Ethos, Pathos, Logos and Teary Eyes

In chapters 3 and 4, Frederick Douglas makes use of ethos, pathos, and logos. He combines all three in different ways which I really like because it gives me a clear idea of everything and also, I like books that make me feel something other than my eyes getting tired.

Douglass uses ethos specially when referring to those who had great authority over him. In chapter 3, he talks about Colonel Lloyd and gives a very elongated description about him. “When he spoke, a slave must stand, listen, and tremble; and such was literally the case.” (pg. 31) Another example of the use of ethos is when he talks about Mr. Austin Gore the man who replaced Mr. Hopkins. Like he does with Colonel Lloyd, he talks about the authority of this man and about his faithfulness to the colonel. “He was, of all the overseers, the most dreaded by the slaves. His presence was painful; his eye flashes confusion; and seldom was his sharp, shrill voice heard, without producing horror and trembling in their ranks.” (pg. 35) Lastly, Douglass also used ethos when he talks about how he never said anything negative about his owner. This is ethos because it relates to ethics and what was right at the time.

Next is pathos which I think is what Douglass uses the most in the text. Pathos is used to produce feelings and emotions and in this case, mainly sympathy. It provides lots of feelings because it’s his own anecdotes he is telling for example: “I have seen Winder make one of the house-servants stand off from him a suitable distance to be touched with the end of his whip, and at every stroke raise great ridges upon his back.” (pg. 31) Another time he uses pathos is when he narrates what happened to Demby: “His mangled body shrank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood” (pg. 36) There are all types of examples in these two chapters were you can find pathos; from the start were he talks about how a man of sixty years of age got whipped, all the way until the end of chapter four were he talks about Thomas Lanman once killed a slave with a hatchet, by knocking his brains out. In the same page, he also tells how a woman killed his wife’s cousin (a fifteen year old girl) in the cruelest way. Afterwards, he talks about the horrible sensation this murder produced through the entire community.

Last is the use of logos in the text. Even though I still find this hard to find, I think I got some examples about how Douglass uses logos. He uses this when he talks about what the slaves could and couldn’t do. For example “It was committed in the presence of slaves, and they of course could neither institute a suit, nor testify against him; and thus the guilty perpetrator of one of the bloodiest and most foul murders goes unwhipped of justice, and uncensored by the community in which he lives” (pg. 36) includes logos because it is something the audience is expected to know by logic and intellect and it appeals to reason.

Up until now, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave has caught my attention and it keeps me interesting and wanting to read more.