Rhetorical Appeal Essay

Rhetorical appeals conflict

March 3, 2017

In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus made a very persuasive closing argument. His argument was very effective, but it was not enough to win the case in favor of a black man, just because of the time they were in. If Atticus had been defending a white man, he most likely would have won the case. In Atticus’s closing argument he described how this should have never even come to trial, because it is a very easy decision. For example, “The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place ( Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York :Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print. 271). This evidence shows Logos, which is the rhetorical appeal of logic. Atticus showed to the jury that there was no real evidence to prove Tom Robinson guilty. Later in Atticus’s closing argument he appeals to Pathos. An example of this would be, “She was white: and she tempted a negro. She did something that in our society, is unspeakable” ( Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York :Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print. 272). This quote appeals to the juries values because it shows how unfair a black person’s life is. Lastly, an example would be, “that all negro men should not be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber”( Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York :Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print. 237). This quote appeals to Pathos by pulling on the jury's emotions. It shows how unfair this trial is. All in all, Atticus’s final approach to the jury was great and efficient, but not strong enough to win him the case.

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