In your peer response indicate something that would make your peer's argument stronger.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Journal 3
Watch the clip from To Kill a Mockingbird and analyze Atticus Finch's speech for either logos or ethos. You may need to read a summary of the movie if you are unfamiliar with the book and the film. You can find the entire transcript of this speech in American Rhetoric (the link is in the course library). Unfortunately, this isn't a clip from the movie (more of a slideshow), but it is the best version I could find.
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In the speech given by Atticus Finch, he uses the ability to persuade the court by using ethos to demonstrate his character and win the court battle for the honest side. During the early twentieth century, African Americans were living in a time period that brought stress, ridicule, and hardship into everyday life. At this time they were seen as lower class and not even the same human beings that we all are today. However, there were few people who sided with honesty and saw that we are all equal regardless of our skin color. Atticus shows his honesty and dignity in the court when he uses irrefutable evidence to prove that his client, Tom Robinson was not guilty of the crime accused. He uses factual evidence, or logos, in the beginning of his argument when he states that the two defendants claims directly dispute each other. After that he opens up into the main, and ethos part, of his argument. He starts to look like a good honest man when he is taking about Tom Robinson’s life was at stake for complete innocence. The defendant was a white woman and saw him as the only evidence that she in fact kissed a black man herself. She needed to get rid of the evidence and once Atticus says this he has the courtroom completely on his side of honesty.
ReplyDeleteAtticus mainly uses logos in his closing argument of the trial. He points out that no medical evidence was used to support the States case, only the testimony of Mayella and Bob Ewell. During ross-examination of the two, it was clear that the accuser, Mayella, and her father Bob Ewell, were lying. There were holes in their stories, and were completely contradicted by Tom Robinson's testimony. THe State believe that the testimony of the two white people would be taken as the truth because the jury went with the assumption that all blacks lie. There was also the fact that the bruises on Mayella were done by someone with their left hand. Tom Robinson's only good hand is his right. His left was broken before the event in question. Atticus using reasoning to deduce that Bob was the one that beat Mayella, and tried to frame Tom because he found Tom with his daughter. At the end of his speech he begs the jury o review the case "without passion" and make a decision based on the facts of the case. Because the jury convicted TOm Robinson of raping Mayella, his speech wa not effective. His appeal to logic could not overcome the prejudice of the jury.
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel of American literature and takes place during three years of the Great Depression and is also a movie. The speech in this move was not effective because it was to help Tom Robinson be relieved of his charge of raping a young white woman by the name of Mayella Ewell but he was convicted anyway. The purpose of the speech was to convince as well as persuade the jury and judge that Tom was innocent of the crime and the Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell, were not telling the truth. This speech was a proposal argument and a fact argument. The occasion of the argument can be past or present. Present because the argument was heard in a court room or past because evidence was provided. Logos was the best way that the audience’s attention was captured in this argument. The stories that were given by Mayella and Bob contradict with what was presented by Tom Robinson. There is not substantial medical evidence which proves that Tom Robinson committed the crime. Circumstantial evidence was given which shows that Mayella was beaten by someone that is left-handed and Tom Robinson clearly has only a good right-hand because it is the hand he took the Oath with. Atticus says that she has broken a code of the society which is that she tempted a young Negro man and then proceeded to kiss him. Her reason for accusing him is because of her own guilt for breaking such a code. The white people of that time have a cultural assumption that all Negroes lie so that was discussed in the argument as well, are immoral beings, and all of the men want to have relations with white women.
ReplyDeleteIn response to mab10f, you began with discussing about ethos and how that was what was the best way to deliver this argument but then you went on to talk about logos. You mostly talked about logos so it would have been best that you only spoke about that. The idea of ethos for this argument was good because Atticus established his credibility in the court room being that he is a white man and viewed as a human being unlike Tom who is a Negro. The background information about the time period of the speech was good in your argument as well. The evidence that you discussed falls under logos so you showed how the argument was given through that.
