Oregon by Samuel Thurston

Question

How does Samuel Thurston use ethos when he said, "I took my own family to the country in 1847, and by the overland route. I have never never regretted it" (paragraph 13, line 2).

Answer 1

According to A Speaker's Guidebook, ethos is the rhetorical appeal based on the speaker's competence and good moral character (OHair, Stewart, and Rubenstein 2018). When Samuel Thurston says "I took my own family to the country..." he is implicitly making two arguments. One is that his claim is supported by the fact that he acted on it himself. By demonstrating that his advice is good enough that he and his family followed it and never regretted it, he is implying that it should be good enough for the reader. This, of course, relies on how competent or trustworthy the reader already believes Samuel Thurston to be. The second, closely related ethos argument he is making is that he has personal experience with the matter at hand and therefore can be considered an authority on the matter. Thus, speaking from experience (a matter of competence) lends his suggestions credence.

References

OHair, Dan, Robert A. Stewart, and Hannah Rubenstein. A Speakers Guidebook: Text and Reference. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2018.