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Definition of Logos
Logos, along with ethos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Logos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Logos, along with ethos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Logos is... read full definition
Logos, along with ethos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Part 3
Explanation and Analysis—From a Pup:
After Slim keeps five puppies from his dog’s litter, Carlson, another “hand” on the ranch, suggests to Candy that he kill his ailing dog and take one of the puppies instead. In the debate that follows, Carlson uses logos to support his argument for putting down the aging dog, and Candy responds with pathos in defense of his dog:
“He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself. Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?” [...]
Candy looked about unhappily. “No,” he said softly. “No, I couldn’ do that. I had ’im too long.”
“He don’t have no fun,” Carlson insisted. “And he stinks to beat hell. Tell you what. I’ll shoot him for you. Then it won’t be you that does it.”
Candy threw his legs off his bunk. He scratched the white stubble whiskers on his cheek nervously. “I’m so used to him,” he said softly. “I had him from a pup.”
Carlson makes a cold but logical argument. He notes that the dog is too old to be of any use on the farm, and further suggests that the dog is “no good to himself” either. Candy, however, responds by noting his long emotional connection to the dog, which he has had “too long.”
Carlson, however, will not be discouraged, and continues to use logos, arguing that the dog "don’t have no fun,” or in other words, is too old and sickly to enjoy its life. He then suggests that he himself could kill the dog so that Candy doesn’t have to complete this emotionally difficult task. Again, Candy wields pathos, noting his affection for the dog, which he raised “from a pup.” This argument, then, reflects two very different understandings of a dog, as either a tool or a companion. Ultimately, Candy is forced to accept Carlson’s logic, and he allows Carlson to shoot the dog.