Atticus is presented with the challenge of defending Tom Robinson, a young African-American man accused of raping a white women, Mayella Ewell. He uses both logos and pathos as strategies to appeal to the audience and form a steady argument in the favor of Robinson. First, Atticus presents a claim and provides hard supporting evidence. He explains that a predominantly right-handed person beat Ewell; a clear contradiction of her claim that Johnson beat her, being that he was left-handed. Moving onto the ethos strategy, he questions the defendant’s credibility and motives. He justifies that Ewell “does not have the good motives for addressing this subject” and that she had only accused Johnson to clear her own guilt and reputation after having kissed a black man, an action looked down upon by society at the time. He goes on to say that Johnson was a daily reminder of her offense and that she only accused him to destroy the evidence of what she had done, further questioning her motives. He also explains that she was probably influenced to accuse Johnson by her father, known as the “town drunk.” Atticus attacks Ewell’s motives and influences hoping the audience, the jury in this case, sees that she is not trustworthy or credible. He goes on to establish self-credibility, by speaking out against his own race. Being a white man he admits that although the days of slavery are a thing of the past, white people continue to generalize and stereotype. He questions the associations and influences of the witnesses for the state, explaining that even before hearing the facts of the case, they came in with generalizations that African-Americans are immoral beings, liars, and cannot be trust around their women. Atticus relies on logos and utilizes cultural assumption and values to back up his argument.
ReplyDeleteIn response to mab10f’s:
You were able to form a good argument as to how Atticus used both ethos and logos. However, next time you may want to use specific information and examples as to how Atticus used logos and pathos. For instance, you could mention the hard evidence he presents of no medical evidence supporting the accusation or what he says about white people and their thoughts on African-Americans.
Atticus Finch begins his speech by stating that in his opinion, "this case should never have come to trial". He uses facts and reasoning [logos]to explain his opinion, bringing awareness to the fact that Tom Used his only good hand, his right, to swear by the Oath. Mayella was hit by someone who was dominantly left handed. He also continues to say that the claims made by the two witnesses to the crime were not only under much scrupulation, but were also contradicted by Tom's claims. Finch notes that the Plaintiff's motivation for the trial is her own guilt after kissing a black man, an action she did voluntarily and under her own free will, but the "Time-honored code of society" made her doubt her decision, and "guilted" her into putting Robinson on trial.
ReplyDeleteMab10f: Your approach to Atticus's speech definitely wasn't wrong, but it would definitely would benefit from using a few more specific examples from the speech. The things that you list as "Ethos" was actually Logos. True, his arguments appeal to the emotions, but he uses solid fact and evidence to bring about the emotions.
In this clip from To Kill a Mocking Bird you are seeing the trial of Tom Robinson for rape against Mayella Ewell. In this book Atticus Finch is a very well educated lawyer and is well known around the town. In this clip of Tom Robinson’s case Atticus is defending him, in which both logos and ethos are very prevalent in the way Atticus speaks trying to persuade the judge from convicting Tom of this crime. To start off, the character of Atticus is a very strong one. He is known around town as being very well educated and very wise. This showing of ethos in Atticus’s character makes the follower believe in him and his reasoning because he is so trustworthy. With this the character of Atticus is shown to be respected which leads to the court case of Tom. Since Atticus is defending Tom people are really listening to what he is saying rather then not all because of the character Atticus has created for himself. When you build a character like this the words that leave his mouth are so believable because of how much trust people have put into him. Having Atticus as Tom’s lawyer is a very smart thing to do because the judge will actually listen to what Atticus is saying about Tom and not judge him just for the color of his skin. Atticus also uses logos in the way he is speaking trying to defend Tom. A really good example of this would be how he says Mayella was beaten up with a left hand. Atticus then uses this to work in Tom’s favor because Tom only has one good hand which is his right; his left is useless which shows when he took the oath Atticus says he used the only hand that he had well. This shows how Atticus uses logos to show the reasoning behind what he just said convincing everyone that Tom did not do it.
ReplyDeleteIn Response to Mab10f:
I agree with you on the statement you made. During the period in time when this scene happened color people were treated very badly. I feel that if it wasn’t for Atticus Tom would have been accused of this crime that he didn’t do, just because he does not look like everyone else. That was a very good point you made and I agree with your response to the scene.
When Atticus Finch presents his closing argument, he uses logos and ethos to try to win over the jury. In his use of logos, Atticus Finch pointed out that Tom Robinson, who was being charged with rape, could not have possibly raped the woman because their were bruises on the women from someone who was left handed, while Tom Robinson is a right handed person. Atticus Finch also argues that the testimony of Tom Robinson completely contradict that of Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob Ewell. Later on Atticus Finch uses ethos to try to prove that the character of Mayella Ewell and Bob Ewell is in doubt. Atticus says that Mayella only brought Tom Robinson to court because she kissed a black man, which was something not accepted by society at that time, and she wanted to get rid of the guilt she was feeling. Although he appeared to have a strong case, he was not able to win over the jury.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Mab10f:
I thought your use of background information was very good. However, I think some of the stuff you put under ethos was in fact logos. I also think for logos you could have used more specific examples, such as Mayella being beaten by a left-handed person when Tom Robinson is a right-handed person.
