The Three Appeals
Long ago the Greek philosopher Aristotle divided the methods to persuasion into 3 different categories. These of what are known as the three appeals and are used to present an idea as valid and preferable to another. The threes appeals are ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos
Ethos being a Greek word meaning “character” refers to the act of convincing by the character of the author. It is described as the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker. You may want to think of ethos as related to "ethics," or the moral principles of the writer: ethos is the author's way of establishing trust with his or her reader. One of the tools used in order establishing ethos is diacope.
Through the use of diacope the author establishes his tone and his persistence towards his idea or message. In Assassination Vacation an example of this would be when Sarah Vowell says “To read this speech is to see how Lincoln’s mind worked, to see how he governed, to see how he lived.” right before analyzing Lincoln’s speech. This shows exemplifies her credibility and sources by sort of conveying and asserting the idea that through Lincoln's speech you can tell what he was really like. This good since by establishing ethos she can properly continue on with establishing a new perspective towards Lincoln. This also is beneficial as it involves people also questioning what they might know or believe to be true so it is not good or lacking in emotional appeal. It does use an emotional appeal established so it generally would help its logos and could be also used for that. Acknowledging her general audience of american adults with some knowledge of history she presents credibility and confidence in this as she is showing persistence in the meaning in Lincolns speech.
Another tool that can be used for the purpose of establishing ethos is anesis. This is done so that the author can change the perspective of the audience in more dramatic way. It is done stepping away from emotional appeals suddenly and stepping into a more realistic statement. An example of this is in Assassination Vacation when Sarah Vowell says “thinking about how these were the very stairs that Booth climbed to shoot at Lincoln and how sick is this? Then I remembered, oh no they’re not. The interior of the Ford’s Theater in which Lincoln was shot collapsed in 1893, but then, in 1968, the National Park Service dedicated this restoration.” This brings the audience into realism and establishes her credibility as she is supposedly standing there herself. The audience is taken away from previous notions and emotional appeals involving the theater which makes her ideas and statements on the assassination seem more trustworthy.She takes note at how audience is most likely familiar with the incident in the theater and uses this in order to give them a better perspective.
Pathos
Pathos being a Greek word meaning “experience” or “suffering” refers to the act of persuasion by with emotional appeal towards audience. It is both the emotional and the imaginative impact of the message on an audience. Making it the power with which the writer's message moves the audience to decision or action.You may want to think of pathos as "empathy," which pertains to the experience of or sensitivity toward emotion. Authors use anecdotes as one of their tools since a common way of conveying a pathetic appeal is through narrative. They are good in a sense for the audience to relate to what the author may try and convey. But it can also make it seem irrelevant at times if not used properly and can cause a loss in credibility.
An example of this is in Assassination Vacation when the author says “Looking around Powell’s cemetery, Owen sounds a little disappointed when he says, ‘It’s not so scary here.’ ‘Snake!’ I yell. This isn't some shameless ploy to entertain him. As we stare at the grave of an attempted murderer, a black snake wraps itself around my left leg.” while she had been visiting the cemetery. This a short and amusing side story about a real incident that occurred to the author. She purposefully mentions this in order to have a greater emotional appeal to audience whether it be humorous or to have the audience relate. Although pathos is well established with this it sort of can give a feeling of out of context and irrelevance which in turn can diminish credibility. She takes an approach to appeal to her general audience in this. Mostly consisting of adults she adds humor to the dark scenario established by the cemetery. Also she may hope the audience can relate to her funny incident where she was spooked by something at a cemetery.
Another tool that can be used for the establishment of pathos is using comparisons. By using comparisons the author can have a greater appeal to its audience by relating. An example of this in Assassination Vacation is when the author says “It’s a (for him) long list, remarkably even-handed and restrained, pointing out that both the North and the South were praying to the same god, as if they were just a couple of football teams squaring off in the Super Bowl.” when she is going through Lincolns perspective during his speech. This comparison in particular is a simile since it uses “like” or “as.” It appeals to the audience emotionally by doing so in a joking manner. This is done so that audience can relate towards how Lincoln probably felt while saying that. Although comparisons such as similes are good to establish pathos they may lack logic and reason making it bad for logos as some comparisons may be wild and absurd. She sees how her audience would be primarily american and therefor address the comparison by doing it with something they will probably be familiar with. In this case the Super Bowl being a popular event in the United States in which two sides face off for one goal.
Logos
Logos being a Greek word meaning “word” refers to the act of persuading by the use of reasoning. It is described as the consistency of the message the author is trying to convey.You may want to think of logos as "logic," because something that is logical is also reasonable.
Simply stating facts such dates, times, and people all wrap around establishing logos. Dates are a tool that can be used to show evince and reference to the occurrence of things that have happen. This can be then used as proof and evidence to the message and ideas of the author. An example of this is in Assassination Vacation when the author says “On June 30, Guiteau would hang. An old folk song tells the tale... come from the fact that Guiteau did write a song that he chanted from the scaffold right before he was hanged on June 30, 1882.” when Sarah Vowell analyzes the jury’s decision. She states facts such as how Guiteau sang the day he was hanged and dates in order to explain for the old folk song about him. The dates are factual as were her statements on what occurred that day and help assert her ideas and beliefs as they are sources of proof. This is also good for establish an increased credibility helping out establish her ethos. She takes note of her audience of primarily american adults with some historical knowledge and states facts about folklore that they might be familiar with or be interested in.
A tool often used in order to establish logos is that of a testimony. This can help establish logos as it is a persons account of events and state of affairs. An example of this in Assassination Vacation is when the author says “Curtis and Woodward were examining Lincoln’s head, looking for the bullet, this bullet now in this museum. Curtis wrote, ‘Not finding it readily, we proceeded to remove the entire brain.’”while she is visiting a museum. the fact that a part the doctor’s diary who treated Lincoln while he was injured leave a testimony of the event and proof for the bullets authenticity. This shows reasoning for the events that happened during Abraham’s assassination as they are being analyzed by the author. The diary in all testified for the events that the author had mentioned. This tool is also good for helping establish ethos as it is a source that author’s can use as proof which in turn adds to their overall credibility. A down side is that it does not add any emotional appeal whatsoever since it is only used to state cold harsh facts. She notes that her would probably not be completely knowledgeable of the events that occurred after Lincoln got shot. So what she does to address that is she mentions testimony of the doctor who did the surgery. The gruesome imagery depicted by the doctor is also good to spike interest among her audience. Based on the assumption that this is new information for them and that they are seeing the events that unfolded during the assassination differently.
Sarah Vowell uses the appeal of logos a lot as she is constantly stating facts and dates of events and historical occurrences. She also really uses the appeal of pathos as she is constantly using irony and humor to have an emotional appeal. Not to mention all the anecdotes that she uses in hope of the audience relating that at times seem irrelevant. Which brings up the case of her ethos. Out of all the appeals I would say this is the one she uses the least. Although she does try establishing ethos by talking about her travels to better understanding and view of things. She doesn't exactly always sate her credibility. Sometimes she can suddenly bring about a bunch of facts without her actually starting the source from which she got them. Even though her tone does give the audience a “feeling” of an expertise she doesn't always states it.
https://www.taftschool.org/students/writingcenter/pdfs/Glossaries/Art%20of%20Rhetoric.pdf
http://rhetoric.eserver.org/aristotle/oneindex.html
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