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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
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.
Explanation and Analysis—No Place To Go:
When he hears about George and Lennie’s plans to purchase a small farm and live independently upon their own property, Candy becomes excited and asks if he can live with them, offering to contribute his savings to the purchase of the farm and to help with small household tasks. At first, however, George is skeptical of this offer, as he does not know Candy very well. Candy uses pathos in his response to George, appealing to his emotions and feelings of sympathy:
“I got hurt four years ago,” he said. “They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county [...]" He said miserably, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs. I’ll have thirty dollars more comin’, time you guys is ready to quit.”
Candy gives voice to the difficulties faced by aging and injured migrant laborers during the Great Depression. Earlier, when he was younger and healthier, his labor was sought out by the farm-owners. Now, however, he feels that due to his age and injury he is likely to be let go by the farm and will not be able to find work elsewhere. In this emotional speech, he wields pathos, noting his own feelings of uselessness and his fear of having “no place to go.” He even suggests that he has, in the past, wished that someone would “shoot him” after he gets fired, so that he does not have to live out the rest of his life alone and in poverty. Ultimately, George agrees to allow him to live on the hypothetical farm, although it is unclear whether he is motivated by sympathy or more practical concerns.
Related Themes:
