Forms of appeal

Logos

Logos is not a prominent form of appeal in "Hillbilly Elegy" by J.D. Vance. In fact, he directly admits that data is not his main way of supporting his arguments, and that he instead prefers using real life examples “to tell a true story about what [the issue of poverty] feels like...” (l. 108).

Despite his focus on personal stories, Vance does draw in facts and statistics occasionally, in order to describe the scale of the issue. For example, he describes general economic developments in the US and how they affect the white working class: “What they mean is that manufacturing jobs have gone overseas and middle-class jobs are harder to come by for people without college degrees” (ll. 80-81). These facts help readers understand the circumstances and challenges that this group faces.

Ethos

Vance uses various strategies to build ethos. For example, there are several instances when Vance talks about himself in a way that shows him to be honest and trustworthy, such as:

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve accomplished nothing gre...