To Kill A Mockingbird Ethos Pathos Logos

Persuasive speaking is a type of speech in which the speaker is trying to convince the audience to do some type of action. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, divided persuasive speaking into three categories: ethos, pathos, and logos. Logos is persuading by the use of data, statistics, and interpretation. Pathos is a type of persuasion which testifies to the reader’s emotions. Lastly, ethos is a type of appeal which is influenced by the speaker’s language and by the actions taken by the speaker. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch, in his closing argument, uses ethos, pathos and logos to convince the jury of Tom Robinson’s innocence. In order to show this is true, one must examine the use of ethos, pathos and logos in Atticus’s declaration. …show more content…
In his closing argument, Atticus Finch convinces the jury by using the persuasive speech of logos most effectively. Atticus’s use of logos is shown throughout his argument. For example, Atticus declares, “Two witnesses whose evidence has not only been to a serious question on cross examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but someone in the courtroom is.” Clearly, in this declaration, Atticus points out that this case has relied on two witnesses who have no strength in their testimonies, and with no medical evidence present proves that Tom Robinson is innocent. Furthermore, the use of logos shows one that logically Tom Robinson is innocent, due to no evidence present, and like a court case someone is guilty. In addition, this strengthens Atticus’s account by the use of judgment and making the jury think about what evidence and testimonies have been present, and not based on race to see if Tom