Please help! TKAM: Trial Scene with Atticus.

Question

By using examples from Chapter 20, tell me an example of how Atticus uses either Logos, Ethos, Pathos, or Kairos to convince the jury of Tom's innocence.

You only need to pick one hallmark of rhetoric.

Please defend your answer with a minimum of four sentences.



Thank you!

Answer 1

Juliana,

I will just lead this answer by reminding you of what Logos, Ethos, Pathos and Kairos is.

Logos is an appeal to logic. For example, presenting scientific data to bolster an argument is a use of Logos.

Ethos is an appeal to authority. For example, quoting an important person to bolster an argument is a use of Ethos.

Pathos is an appeal to emotions. For example, showing tragic photos of starving children is a good use of Pathos that many Red Cross ads do while asking for donations.

Kairos relies on making something seem urgent. For example, those ads that say "Call now! This deal won't last forever!!"

Atticus made particularly good use of Logos during his argument when he pointed out that medical evidence suggests that the girl was beaten by a left handed person- and that her father is left handed and that Tom Robinson can only use his right hand. That makes it logically clear to the jury that her father was the one who had beaten her and that Tom Robinson had not.

Hope this helps! :)