To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1960 novel by Harper Lee with a rich combination of humor and warmth in tackling serious subjects of race and rape. It is a narration of the events surrounding Atticus Finch revolving around his family and neighbors. In his final speech to the journey, Atticus Finch employs the famous rhetorical triangle as devised by Aristotle. Indeed, the address to the people is abundant with instances of logos, ethos and pathos in appealing to his audience.

The use of ethos is particularly striking as he insists that the witness “was white and she tempted a Negro”. According to Finch, the witness committed an action that was deemed unspeakable in the society by “kissing a black man” (Lee, 1993). The use of ethos is effective in portraying the beliefs of the community with regard to treatment of white and black men in the period. By portraying such underlying beliefs, Finch managed to appeal to the audience by reminding them of their beliefs.

Still, the use of logos is also widely applied in the text to sway the audience. For instance, Finch starts by stating that “the case should never have come to trial” (Lee, 1993) thus quashing the credibility of the case at the earliest opportunity. In addition, the use of logos is also applied to portray the case as mere hearsay and a case of she said he said with no credible evidence. Finch argues that “the State has not produced one iota of medical evidence” and has relied on the testimony of two witnesses.

Finch further uses pathos in the text to show his pity for the woman who had to lie to cover up her misdeeds. He argues that it is “guilt that motivated her” thus implying that the woman only framed the accused to cover her guilt. Indeed, she is “a victim of cruel poverty and ignorance” (Lee, 1993) who is undeserving of Finch’s pity because she was putting another man’s life at risk. The use of pathos is highly effective in communicating Finch’s disapproval of the woman.

There is no doubt that the use of pathos, logos and ethos is highly effective in appealing to the audience. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Finch employs Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle in laying out his claims in support of the accused thus winning the support of the audience. The outcome of this style is evident in Finch’s ability to persuade the court and thus winning the case to the benefit of the accused.

Work cited

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: HarperLuxe, 1993. Print.

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