Forms of appeal

Pathos

In his article “The Truth About Cocoons”, Sam Anderson mainly appeals to pathos in order to engage his audience. The main way he does this is through his use of language. 

For example, Anderson uses words and phrases with negative meanings such as “horrible” (l. 65), “self-destructive” (l.57), “drained of meaning” (l. 63), “cataclysm” (l. 72), or “confused and miserable and terrified and heart-broken” (ll. 103-104). The use of these words highlights the stress and pain that most people are going through because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also helps Anderson to transmit his message that pain is often a fundamental part of metamorphosis. 

Throughout his article, Anderson sometimes appeals to pathos by using humor. For example, when he refers to the scientific processes that take place while the caterpillar is inside the cocoon, he says: “Inside that gruesome mush are special clusters of cells called ‘imaginal dis...