Rhetorical Device Ethos In American Literature

The first article that was discussed in class was Startling Finds on Teenage Brains (Paul Thompson) this article has strong ethos. Thompson belives that the teeneagers that have commited crime, for example on May 16 fourteen year old Brazil was charged in May because he shot a middle school teacher. Brazil was found guilty of second-degree murder. Thompson claims that the teenage brain isn't fully developed at a young age, because of this many teens are making reckless choices. The author Paul Thompson claims “my own research group at the university of California, Los Angeles, and our colleagues at the national institutes of health have developed technology to map the patterns of brain growth in individual children and teenagers. With repeated

What this is trying to state is that if a teen or child does a crime it’s because their brain is underdeveloped which means that their brain can’t function as an adult which I disagree because if those teens goes to school they learn all of the bad things and all of the right things which means that they know what they are doing. Yes maybe their brain aren’t fully develop but me as a teen know what am I doing and I am pretty sure that everyone who are 10 and up knows what they are doing. “Linking this maelstrom of normal brain change with legal or moral accountability is tough: Even though normal teens are experiencing a wildlife of tissue loss in their brains, that does not remove their accountability” (Thompson 90). Even though teens brain aren’t fully develop it still doesn’t mean that they don’t know what they are doing. Also if in America they don’t access gun or any weapons so easily then maybe teens won’t commit as much crimes as they do, because most of the time teens are killing people with a gun because they are getting access to weapons so easily and they don’t realize that because all they care

One’s words and method of expression can determine one’s fate in certain situations. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, characters are required to testify for their lives in the corrupt Salem witch trials. A particularly strong rhetorician is Deputy Governor Danforth, who has a position in the hierarchy of the Salem Court in determining whether the convicted witches are guilty. Danforth’s goal is to find the truth, and he resolutely understands that his verdicts so far are of the true. In defense of his truths, Governor Danforth uses rhetorical devices in his language in order to demonstrate the severity of his decisions thus far.

Rhetorical devices are devices that are used to convey a meaning to the reader and create emotions through different types of language. Elie Wiesel uses rhetorical devices such as personification, metaphors, and rhetorical questions to emphasize and establish the theme of losing faith.

The song "American Pie', by Don McLean, was a dominate rock-and-roll hit in 1971. McLean illustrates famous rock star artist and songwriter Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash in 1962 by using rhetorical strategies. The different potential interpretations of this song made it one of the most controversial songs from the 1970's. McLean was hitting home with many emotional resonances defining moments in the recent American experiences.

Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, is a lawyer from the rural south that advocates for mostly children on death row. He spends most of his time in low income communities with next to no hope. His TED talk was based on his experiences in these communities, his career, and his knowledge regarding minorities while addressing his predominately financially stable, White audience. Trying to persuade an audience that is not effected by what you are trying to speak against is hard, however, Bryan Stevenson is able to do so. Bryan Stevenson’s 2012 TED talk uses ethos to persuade his audience by using his status as a prominent lawyer and an everyday person who many people know and can relate to with strong respectable values in life to prove himself as a trustworthy person in order to argue his point on how the American justice system distorts the truth racial discrimination in the system, as well as the poverty t faces. His use of ethos enables him to establish trust in his audience that can make a major difference in the justice system with most of them being well respected people in society.

Ethos is a rhetorical appeal used to grab the attention of the audience’s morals or ethics.

There are always two sides to an argument, but different people have different opinions on which side is right and wrong; as a result, we can compare a debate or argument as of a coin, due to the fact that it has two sides. When it comes to the topic of judicial system in America, most of us will readily agree that it needs to be reformed. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of who will step forward and make changes to the court system. Whereas some are convinced that no one is going to do anything about it, others maintain that the government will be the savior by making the changes. In the introduction of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice And Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson -an American lawyer, social justice activist, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and a clinical professor at New York University School of Law- Stevenson emphasizes that people are not being treated fairly in the judicial system of America. The book was written to give readers a close up look on mass incarceration and extreme punishment given in America. Convincing the readers is not easy, except if the author uses strategic techniques such as ethos, pathos, and logos. It is even more tough if the topic is sensitive and debatable as this one. Stevenson used these three techniques in a variety of different ways to convince the readers.