This speech was given by Atticus Finch from the movie/ novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This speech is the closing argument that Atticus is giving defending a man and African-American man named Tom Robinson, who allegedly beat and sexually assaulted a white woman named Mayella Ewell. The reason this case was such a talk of the town is because this took place in the South during the Great Depression. I believe that Atticus used both logos and pathos in his attempt to persuade the jury to find Robinson not guilty. At the beginning of his closing statement he used logos to demonstrate the facts proving that Tom Robinson was not guilty. He states how the only evidence linking Tom to the crime was the testimonies of two witnesses which had proved to not be fully solid and truthful by the cross examiner discovering holes in their stories as well as the defendant. Then Atticus pointed out how her bruises and injuries that Ewell had sustained to be given to her by someone who’s dominant hand was the left one, while Tom Robinson only has one good hand being his right. Than towards the middle and end of his closing statement Atticus began to use pathos when he states that “it was guilt that motivated her [Ewell].” He was saying that the reason Mayella Ewelll was accusing Robinson was because she felt guilty for coming on to him as a black American and that if anyone would have found out what she did she would have been shunned or looked down upon by the town. Then he goes on to challenge everyone’s beliefs that all African-American men are liars so therefore Tom Robinson is guilty of the act against Ewell. He makes the people in the court room to challenge their prior thoughts about how they feel and makes them feel that the African-Americans are fellow human beings. Atticus uses words such as “humble”, “respectable”, “integrity” and passion to appeal to the emotions of the jurors and those in the courtroom to help persuade them to find the defendant Tom Robinson not guilty.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Gary Wong:
ReplyDeleteThe analysis you did to demonstrate Atticus Finch’s use of logos to defend his client was well thought out and used good specific details. One thing that I think would have been helpful was if you lengthened your analysis. You made good points but I think it would have strengthened those points if you went into more detail or used more specific quotes or phrases from the speech.
I think the majority of the argument made by Atticus falls under the category of logos. Since he spent most of his speech referring to hard evidence and facts about the case, it's obvious that he was trying to persuade the jury and people in attendance with his logic. In the time period when "To Kill a Mockingbird" took place, African Americans had very few rights and were treated terribly. Knowing the prejudice that he was up against, Atticus knew that only cold, hard facts and logic would make any impact on the jury, since he was defending a black man against a white family. Specifically, Atticus refers to the bruises on Mayella being made by a left-handed person when Tom only uses his right hand. He also says how Tom's testimony completely contradicts that of the Ewell family's, which has a bunch of holes in it itself. He says that Mayella only accuses Tom of rape because she was ashamed of kissing a black man, something completely frowned upon in that time period. These crucial facts about the case come as a shock to many of the people in attendance, yet in the end, Tom is still convicted for the rape of Mayella. Even though Atticus's argument was logical, well-spoken, and completely factual, his argument still was not effective enough to change the minds of a jury completely set in their ignorant ways. This just goes to show that some audiences need to be persuaded in other ways, and others may never be persuaded at all.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Dillon:
I really like how you worded your response to the ethos side of the argument. It's been a really long time since I've read the book or seen the movie, so I had sort of forgotten who Atticus Finch even was. Talking about his back story and how popular he was helped me remember the story a little better.
Although the question states to either argue ethos or logos, I feel that one can argue both rhetorical devices in the speech made by Atticus Finch. If this is wrong, then I will rewrite this blog entry, but all in all I feel that it would be unjust not to mention both entities being used. As Atticus Finch is a lawyer, he has the credentials of a good “character” to make the jury trust his judgment in the defense. While most of the speech uses ethos, in order to do so, Atticus appeals to logos in making his argument to defend Tom, the black male accused of raping a white women. Finch uses his knowledge of the case, the trust-worthiness of the town (at least from a professional stand-point), and his own logic, to make a point and persuade the jury to rule in favor of Tom. He uses ethos to put to shame, the so-called “victim” of fake rape, when society wouldn’t believe that she kissed him. The way Finch argued the case, was first state the facts by addressing medical evidence (logos), then he uses purely his personality and character (ethos) to win the juries votes, although this portion of the film was not shown.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Evan's post, I was so enthralled by the use of background evidence to prove your point when you first started writing your argument, but as the blog went forward, I noticed some weak points. You didn't exactly prove how logs and ethos were used, at least you didn't link your evidence to your proposition. Had you done so, you would have been able to prove to your readers, the argument written.
