When reading something have you ever had such a strong feeling about what’s happening? Ever put yourself in the shoes of the character or person writing, and wondered, how or why am I connecting to this so much? Pathos, ethos, and logos are all things that help you connect and trust what you are reading. Pathos are things that emotionally connect to the reader to stir up their emotions to help them connect to the piece they are reading more and to persuade them to agree with the author. The two pieces that are going to be focusing on are Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. When it comes to the use of pathos Martin Luther King jr. is better than Henry David Thoreau.
Henry …show more content…
could move people with his pathos like nobody else could. Evidence of this is in Martin Luther King jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. The way he uses pathos in this letter truly provokes your emotions; like when he says: “... when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness towards white people;...” Imagine having to explain to your child that they have to be excluded from this whole world of fun that has just been presented to them, just because of the color of their skin. Having to see that at six-years-old, your daughter has involuntarily felt less than another person--created the same as her-- all because of some little factor that she nor anyone else can control. As a parent all they want is for their child to be happy, feel good about themselves, and know that they are no less than anyone else, but when a simple thing as race and other people thinking as if they are better, just put the child down and made them feel less. Anyone can relate to this because MLK isn’t just talking about his children or parents he’s is talking to anyone who has a child, sibling, niece or nephew, or even grandchildren because all they want is for that child to be happy and feel good. So by showing what it was really like, what parents had to explain to their children and how their children felt, it really does makes the reader feel
Henry …show more content…
could move people with his pathos like nobody else could. Evidence of this is in Martin Luther King jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. The way he uses pathos in this letter truly provokes your emotions; like when he says: “... when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness towards white people;...” Imagine having to explain to your child that they have to be excluded from this whole world of fun that has just been presented to them, just because of the color of their skin. Having to see that at six-years-old, your daughter has involuntarily felt less than another person--created the same as her-- all because of some little factor that she nor anyone else can control. As a parent all they want is for their child to be happy, feel good about themselves, and know that they are no less than anyone else, but when a simple thing as race and other people thinking as if they are better, just put the child down and made them feel less. Anyone can relate to this because MLK isn’t just talking about his children or parents he’s is talking to anyone who has a child, sibling, niece or nephew, or even grandchildren because all they want is for that child to be happy and feel good. So by showing what it was really like, what parents had to explain to their children and how their children felt, it really does makes the reader feel