On March 2, 1930, Gandhi wrote a letter to the Lord viceroy, though he never gained a response. In Gandhi’s attempt to persuade the Lord into changing the English Rule, he uses ethos and pathos as his strategies, but fails to convince him. Although Gandhi and the Lord are on opposing sides, he must try to help get rid of the Salt Taxation and influence the Indian Independence.
The main strategies Gandhi uses are ethos, used to gained trust, and pathos, which is used to bring emotion forward from the reader. Gandhi mentions that “This letter is not in any way intended as a threat.” (Par 12). Pertaining to the fact that Gandhi and the viceroy are on opposing sides, this is a way of him trying to make the viceroy feel comfortable, and hopefully make him feel safe to accept the information he has read. The quote can possibly give the Lord some idea that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if he had the Indians on side side instead of hating him. The other strategy Gandhi used was pathos. He claims that “ I hold the British rule in India to be a curse” (Par 2). The word “curse” in the previous statement is an emotional word used in connotative language. By saying this The Lord may see how his rule is affecting the way his “people” think
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For example, when he uses the words “curse” and “unnecessary” this can easily cause him to think this letter is just Gandhi’s way of insulting him. Going back to paragraph 2, Gandhi mentioned he, “holds the British rule to be a curse”. Because of this, he is now portraying the feeling that he is not in the position to make agreeable gestures, or respect the manner of the Lord. Which in that case, could be a reason why the viceroy did not respond to Gandhi’s letter. Due to all the things Gandhi had said about the viceroys rule, when he says “this is not intended to be a threat” it really gives the Lord no other way to feel about Gandhi’s