The novel/movie 'To Kill a Mockingbird' takes place during the Great Depression when racism was still an issue. Atticus Finch, a well-known white lawyer is faced with the challenge of defending Tom Robinson, an African American who has been accused of raping a young white girl named Mayella Ewell. Ethos is very well shown through Atticus Finch, he was a prominent, credible lawyer who lived comfortably in society, he was Tom Robinson best chance at winning over the jury. Atticus opens his speech with the statement, "To begin with, this case should never have come to trial," he then uses logos to support this by saying that there isn't enough substantial evidence to prove that the crime ever took place. Atticus also tells the jury that the evidence Mayella and her father have given are contradictory in itself. While he calls attention to the fact that Mayella has been beaten, there is clear evidence that she was beaten by someone that is left handed. When Tom Robinson took his oath he raised the only good hand he possess, his right hand. Although, Atticus provided logical and factual evidence to persuade the jury of Tom's innocence it wasn't enough. Even with a significant amount of evidence that pointed toward Tom's innocence the jury ruled Tom Robinson guilty. Atticus' speech was effective in a way that it gave the jurors and people good reasons as to why Tom Robinson was innocent and the assumption in the community that "all negroes lie" was indeed false. Unfortunately his speech was not enough to overcome the racism and set belief that African Americans were evil and immoral beings.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Dillon Cole: I like how you focused on ethos more in your response then logos. I completely agree that ethos is well represented through Atticus Finch. He is the best chance Tom Robinson has at convincing the jury he was innocent since people will listen to him. Maybe to add to your ethos analysis you could say how Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell contribute toward Tom's innocence because they dont have much ethos, their story and evidence is contradictory and called into serious question, meaning people and the jury are less likely to trust them and their story.
In Atticus's speech, he uses an interesting effect of reverse ethos where he disconts Mayella's character as untrustworthy. He builds up the fact that Mayella is poor and ignorant, so it is not her fault, yet she has made up a story accusing a black man, because even though she's a woman, and poor, the jury would be more likely to trust a her than a black man. This is also a ploy of pathos, employing the jury and listeners to feel guilty for their false precondition to distrust a black man.
ReplyDeleteAtticus represents his own ethos with his trustworthy, formal suit ensemble and proper speaking.The town already trusts him, so it's his job to convince the judge that his defendent is innocent.
In response to mab10f:
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you've said about the ethos and logos in the speech, but I'm wondering why you felt it necessary for most of your writing to be history unrelated to the film.
You should use more example and specific reasons in your argument to beef up what you believe and be able to convince, me, the reader that you know what you're talking about.
The thesis in this speech is not effective because it was to win the jury and judge over and prove Tom Robinson innocent of abusing Mayella. The occasion of this is present because it is in the here and now. It is in the court room. The type is persuasive because Atticus Finch wants to prove that Tom Robinson innocent. The purpose is to convince. Atticus Finch uses logos by using solid facts. He says there is no medical evidence. The person who attacked her was left handed and tom is not left handed and for that fact does not have one. Also he say how there are holes in their stories and that Mayella was the one to pursue him not the other way around. He also talks about how what Mayella said contradicted what Tom Robinson said. Atticus Finch uses ethos when talking about the kiss between Tom and Mayella. She just does not want him around because of the guilt she has about kissing him. She just wants him to go away. In the conclusion you can rap this in to American Society by talking about slavery and how black are treated unfairly even if not guilty.
ReplyDeleteIn response to sab10, I agree with you on the use of logos in the speech. How there is only two witness and the cross examination is shaky. Also because the jury think that Tom lied just because he’s black. I also agree that he does not overcome the prejudice of the jury because Tom got convicted for it.
Atticus Finch is a well off, well respected lawyer in the town of Maycomb. The whole town is very much racially segregated, and the black people in the community do not get the respect they deserve. So when Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson who is wrongly acused of raping a white girl, his status alone gives him credibility in the courtroom. Thw ethos that Atticus Finch has already established with the towns people helps them to better accept his facts and logic in defending Tom. Atticus puts forth some evidence that excludes Tom right away, telling the jury that the attacker of Mayella used his left hand in the beating she recived, but Tom Robinson only has one good hand his right hand. Atticus brings forth the sensitive issue of bringing up the ignorance of the white people in the town of their wrong veiws of black people, they reject it even though it is completely logical. Although Tom is convicted of the rape, I think Atticus's ethos and logos were very good. The racial tension was too much for even the best lawyer such as Atticus Finch to overcome no matter how well they used ethos or logos.
