Patrick Henry Ethos Pathos Logos

Patrick Henry, a rhetoric writer, who attended and spoke at the Second Virginia convention, gave the, “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death”speech. Henry develops this by pointing out that the British have surrounded them, and have no reason to, other than to imply dominance. Within that, he goes on about how fighting has already begun, and they'd be foolish to believe it wouldn't come to fighting with them as well.Henry’s purpose of the speech is to get people to come to arms in order to fight for their freedom. His audience would have been the members of the convention, whom Henry creates a relationship with, by using ethos, pathos, and logos.

The first example of ethos in Patrick Henry’s speech is religion. Henry mentions God, and religion,

The first example is when he says, “SHould I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of going offense, I should consider myself guilty of treason toward my country. What he means by this is that if he did not encourage the colonies to take arms, and the colonies were to fall, it would be his fault. If he never gets the colonies to fight, Britain would ultimately force the colonists into slavery/ strict freedoms. His next use of logos is when he is talking about the british navy surrounding the colonies. Henry is quoted as, “Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land.” With that he is saying that if the convention really thought there was a chance at peace, why would Britain prepare so heavily for war, if not to show dominance.Henry is quoted as, “Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land.” With that he is saying that if the convention really thought there was a chance at peace, why would Britain prepare so heavily for war, if not to show dominance. Lastly, Henry says, “Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable, but it has been all in vain.” When he says this, it's referring to the fact that the

The first example is when he is talking about hope, and a painful truth. He is saying that by simply ignoring the worsening problem, it does nothing but delay the inevitable. He’s saying that by hoping and doing nothing, it will lead to their demise as a community. After that, he says, “They are sent over to bind and rivet upon those chains which the British ministry have for so long been forging.” When he says this, he doesn't literally mean chains, but that Britain has waited a long time to enslave the colonies, and take what they love for themselves. Finally, he says, “In vein, after these things may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.” This is a very strong statement to make, because hope is an extremely strong and fueling emotion. I think he says this to really make people realize and understand that there is no other option, and that fighting is their last chance . Those three examples show you how Henry uses pathos to bolden his argument throughout his