Ethos, pathos, and logos

In Fannie Lou Hamer’s speech, she talks about the consequences of her trying to register to vote. She uses logos appeals by giving her accounts of what happened when she refused to withdraw her registration to vote. For example, she uses logos appeals when she talks about her observations on going to jail and losing her job after registering to vote. She describes how she lost her job very vividly and what happens when she is beaten while in jail. Furthermore, the author uses ethos appeals when she gives facts about her personal background—who she worked for, her name, where she lived, etc. The author also used pathos appeals evoking sensations. She does this by describing her beating when she was in jail to try to make people understand the fear she felt during that time.

In Stokely Carmichael’s speech, he talks about the concept of black power and how the white population has tried to destroy it. He uses logos appeals by appealing to our common sense and using examples from history to explain his point. For example, he used common sense to explain the failure of the civil rights bill. He says that the civil rights bill were for white people, to let white people understand that black people should be allowed certain rights because they are human beings as well. Furthermore, he uses ethos appeals by giving personal impressions of what happened to him when he tried to vote to convince us of the wrongdoings he has suffered due to being black. He says how he was beaten, shot at, or jailed just because he wanted to vote. Carmichael also uses the pathos appeals by explaining how the black population is tired of white supremacy. He says that black people are “tired of trying to prove things to white people” and that the black population has the right get things they need to function as human beings.

I believe the appeal that is most dominant of these speeches is logos because both authors of the speeches try to explain how the black population has suffered due to the fact that they want certain rights as human beings. Both authors offer accounts of how they have suffered as African Americans, trying to fight for certain rights they believe every human deserves. I think this appeal is most dominant because people listen to logical claims from other people. If you use logic to persuade people, people will believe that what you are saying makes complete sense and will most likely believe you.

I believe in...

I believe in honor. I believe in compassion and love. I believe in protecting and loving your family through the ups and downs of life. I believe in talking to your family at least once a day. I believe in all kinds of freedom. I believe in determination to reach your goals. I believe in confidence to live through each day with joy and love. I believe in having a good sense of humor, most of the time anyway. I believe in nature and its perseverance. I believe in all forms of art, including playwriting, painting, etc. I believe in peace in the world. I believe in eliminating world hunger. I believe in letting nature takes its own course, without interference from people. I believe in the magic of books, especially Harry Potter. I believe in justice. I believe in the right to survive. I believe in eating a variety of foods every day. I believe in respect for all forms of life. I believe in removing human prejudice. I believe in education for all children and adults in the world, no matter how old they are. I believe in the independence of Taiwan from China. I believe in pride in one’s own heritage and culture. I believe in real friendship. I believe in good movies, whether cartoon, animation, or just with real people. I believe in love and trust and having an open mind to accept all differences from anyone in the world.

Concept of Protest

In my opinion, I believe a protest occurs when someone disagrees with something in society and decides to take action against that something. For instance, a protest occurs when a person disagrees with a law of society and then takes action to let their opinion known that he or she is against it. For something to count as a protest, I believe that the person who is protesting against something must gain the attention of society. In order for that person's opinion to be known that they are against something, that person must let people in society realize his or her opinion. Otherwise, their opinion is of no great influence, and the protest is useless and unsuccessful from the start. A protest must be recognized and must gain the attention of society, in order for it to be a protest. In my opinion, some conditions for something to be considered a protest are that it must gain public attention, must be logical and reasonable so that people will support it, and must cause a great change and influence in society. Furthermore, I believe a protest must be a huge event. Otherwise, no one would pay attention to it, and the protest would not matter to anyone. It would be as if you had never protested in the first place. In addition, a protest is only successful when the protest succeeds in causing the change it desired in the first place. Therefore, I believe that the results of a protest are the most important to its success.