ReplyDeleteIn response to sab10:
I think if you were to include some context surrounding the time period and how the white people of Maycomb treat and view the black community who live amoung them, it would make your argument stronger. It would show that Atticus Finch's argument is even stronger considering all those who are against his veiws.
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ReplyDeleteThe character of Atticus Finch is displayed mainly in the speech simply through the fact that he is defending a black man accused of such a serious crime. At the time the speech was given, if the story had been true, no one in the town would have thought Atticus’ character to be good. It is now that we look back on this trial during that time period and realize what character of a man would have gone through so much to fight the case of a black man. Atticus makes use of logos in his closing argument through discussing several factors of the case. Atticus calmly explains to the jury that no medical evidence can even prove that the alleged crime ever took place. He also uses the irrefutable evidence that the attack was lead mainly with strikes from a left-handed man, which could have obviously not been Tom Robinson. Atticus uses ethos and logos in his closing argument successfully, it was apparent that the jury knew Tom Robinson was innocent however the still convicted him most likely due to racial reasons.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Nicole Halper
You raised several of the same points that I did too, so I obviously agree with them. To improve your response you could have specific details of the speech that showed Atticus' ethos and logos. would alsso try to summarize the story less, overall it was very good!
It is evident that logos is being put to use throughout Atticus's courtroom speech. He appealed with a clear claim and was consistent throughout. All the evidence at hand was logical. Immediately, he acknowledged the fact that there was no medical evidence used to support the claim. Working from there he pointed out that Tom's dominant hand was his right and the evidence showed the damage was done using a left hand. The facts he used helped him to persuade the courtroom that Tom was innocent (although it was not enough to win the case). During this time period, blacks were looked down upon and with the help of Atticus, Tom was given a fair trial. As the scene continued, Atticus said Mayella was guilty of having accused Tom of the crime to clear her own guilt(due to the fact that she kissed Tom- a black man). As a young white woman in this time period it would be considered wrong to do as she did. As the speech continued there was a strong sense of ethos. Atticus began to mention blacks and admit to the cruelty still present in society. This technique helped him appeal to the jury, because as a white man he is pointing out flaws many other white men can not admit to. At that point he builds a strong sense of respect and credibility. Although Atticus did not win the case, he had a feeling of self accomplishment for having done what some other white attorneys would have morally been against.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Evan Kastrenakes's post:
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what your are stating in your post. After watching the video clip it is apparent that both logos and ethos are put to use. I would recommend that you mention the lack of medical evidence in the case. That was a key to his defense(although he did not win), it was a very good point made by Atticus and it was supportive of his argument.
Atticus Finch uses ethos very effectively by starting off saying that there shouldn’t even be a case to begin with because there is not one ounce of medical evidence to prove that Tom is guilty. He then goes on to say that the two witness’s views on what happened are completely contradictory and flat out denied by the defendant, Mayella Ewell. Next, Atticus states that someone who uses his left hand mainly beat Mayella, and Tom has only a right hand.
ReplyDeleteTom would be put to death for raping a white woman, and Atticus is using logic extremely well to portray Tom’s true colors, and to prove he’s innocent. With all the facts he lays out in from of the courtroom, who could not believe that Tom is innocent? Not one of the facts proves that Tom is guilty, and killing Tom for something he did not do would be wrong on so many levels. Mayella accuses Tom of raping and beating her so that he will be killed, and she does not have to look at his face any longer, knowing that she did something “wrong” to society. No one would believe a black man over a white woman, so she thinks she can get away with it. That’s where Atticus comes in.
He simply states that every white person thinks the same about black people. They lie, are immoral, etc. He uses logic by stating what he already knows people think, and making their views change by opening their eyes to the truth.
In response to Alexis Upton, you make a very good point pertaining to ethos, and the reverse effect. I think you could have added more supporting details though. You need more evidence to prove that Tom is not guilty and prove his character to be trustworthy.
