of a
woman, whose irreplaceable losses after the disaster are representative of the
thousands of other American families who suffered a similar, if not worst,
fate. In doing so, Obama pulls on his audience’s heartstrings, stirring their sense
of sympathy and flaring to life their emotive spirits. Moreover, in employing
images of the bold firefighters and rescue workers, and in using loaded
language to depict America’s strength and vigor, President Obama incites within
his audience an intense emotional response, capturing the gravity of that historical
day and grieving with his people while still effectively delivering a message
to the global community that America’s resolve will not crumble.
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