How Does Friedman Use Ethos Pathos Logos

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Johnathan Friedman, PEN America’s Director of Free Expression and Education programs, testified in the Senate on October 19, 2023 in the hearing titled “Protecting Kids: Combatting Graphic, Explicit Content in School Libraries.” In his argumentation, Friedman alternates between building his credibility with ethos and providing multiple concrete examples and legal precedents with logos. Only after those two levees are constructed for each point does he introduce pathos, through sympathetic anecdotes, into his testimony. By bolstering his anecdotes before he introduces them, Friedman ensures that his anecdotal examples are not shot down before they can produce their designed emotional impact. By equipping his pathos with a bulletproof vest of …show more content…

Unlike his use of ethos and logos, pathos is used somewhat sparingly, only after his argument has already been created and reinforced via his other devices. A point on pathos alone is flimsy--and legislators would be able to recognize it as such. However, Friedman’s effective use of pathos makes the issue of educational censorship personal, giving it a name, face, and story. A succinct example of his narrative-making is the conclusion of his section on the spread of educational censorship: “We’ve seen field trips canceled, school plays postponed, authors disinvited from school visits, and books banned in the thousands” (“Protecting” 5). While these events have certainly occurred, at this point Friedman does not clarify the who, when, and where of the phrasal examples. Due to the fact that he has already done that work in his ethos and pathos building, he does not weigh down his snappy, evocative single-sentence story with unnecessary details. Friedman puts faith in the idea that he has done enough in other areas to get the luxury of providing sourceless anecdotes without having to worry about damaging his credibility. His appeals to pathos typically take the form of only a few lines in an otherwise ethos- and logos-laden

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