Ethos In The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls’ Memoir, “The Glass Castle”, tells a story of a dysfunctional family who uses magic, fantasy, and life lessons to get through their hectic lives. Jeannette starts off her book with such a story about seeing her mother ramming through garbage in New York City. Jeannette feels a sense of shame about her Mom’s life and begins to reflect on her childhood and how her parents’ choices affected her. If you ask me I would say it was very dramatic, which grabs your attention knowing someone is telling about their own life intrigued me to keep reading.

As a child, Jeannette Walls moves around constantly with her family. The Walls family would move to different desert towns and settle as long as Mr. Walls can hold a job. When sober, Mr. Walls represents a charismatic father who loves his children and teaches them important life skills. He encourages imagination inside of the Walls kids and often captures their dream and creativity. Together, the family had planned to build a glass castle that contains all of the family’s hope and inspiration.

Seeking a Future Imagine growing up in a home with a father who can’t succeed to make a better life for you. A mother who isn’t motivated enough to go to a job each day. Putting each harsh and miserable day, and putting it into an endless adventure. This life belonged to Jeannette Walls and every single day of her life.

Loss, pain, happiness. Three feelings that are not usually put together, but are portrayed in both the poem, “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, and the memoir Upon the Head of the Goat by Aranka Siegal. In the very beginning both families are a happy bunch until an unexpected change in events turned their lives around drastically. Each piece also demonstrates that each family lost someone, things went downhill fast, and both mothers were put into a situation where they were helpless. The poem and memoir share a similar theme, which is: appreciate what you have before it is gone.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book The Glass Castle. I found the book deeply moving as well as meaningful and gives insight to a lifestyle that is usually overlooked in society. The main take away from this book I found is a family such as the Walls, who are just getting by are usually overlooked. They were not constantly living on the streets and moved around multiple times, thus alluding attention that would have affected their life.

A Rhetorical Analysis is a study of how writers and speakers use certain words to influence an Audience. In a rhetorical analysis, Pathos, Ethos and Logos are writing techniques used to grab attention from the viewers. Pathos is used to activate an emotion, Ethos is defined for credibility, and Logos is based on logic. Each of these techniques used in writing, commercials and so on are identified in the poem “Please God, I’m only 17!” by Dr. Michael Polling. The poem is based on a young boy Jimmy Rowe, who was killed in a car accident at just 16 years old.

There are many writers that affect our emotions or that make us think that his or her statements are reasonable, whether they are authors of books, or script writers for a movie or a play. In Morgan Spurlock’s film, Supersize Me, he uses three common rhetorical strategies: ethos, pathos, and logos. He uses all three effectively, however pathos has the greatest effect out of all three rhetorical strategies. Spurlock uses ethos, or ethical appeal, in his film.

Change. What causes it? People change when they realize who they are and who they want to be. They change because of the people around them, how they react to a situation at hand, and to become who they want to be. People change based on the people around them, they may adapt and become them or they may realize that’s not them and become the opposite.

1. Pathos is a term which appeals to emotion. It convinces an audience by creating feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is presented in the opening of “ A New Perspective” written by Janice E. Fein when the narrator talks about going to kindergarten. She mentions how her mother “is walking me to kindergarten” which appeals to the audience since it brings up memories of how their mother or father must have walked them to kindergarten too.

What is Pathos? An emotional appeal persuaded by the author, producer and write to its audience. It is often used in everything we read, hear, and feel in a movie, in a song, in a book, and on television. This commercial is an example of how pathos is used from the beginning to the end.