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To Kill A Mockingbird Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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The coming-of-age novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is set in the fictional town of Maycomb County, Alabama around the 1930s. Vile racial discrimination in Maycomb is what lead to the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Atticus, the father of Scout, was assigned to defend Robinson in court. Atticus organized his argument to be successful by using rhetorical devices- ethos, pathos, and logos. Atticus utilized ethos in his argument by quoting credible people. He stated, “Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase that the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch in Washington are fond of hurling at us” (pg. 274). Thomas Jefferson was once the president of the United States, which establishes credibility in Atticus’s argument since he was highly respected in his time. Although Atticus provided that illustration of ethos, it was not necessary for him to use much since he is well respected in Maycomb. He is well-known in the town and citizens have knowledge of his compassionate heart, which increases his credibility. His occupation as a lawyer also raises his credibility since it shows he has a more advanced education than most people in Maycomb. …show more content…

He automatically possessed ethos since he was already a well respected lawyer in the town, but he still provided other instances in his speech. Not only that, but Atticus’s examples of pathos developed guilt for Mayella, and appealed to the audience’s religious sense. Similarly, his application of logos through facts made the efficiency of pathos easier, since it caused the audience much doubt. Although Mr. Finch’s argument was unable to overpower the jury’s racial prejudice, he had a sense of duty to acknowledge Tom Robinson as an equal in the court, even when he knew defending Tom would be

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