Forms of appeal

Pathos

The main form of appeal used in Ben Okri’s article “ ‘I can’t breathe’: why George Floyd’s words reverberate around the world” is pathos. Okri appeals to pathos by using words with strong negative meanings to refer to the tragic and violent nature of racism, such as “the apocalypse of human values” (l. 37), “an extreme, and terminal agony” (l. 25), or “demonized, excluded, deprived, oppressed, and killed” (l. 23). In this way, Okri aims to instill feelings of sadness and anger in his readers to highlight how pressing and tragic of an issue racism is. 

The use of figurative language also helps Okri appeal to pathos. For example, the conclusion of his speech includes a metaphor to show the positive and hopeful action that people have taken in response to George Floyd’s murder: 

The police officer who pre...