While in the article“Kids are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes” by Marjie Lundstrom (2001), tries, but fails to show to most Ethos. Lundstrom asserts that all minors be tried through the juvenile justice system and not through the adult system because they are only kids. The article shows barely if any credibility of where the facts came from that are constantly shown through the entire article. A line from Lundstrom says, “Hey, they're only kids” (4). In the mind of Lundstrom, it is safe to assume that there is not much ethos in this article rather than the author's opinion to persuade the reader using pathos. While in the article, Lundstrom brings a few trials attempting to help the argument, but does not show any credibility of her resources.

Through the use of ethos, pathos, and/or logos; style, word choice, and tone; and the author's purpose are magnified through the authors use of language. As an author, the goal is not to change the reader's mind, but to help he or she see a new point of view using ethos, pathos, and/or logos; style, word choice, and tone. Through many persuasive techniques, writers bring credibility to their arguments. The beginning remarks

Ethos is a rhetorical device authors use to establish their credibility to speak authoritatively on a topic. To strengthen their arguments, they also use logos, or logical arguments and scientific data, and pathos to create an emotional reaction in the audience. In the ERWC Juvenile Justice unit, four different authors, with four different levels of ethos, discuss whether or not juveniles who have been charged with murder should be tried as adults in the adult court system. Most argue that minors should be tried in the juvenile court system, while one demands that adolescents who massacre innocent victims spend the rest of their lives in prison. After closely reading each author’s opinion, it is clear that Gail Garinger has the most ethos in this unresolved debate while Marjie Lundstrom has the least. (122)

Ethos is a rhetorical device authors use to establish their credibility to speak authoritatively on a topic. To strengthen their arguments, they also use logos, or logical arguments and scientific data, and pathos to create an emotional reaction in the audience. In the ERWC Juvenile Justice unit, four different authors, with four different levels of ethos, discuss whether or not juveniles who have been charged with murder should be tried as adults in the adult court system. Most argue that minors should be tried in the juvenile court system, while one demands that adolescents who massacre innocent victims spend the rest of their lives in prison. After closely reading each author’s opinion, it is clear that Paul Thompson has the most ethos in this unresolved debate while Jennifer Jenkins has the least. (122)

This legal loophole is based on the theory that if he had not participated in the robbery, his partner wouldn’t have been shot. Because Geri is over sixteen, his transfer to adult court is certain, where he will face a harsh prison sentence. These cases are just two of many sad and unfair stories featured in this work. Other than the juveniles themselves, the reader will also meet several juvenile court officials. Humes introduces his audience to a frustrated and burnt out juvenile court prosecutor, an intimidating, reform-minded judge who shows his distaste for transferring youths to adult court by simply refusing to do it, even when it is required by law, and a patient juvenile probation officer who manages to find small successes within a job that can sometimes seem futile at best.

In the article “ On Punishment and Teen Killers” written by Jennifer Jenkins, believes that teens who commit crimes should go to prison. Jennifer Jenkins's argument holds fewer ethos assertions because she uses more logic and reasoning, and pathos. She claims a teenager reported to his friend, who testified at his trial, that he just wanted“ to see what it was like to shoot someone”(2). In her assertion she uses more pathos to generate an emotional response rather than ethos. Jennifer Jenkins describes how their are no adequate words to describe what this kind of loss does to the victim's family rather than being ethical.

A number of researchers have suggested over years that teenage brains are not yet fully developed. At the National Institute of Mental Health researchers have studied the human brain ever since the stage of birth all the way to adulthood, to prove that the brain is not complete. When it comes to this topic, Americans assume that if a teenage commits a crime than they should not be held accountable because of their age. Yet they must consider that teens are capable of understanding the situation they are in, how they are looked upon as young adults,, and how they should learn from their mistakes.