Definition of Pathos
Key Examples in Uncle Tom's Cabin
Pathos is the primary method of persuasion Beecher Stowe uses in Uncle Tom's Cabin. She often employs pathos in the form of direct addresses to the reader, as exemplified by the below passage from Chapter 7, fittingly titled "The Mother's Struggle":
If it were your Harry, mother, or your Willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader, to-morrow morning,—if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had only from twelve o’clock till morning to make good your escape,—how fast could you walk? How many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom,—the little sleepy head on your shoulder,—the small, soft arms trustingly holding on to your neck?