Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Shaylin Wilburn

James Siders

English 1510

21, January, 2016

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Throughout the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” it showed many examples of Ethos, Pathos and Logos. The story showed a lot of emotions, credibility, imagination, and sympathy. It showed reason and logic behind that which is called Logos. It conveys realism in the way that she uses both ethos and pathos throughout the story. The story is focusing only on her own thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. Her perception of reality is often completely at odds with that of the other characters. Ethos comes into show when she describes the situation that she is in. She explains how she really feels about it, lost and helpless. For example from the story, “So I take phosphates or phosphites – whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to work until I am well again. Personally I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?” She uses Pathos when she vents away to the audience the manner in which her situation is building up to a boiling point. She puts in her own dilemma with honesty and emotion.

Another example from the story, “These nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him. Of course it is only nervousness. It does weigh on me so not to do my duty in any way!” When she breaks down and rips the out the yellow wallpaper, she explains the situation with a sense of humor. She also leaves us wondering if she is crazy, funny, if she is still ill, or if she is okay now? All of the facts and the way she states them create a wonderful literary interaction with the realism of the story.

It is always important to be able to identify ethos, pathos, and logos because you will have a better understanding of the story. They are three ways of persuasion. When the narrator is using Ethos,...