In the article, “The New Jim Crow,” Michelle Alexander vigorously argues the means in which the American prison system disenfranchises poor people of color by creating a dynamic author-reader relationship through the use of pathos, logos, and ethos, to effectively persuade and appeal her claims to the reader. Utilizing the pathos approach, Alexander evokes emotion from the readers through her use of emotive and visual diction. Moreover, Alexander uses the ethos approach by including the sources and citations or the information she presents her audience. Alongside these citations, the author refers to her own expertise as a lawyer through her personal narratives and simultaneously builds her credibility as a writer. Furthermore, she strategically
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The placement of the words indicates the importance of the information to the author’s argument. For instance, after stating the number of jobs lost by those employed in the criminal justice system, Alexander continues to comment and says, “that is how enormous and deeply entrenched the new system has become in a very short period of time” (11). The phrase “deeply entrenched” (11) allows the reader to comprehend the extent of America’s dependency on the prison system for employment. She also uses words such as plaguing (9) and skyrocketing (12), which influence the perception of statistics and facts. Once the readers form a visual idea of the magnitude of the problem, they can form opinions and stances on the issue Alexander presents. Specifically, she strategically places words next to the information she wants to emphasize for an emotional effect. In other words, the author uses descriptive words to appeal to the reader’s emotions. For example, she articulates, “after all, who among us would want a loved one struggling with drug abuse to be put in a cage, labeled a felon, and then subjected to a lifetime of discrimination, scorn and social exclusion?” (24). Her diction obligates the readers to feel sympathetic for those in the prison system and guilt for belief in living in a post-racial world; such emotions sway the reader to Alexander’s argument. Overall, Alexander’s use of vivid language appeals to the emotionally responsive readers and displays an effective use of pathos in the
The placement of the words indicates the importance of the information to the author’s argument. For instance, after stating the number of jobs lost by those employed in the criminal justice system, Alexander continues to comment and says, “that is how enormous and deeply entrenched the new system has become in a very short period of time” (11). The phrase “deeply entrenched” (11) allows the reader to comprehend the extent of America’s dependency on the prison system for employment. She also uses words such as plaguing (9) and skyrocketing (12), which influence the perception of statistics and facts. Once the readers form a visual idea of the magnitude of the problem, they can form opinions and stances on the issue Alexander presents. Specifically, she strategically places words next to the information she wants to emphasize for an emotional effect. In other words, the author uses descriptive words to appeal to the reader’s emotions. For example, she articulates, “after all, who among us would want a loved one struggling with drug abuse to be put in a cage, labeled a felon, and then subjected to a lifetime of discrimination, scorn and social exclusion?” (24). Her diction obligates the readers to feel sympathetic for those in the prison system and guilt for belief in living in a post-racial world; such emotions sway the reader to Alexander’s argument. Overall, Alexander’s use of vivid language appeals to the emotionally responsive readers and displays an effective use of pathos in the