Blog Entry #2

After having read chapters 2, 3 and 4 I see that Obama has used all three of the argument points. ethos, pathos, and logos, now that does not surprise me but what did is how smoothly he transitions form one to another. The first major use would be of ethos when he is talking about how he came to be with the church he is now apart of. "But kneeling beneath the cross on the South Side, I felt that I heard God's spirit beckoning me". Now this statement shouts "Look I am one of you, I pray by a cross too" but it gets the job done of establishing a character to which the audience members can feel a personal bond with. Logos was not a as easily pointed out until one slows down and really dissects what Obama is talking about. "Imagine Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address without reference to "the judgments of the Lord." Or King's I Have a Dream speech without references to "all of God's children." Their summoning of a higher truth helped inspire what had seemed impossible, and move the nation to embrace a common destiny." Now here is where we see a beautiful use of reason in a speech that most might try to use emotion to make their point. Obama uses Lincoln and King to conjuror up the image of great leaders and he uses logos to push his argument. Lastly he uses pathos but to end on pathos really drove the speech home. "Re-reading the doctor's letter, though, I felt a pang of shame." For him to end on this really shows that he is human and that he feels just like anyone of use would if we had hurt someone. Obama might not have know this man but to see him humble himself really illustrated the point that he was trying to make.