Ethos
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Ethos 1 key example

Definition of Ethos

Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Ethos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Ethos is... read full definition
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition

Key Examples in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Chapter Four: The Slave Who Dared to Feel Like a Man
Explanation and Analysis—Hard-Working Americans:

In Chapter 4, Jacobs uses ethos when discussing her family and Black Americans in general, characterizing them as hardworking and self-reliant people:

The brave old woman still toiled on […]. After a while she succeeded in buying Phillip. She paid eight hundred dollars, and came home with the precious document that secured his freedom. The happy mother and son sat together by the old hearthstone that night, telling how proud they were of each other, and how they would prove to the world that they could take care of themselves, as they had long taken care of others. We all concluded by saying, “He that is willing to be a slave, let him be a slave.”