Jim Jones Ethos Pathos Logos

Jim Jones was a cult leader in the 1970s who convinced hundreds of people to commit suicide. He was extremely persuasive and convinced people, especially minorities, to join his cult and move to Guyana for mass suicide. He used several rhetorical devices to make himself more convincing. Jones used the rhetorical devices and appeals of ethos, an either-or logical fallacy, and pathos to persuade the members of his cult that they had no other choice but to commit suicide, or else they would face far worse struggles in the real world. First, Jones used the rhetorical appeal of ethos to make himself sound more credible to the audience. He was convinced he was a prophet and knew what was best for people. Many cult leaders, including Jones, saw themselves as better than everybody else and thought God wanted them to lead their cult

He made his audience feel scared of going back to their old lives. So, they would not feel like they should leave his cult. He said, “Let’s be done with it. Let’s be done with the agony of it.” Jones used strong words to appeal to the audience’s emotions. He wants them to feel the pain of being minorities and discriminated against. He also tries to relate to them by using words like “us” and “we”. He is nothing like his followers, but he makes them feel like his life is similar to theirs. This makes them trust Jones more. This is effective because it causes the audience to make choices based on emotions instead of logic. They are likely to make brazen decisions while acting on their emotions. Also, Jones tries to make himself seem relatable to the audience because it causes them to trust them more and follow his orders, like committing suicide. In all, Jones used the rhetorical appeal of pathos to gain his audience’s trust and make them more likely to follow his lead in mass