Forms of appeal

In the interview “Parents Who Love in a Living Hell” by Laurie Ashner and Mitch Meyerson, Billy’s father uses three forms of appeal to convey his perspective on his family’s problems. Logos and pathos are the most present, as Billy’s father uses logical arguments to justify his and his wife’s actions, and includes details about the difficulties he is going through, as an appeal to his audience’s empathy. However, we also encounter a few examples of e…

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Logos and ethos

Logos and ethos are usually mixed in the interview. The writer makes logical connections and gives arguments for his ideas. At the same time, he portrays himself in various ways which appeal to his audience’s trust, as he does not provide information based on general facts but rather on his own opinions and experience.

For example, he explains his reaction when Billy was arrested for the second time: “I almost said, ‘Let him stay there.’ I’m running out of solutions. But how can you turn your back on your own son?” (p.103, ll. 4-5). It would have been logical to let Billy stay in jail, because he did not have other solutions than letting Billy experience the consequences of his actions. At the same time, Billy’s father builds his ethos by portr…

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Pathos

We encounter pathos at the beginning of the interview, as the writer tries to stir the readers’ empathy towards his family: “This last year has been a living hell for all of us.” (p.103, l.1-2)

By depicting himself as an open-minded father, who tries to understand his son’s drinking and is open with him about his own drug use (l.103, ll.10-13), who wants to help his son graduate (p. 103, ll. 20-23), and who gave everything to his son (p.104, ll. 23-24) the writer aims to create a feeling of respect in his readers.

Billy’s father also descr…