In Story of Your Life, the author Ted Chiang utilizes logos and pathos to emphasize that science fiction not only tells an imaginary story but also introduces a different thinking model and interconnects science genre with philosophy. As a primary writing strategy, logos convinces readers by the use of logic and reasons, or to be more precise, by analyzing a physical problem, a linguistic discovery and free will theory in Chiang’s story. Different from the logical proof, pathos leans to be the emotional appeal by which Chiang describes the main character’s emotion and monologue. Unlike some ordinary science fiction telling an exciting content of aliens’ invasion and human’s superpower, Story of Your Life presents a non-linear thought and then
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On one hand, since she already predicts the misfortune of her daughter and her marriage, she undergoes great pressure and sorrow. On the other hand, she is still proud of her decisions and enjoys every wonderful moment in her life: getting married with Gary and raising her daughter. Affected by the alien’s non-linear thought, Louis realizes that each person has his or her own life logic, whoever is Louis, her daughter or heptapods. Louis did not intervene in changing her daughter’s fate because the causal law still exists that she could do nothing, or since she believes that her daughter’s life is an independent and dignified existence that Louis was unwilling to intervene. Even if her fervent anticipation of love, family and kinship was informed and broken by the ability of prediction, she did not abandon the human innate cognition and remained open-minded and fearless towards the known future. The use of pathos pointing out Louis’s emotions implies that people need to insist in their own lives and keep a warmest heart to embrace future. In consideration of the moral aspect in science fiction, Michael Shermer, the editor of Skeptic magazine, claims that “literature plays an important role in improving people’s behavior” (Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy). Based on recent studies, “those who read fiction become better at understanding and empathizing with others, particularly when …show more content…
Ultimately, he merges science genre with philosophy by logic reasoning to throw out a philosophical problem. What is so powerful in Story of Your Life is that the author invents an another world that is similar to the real one, but there is no causal order of thinking and language in the fictional world. Instead of mainly explaining why the non-linear thought occurs, Chiang focuses on discussing how does Louis, the person who occasionally obtained the thinking model that future is a fixed number, faces her own life with perseverance and courage, and how does she accept the fact that her most precious person would die at a given moment. It is the mediation of these questions that contributes to the purpose of science fiction. Although there are no standard answers for the relationship between free will and precognition, logos and pathos strategies persuade readers to carefully thinking about the philosophical problem—the existence of free will—as they read the imaginary story. The way people look at this world, or look at their own hearts, is similar to a piece of glass staining with water. It is impossible to wipe all the mist on the glass, but putting into a serious and deep thinking can draw a clear mark on the fog. Thinking about some problems that someone never encounters is also
On one hand, since she already predicts the misfortune of her daughter and her marriage, she undergoes great pressure and sorrow. On the other hand, she is still proud of her decisions and enjoys every wonderful moment in her life: getting married with Gary and raising her daughter. Affected by the alien’s non-linear thought, Louis realizes that each person has his or her own life logic, whoever is Louis, her daughter or heptapods. Louis did not intervene in changing her daughter’s fate because the causal law still exists that she could do nothing, or since she believes that her daughter’s life is an independent and dignified existence that Louis was unwilling to intervene. Even if her fervent anticipation of love, family and kinship was informed and broken by the ability of prediction, she did not abandon the human innate cognition and remained open-minded and fearless towards the known future. The use of pathos pointing out Louis’s emotions implies that people need to insist in their own lives and keep a warmest heart to embrace future. In consideration of the moral aspect in science fiction, Michael Shermer, the editor of Skeptic magazine, claims that “literature plays an important role in improving people’s behavior” (Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy). Based on recent studies, “those who read fiction become better at understanding and empathizing with others, particularly when …show more content…
Ultimately, he merges science genre with philosophy by logic reasoning to throw out a philosophical problem. What is so powerful in Story of Your Life is that the author invents an another world that is similar to the real one, but there is no causal order of thinking and language in the fictional world. Instead of mainly explaining why the non-linear thought occurs, Chiang focuses on discussing how does Louis, the person who occasionally obtained the thinking model that future is a fixed number, faces her own life with perseverance and courage, and how does she accept the fact that her most precious person would die at a given moment. It is the mediation of these questions that contributes to the purpose of science fiction. Although there are no standard answers for the relationship between free will and precognition, logos and pathos strategies persuade readers to carefully thinking about the philosophical problem—the existence of free will—as they read the imaginary story. The way people look at this world, or look at their own hearts, is similar to a piece of glass staining with water. It is impossible to wipe all the mist on the glass, but putting into a serious and deep thinking can draw a clear mark on the fog. Thinking about some problems that someone never encounters is also