Ethos, Logos And Pathos In 12 Angry Men

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Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle links three elements of arguing together: the speaker, the story, and the audience. The relationship between the elements determines the speaker’s argument and whether it will be successful in oratory or literature. Ethos, Logos and Pathos are each different aspects of the argument that must be balanced in order to succeed in persuading or convincing an audience. Ethos, or character, relates to the speaker’s credibility that the audience appeals to: it is useful when persuading a group of people to trust what you are saying or doing. Logos, or logic, is a way of convincing and appealing by reason, truth, and facts. Pathos relates to the audience’s emotions and their response to what the speaker is saying. Logos appeals to the audience’s logic and reason; a speaker would want to present his or her arguments in a way that is sound to the listeners. In the film 12 Angry Men (1957), directed by Sidney Lumet, there is a hung jury that is exhausted, short tempered, and angry. Mr. Davis played by Henry Fonda is convincing each of the jurors, one by one, that the accused is not guilty of the crime when only 2 jurors are still saying guilty an older juror played by Joseph …show more content…

In Legally Blonde (2001), directed by Robert Luketic, Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon, submits an acceptance video and is trying to persuade the Harvard Law committee to accept her into the college law program. Elle is successful in persuading the committee, however there is some resistance after the watching the admissions video. The committee is still hung on whether to admit her. The checker her score on LSAT exam and see her other experiences. Eventually, the committee agrees to accept her in the program. Elle Woods was successful in showing what she can do by building credibility by using other sources to prove she was truthful, intelligent, and

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