John F. Kennedy employed the rhetorical elements of ethos in his 1961 inaugural address to persuade his audience to accept and take specific actions deemed fit for the nation. The ethos is defined as how a given author or speaker uses his or her reputation as a way to convince the audience to accept and believe in what he or she is saying (Higgins & Walker, 2012). It can also refer to the appeal to the society’s sense of uniqueness and pride to elicit a form of patriotism thus helping the audience to accept your ideas and opinions.
Throughout the inaugural speech, JFK used ethos to convince the American people to stand by his side. He demonstrated the automatic ethos because he was the president of the United States and had the power to take some actions to the benefit of the country. One clear instance where JFK used ethos in the speech was in the phrase “The belief that the rights of a man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God” (Kennedy, 1961). The sentence shows JFK used God to justify his actions and convince the audience to take his side.
In another speech, Kennedy (1961) mentioned that “we are heirs to that first revolution,” which can be seen as an appeal to the Americans that they should remain united as was the case with their ancestors during the first revolution. The speech is an indication that Kennedy used past evidence to justify some of the things he wanted Americans to accomplish under his presidency. Furthermore, Kennedy said in his speech that “we are proud of our ancient heritage,” a statement that emphasizes on the importance for the current American society to do what their ancestors did. In essence, it shows that Kennedy was willing for the Americans to unite to ensure the success of liberty. Ideally, the speech of Kennedy during the inaugural is appealing to Americans to develop a sense of uniqueness and community to fight for freedom.
Logos As Used In Credit Karma’s Commercial “Hard Inquiry”
In the advertisement for Credit Karma, the rhetoric logos is widely applied to persuade the audience to accept and use the cards. Since it is a commercial aimed at attracting clients to purchase the products, it uses specific facts, reasons and figures to persuade the audience. In essence, logos refers to the manner through which the author or writer attempts to persuade the audience using facts, figures, and reasons (Higgins & Walker, 2012).
In the commercial, various elements demonstrate the use of logos by the advertisers. The persuasion is achieved in the adverts by the personal characters of the two individuals involved in the advertisement. The manner in which the two characters communicate and behave depicts some sense of reality. In the beginning, it is evident that the man is happy making pancakes. However, his happiness suddenly changes when his wife informs him that she is checking her credit. He quickly rushed to his wife to stop her from checking the credit (Credit Karma, n.d.). However, the wife informs him that checking his credit score with Credit Karma never lowers it. As a result, the man changed his mind and checked his too.
In the advert, it is evident that the wife tries to convince his husband to check his credit by using facts and reasons. She informs the husband a fact that checking the credit is free contrary to the belief of the husband that it is not free. Furthermore, she demonstrates to the husband by checking his credit using Credit Karma. The man also confirmed by checking his credit too and later agreed to the fact that it was true. As a result, the commercial uses logos in the form of reasons and facts to persuade the audience that it is free to check the balance using Credit Karma.
References
Credit Karma (n.d.). Credit Karma: Hard Inquiry. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkBFXj-TUd4.
Higgins, C., & Walker, R. (2012). Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports. In Accounting Forum (Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 194-208). Elsevier.
Kennedy, J.F.(1961). President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEC1C4p0k3E&t=346s.
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