Forms of appeal

Tiffany Hyatt’s article “Why I Picked Up a Gun” is dominated by ethos (appeal to trust and authority) and pathos (appeal to emotions). However, we also find some examples of logos (appeal to logic…

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Logos

Tiffany Hyatt appeals to logos when she makes logical connections between ideas or when she mentions facts that support her beliefs.

For example, the writer references real-life events in her town, mentioning that several women were abducted, stalked, and murdered. The writer herself went through a very traumatic event – she was raped and beaten by police officers (ll. 8-16). Furthermore, she makes a logical connection between these events and her decision to carry a gun for self-defense: “Being a victim of …

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Pathos

At the beginning of her article, Tiffany Hyatt describes how her city became “plagued by more violent murders of women than I have ever seen.” (l. 9-10). She continues by describing the crimes committed against these women and her own attack (l. 10-16). This is meant to stir readers’ compassion but also create outrage at the horrific ways in which those women and the writer were treated. It also helps readers identify with the sense of fear the writer must have felt, living in her dangerous city. 

The writer further states: “This is my hometown, this is my life.” (l. 17). The statement aims to create a feeling of compassion in the readers, who can understand how…