Question

In his closing argument during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran said to the jury: "You are empowered to do justice. You are empowered to ensure that this great system of ours works. Listen for a moment, will you, please. One of my favorite people in history is the great Frederick Douglas. He said shortly after the slaves were freed, quote, "In a composite nation like ours as before the law, there should be no rich, no poor, no high, no low, no white, no black, but common country, common citizenship, equal rights and a common destiny." This marvelous statement was made more than 100 years ago. It's an ideal worth striving for and one that we still strive for. We haven't reached this goal yet, but certainly in this great country of ours, we're trying. With a jury such as this, we hope we can do that in this particular case." Evaluate Cochran's argument in terms of logos, pathos, and ethos. Use evidence from the statement to support your answer. Your response should be a minimum of five sentences.

Answer 1

Logos is defined as an appeal to logic. It is used to persuade people by the use of reason.
Pathos is defined as an appeal to emotions. It is used to persuade people by invoking their emotional responses.
Ethos is defined as an appeal to ethics. It is used to persuade people by making the one doing the persuading appear credible and trustworthy.

I think the above except is using PATHOS. It is making the audience feel empowered and invoking in them their sense of justice, of right and wrong. It moves them to choose what they feel is right.