Pathos Vs Ethos

Pathos and ethos are sometimes difficult for students to define. According to Walker (2005), he argues that pathos is the capability of convincing people and making them feel that there is something existing.

An example of pathos comes from the article of “Gay Marriage and Marriage” by Schulman (2010). According to this article, there is full utilization of pathos, when Schulman plea to the customarily delicate groups of society, utilizing strong articulation, and exclaiming the undesirable consequences that is inevitable. Following Schulman’s words, children and women are the people who will be the victims of the gay marriage. Children would suffer from unhappiness, lack of proper welfare and lack of good upbringing, despite the fact that they are not the primary victims of the gay marriage. On the other side, women as well will lose the main values of protection, empowerment and freedom. He uses some words like “grave” to stimulate strong emotional results within his readers.

The word also encourages thoughts of impending disasters and horror, just to put it clear the possible unhappiness of the children. Schulman is doing this in the case of protecting the children. To define ethos, Walker (2005) puts it clear that it is the scope and fairness of argument, substantiation of education and the kindness of the concessions. Schulman utilizes all of his statement to outshine rhetorically in ethos. His evidence of learning and knowledge is portrayed in his broad education. He has attended four universities, finally Yale University where he receives a Ph.

D in English Literature from. He has taught at M.I.T, Yale and Boston University and has written for a number of publications. Therefore, according to Halloran, ethos is formed in education, therefore, used by instructors, mostly those who are dealing with composition section (17).

This is clear that Schulman’s experience in writing and teaching, as well as his degree that he achieved in English literature, gives a level of authority even before the article is fully examined. Schulman also argues that the homosexual couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples, from his writing. This gives a clear indication and definition of the ethos.