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Motifs
Definition of Pathos
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Key Examples in Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks
Chapter 26: An Exciting Adventure
Explanation and Analysis—The Almost-Drowning:
In a climactic scene towards the end of the novel, Dick saves a child who accidentally falls overboard while riding a ferry. In this scene, Alger uses pathos to highlight the stakes of the situation and the extent of Dick's bravery. Alger describes the child's fall and his father's panic in exceptionally dramatic language:
At the child’s scream, the father looked up, and, with a cry of horror, sprang to the edge of the boat. He would have plunged in, but, being unable to swim, would only have endangered his own life, without being able to save his child.
Related Themes:
