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##hetorical Appeals Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Atticus Finch

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Haley Fouts Ms. Waiz Honors English 10 September 13, 2017 Examining Rhetorical Appeals According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, rhetoric is defined as “the art of speaking as a means of communication or persuasion”. In other words, rhetoric is the way a speaker convinces an audience to approach a given issue from a preferred perspective. Speakers may utilize the following appeals to win the audience's favor: ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos refers to the speakers incorporation of the audience’s ethical responsibilities. A speaker also uses ethos to establish credibility. Logos is the speaker’s use of logic and reasoning by a way of factual evidence. Lastly, a speaker may use pathos to engage the audience's emotions. Dr. Martin Luther …show more content…

Overall, both Finch and King used ethos, but both interpreted it in different and similar ways. While King and Finch also use logos in some similar ways, but the speakers strategies do have some differences. King throughout his speech, mentions documents our nation is built upon. In the beginning of his speech, he gives some background information, “Five score ago, a great american, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation,” King continues, “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice”(King, Paragraph 2). Not only does King use factual information, but he uses it to support his main point, King then says this, “But one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free,” (King, Paragraph 3). Finch applies logos in a different way than king, he uses logos to jump right into his point. “To begin with, this case should have never come to trial. The state of Alabama has not produced one iota of medical evidence that shows that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place,”(Finch, Paragraph 1). Instead of using informational context to support his claim like King. Finch uses factual evidence to jump straight into the point of Tom Robinson's innocence. Although, both speeches use logos differently, they also use it similarly.

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