Forms of appeal

In this section, we will focus on the forms of appeal used by President Barack Obama in his remarks on common-sense gun safety reform.

In general, the most important forms of appeal are logos, ethos, and pathos. Logos is the appeal to logical reasoning, which is…

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Logos

Logos is used by Obama when he tries to convince his audience with the help of logic and facts. For example, Obama uses a logical analogy to demonstrate how some people are misguided when it comes to their defense of the Second Amendment:

I mean, think about it. We all believe in the First Amendment, the guarantee of free speech, but we accept that you can’t yell “fire” in a theater. We understand there are some constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people. We cherish our right to privacy, but we accept that you have to g…

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Ethos

Ethos is noticeable in Obama’s speech when he relies on his authority as President of the United States. Even though the majority of Congress – led by Republicans – is against his gun safety reforms, Obama relies on his legal authority to make some of his proposals pass nonetheless:

Because once Congress gets on board with common-sense gun safety measures we can reduce gun violence a whole lot more. But we also can't wait. Until we have a Congress that’s in line with the major…

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Pathos

Pathos is used when Obama appeals to the emotions of the audience. Initially, he creates the feeling of sadness when he talks about the wave of mass-shootings across the US:

It wasn’t the first time I had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting, nor would it be the last. Fort Hood. Binghamton. Aurora. Oak Creek. Newtown. The Navy Yard. Santa Barbara. Charleston. San Bernardino. Too many. (ll. 14-18)

Our right to peaceful assembly -– that right was robbed from moviegoers in Aurora and Lafayette. Our unalienable right to life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -– those rights wer…