Narration and Logos, Pathos and Ethos

1
Narration and Logos, Pathos and Ethos

• Developmental writing students make important
  strides learning to write narration before
  beginning argumentation.
• Rhetoricthe crafting of persuasioncan be
  developed through narrative techniques.
• Narrative was once intricately woven through
  rhetoric, but became disentangled as technical
  logic separated from rhetorical logic.
• Today narration is making a come-back. Narrative
  theory has expanded the definition of narration
  and has shown its effectiveness in a variety of
  disciplines.

2
Narration and Logos

• According to Aristotle, logos, appeal to reason,
  can be developed through enthymeme, maxim and
  example.
• Story is a natural vehicle for enthymemenarrated
  events can lead the listener to an unstated
  conclusion or moral, inviting the audience to
  write the rest of the story.
• Maxims, wise sayings, are often the concluding
  statements to fables and stories.
• Examples give the rhetor the opportunity to
  recount past facts, use parallel illustrations
  (speculation), and fable to demonstrate a
  particular instance of a general concern
  (Aristotle again).
• Examples are the most common support my students
  use for argument, and by learning to write a
  detailed, well-crafted story (true, speculative
  or made-up), they have the confidence to use
  examples in their essays.

3
Example of Developing Logos through Narration

• From FDRs War Message, Dec. 8, 1941story of
  true facts
• Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which
  will live in infamy -- the United States of
  America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by
  naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
• The United States was at peace with that nation
  and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in
  conversation with its government and its emperor
  looking toward the maintenance of peace in the
  Pacific.
• Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had
  commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu,
  the Japanese ambassador to the United States and
  his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State
  a formal reply to a recent American message. And
  while this reply stated that it seemed useless to
  continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it
  contained no threat or hint of war or of armed
  attack.

4
Narration and Pathos

• Appeal to emotion, pathos, can be more
  influential than logos (Cicero).
• Pathos can help the speaker establish
  identification with the audience (Burke).
• Connecting with values common to the audience can
  be achieved through pathos.
• Narration is a useful tool in shaping pathos.
• Introductory stories say to the audience, Im
  like you.
• Stories can be used to give the audience a
  picture of a particular need (a hungry child that
  needs to be fed), tapping into common values and
  inviting response.

5
Example of Developing Pathos through Narration

• Harper Lee accomplishes identification with her
  characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, showing the
  audience that the black characters in the books
  were people just like them (Kuypers 138).
• Many speakers use an opening story to say just
  that I might look different, come from a
  different country or culture, vote for a
  different political party, but we have this in
  common. . .
• A story about the death of an innocent child or
  the horrors of the Holocaust can tap into our
  emotional nature in a way that statistical data
  and other forms of argument cannot do (138).

6
Narration and Ethos

• Ethos, the writers character and credibility,
  are essential for audience reception.
• Quintilians insistence that an orator is a good
  man speaking well places importance on the moral
  character and credibility of the rhetor.
• Ethos can be established through narration, as
  many speakers and companies rely on a narrative
  account of events to show how they arrived at
  their present conclusion, or to describe how they
  fought a fair fight, produced a better product,
  or overcame a difficulty.

7
Example of Developing Ethos through Narration

• Recent commercials by Bausch and Lomb tell how
  they discovered the problem with their contact
  solution, responded quickly to the problem,
  pulled the product, and developed a new and safer
  contact solution for the public. Through story,
  this company is trying to re-establish their
  credibility with their customers.

8
Conclusion

• As human beings, we are natural story-tellers
  and story-consumers. Learning to test and
  develop persuasive abilities through narration
  teaches students important lessons about logos,
  pathos and ethos in their writing.