Throughout Atticus Finch’s speech in the trial scene of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, he uses an ethos based speech with logos to back it up. From the very beginning he states that the trial should have never taken place at all because medical evidence proved Tom Robinson’s innocence. By saying this he uses logos to show that there was tangible evidence that could not be denied. Then he goes on to say that the accounts provided by the two witnesses were entirely different from Tom Robinson’s, yet another logos based argument. After this his speech turns from logic and begins to appeal to the people’s ethos. When he begins using ethos he tells the background of Mayella Ewell to help the jury and audience understand why she did what she did. Though by doing so he showed the false validity of her accusation towards Tom Robinson. When he described how being a victim of poverty did allow some pity, he also stated that it did not allow so much as to sentence a man’s life away. He then strays away from Mayella and shines light on how their society was just as much to blame as the plaintiff. Living in a community where whites and blacks did not mix, was the foundation to which the jury were most likely to base their determination of the verdict for the case. This is what Atticus was trying to veer them away from doing by using ethos. By doing so he was trying to make a connection at a personal level so that they may be able to make a decision that was moral rather than expected.
ReplyDeleteIn response to corinne Sarvis
ReplyDeleteAttitucks speech was more ethos than logos. Throughout his speech his goal was to convince the jury to look at Tom as a human regardless of his skin color. His speech did not focus on the evidence rather it focused on the morality of the community and its faults.
In Atticus Finch's speech in the courtroom, he is using a mixture of both logos and ethos to help his argument. Atticus has to try and defend Tom Robinson. Tom is being accused for raping a white girl Mayella. The town itself is very segregated between whites and blacks and knowing the odds were against him, Atticus took the case. He uses logos when he tells the courtroom that there is no medical evidence, or any evidence at all that this crime happened. He states that the crime evidence showed that a left hand was used, while Tom's a righty. . Atticus also uses ethos in the argument when talking about their society and the flaws that he saw in the white race. This builds credibility and respect because no one has done this before.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Corrinne Sarvis:
I agree with what you said in your post. Atticus successful uses both ethos and logos in his argument and makes a statement in the courtroom, and even though he lost the case, he knows that he made an impact.To make your post better, you could have gone into more detail as to how the community treated blacks and how segregated everyone was.
In to kill a mocking bird, Atticus Finch's speech creates an argument that succesfully uses both ethos and logos. He starts off using logos in the speach and presents many logical facts as to why Tom Robinson is innocent. He shows this when he says that most of the damage done was from a dominantly left hand, and Tom Robinson only had one good hand which was his right. Atticus also tries to use his reputation and trustworthiness to make his argument better. By doing this he is using ethos. In the time that this movie was set, african americans had very little rights and were not seen as equals. Atticus acknowledges this fact but still tries to convince the jury of his innocence stating that Mayella Ewell was just trying to get rid of Tom because he was a reminder of what she had done, tempt a negro. Although Atticus' speech was unsuccessfull he had a very pursuasive argument using both ethos and logos.
ReplyDeleteIn response to sab10, i agree with you when you say that the argument couldnt over come the prejudice of the jury. I dont think there is much more that atticus could have done to argue his case and the only reason he lost was because he ws defending a black man
Atticus Finch begins his speech addressing the court that this case "shouldn't have gone to trial". This demonstrates logos. Him saying this shows the court that Tom was incapable of hitting Mayella due to his injury. Atticus Finch is seen in the neighborhood as the "black lover", which unfortunately makes a good portion of the town see him as untrustworthy. Him representing a black man is blasphemous in his town. But Atticus Finch treats every person with respect and defends those who are wrongfully persecuted. Atticus's case was factual and contradicted with Mayella and her father's story. This argument was not effective because the jury convicted Tom of rape and battery. The manner in which Finch presents this case is fully professional and one of the most controversial cases in that neighborhood. In this scene, the courtroom is filled. the top occupied by blacks, the bottom occupied by whites. This case was a big deal for the whole community. The outcome of the case was obvious(because of the jury), but Atticus's facts and cross examination of the witnesses made the audience sway towards Tom being determined not guilty and being set free. When Atticus addressed Mayella's mistake of "tempting a negro", this gave Atticus an advantage. He began to expand further on the fact that Mayella even fratenized with a male negro. Saying,"She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man" makes Mayella look like the guilty person in this situation. Appealing to the facts and character of Mayella, she is thought down upon by the audience, but the argument was not effective because Tom is found guilty. Atticus is not at fault for this. His position was a loss from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kassandra Carr, your response would be stronger if you included quotes. Everything you said was correct, but citing the speech would make your views more specific and really engage the reader with your opinion.
In response to Alexis Upton:
ReplyDeleteYou explain how he uses reverse ethos however his argument against the woman was mainly logos. He stated factual evidence about events that happened. She kissed Tom Robinson and the cop saw it. That is hard evidence and he uses it against her to persuade the jury that Tom is innocent