Rhetorical Devices In Lou Gehrig's Farewell Address

One of the most important rhetorical devices in Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Address is ethos. Ethos is the attributes and credibility of the speaker. Lou Gehrig was a beloved and famous baseball player for the New York Yankees. Lou Gehrig was the only son of two hardworking German immigrants. He went to college at Columbia on a football scholarship but ended up playing football and baseball for Columbia. He was immediately recruited by the New York Yankees once spotted by a scout. Gehrig played 2,130 consecutive games and helped lead the Yankees to a world series. The first baseman was a vital part of the New York Yankees and became the team MVP and a very respected player to all. Gehrig’s speech also uses Ethos when he says, “I have been in ballparks for seventeen years”. This shows that Gehrig is experienced when

Pathos is when the speech appeals to the audience’s emotions. President Abraham Lincoln uses pathos is this speech to console the audience for the losses that the country has endured during the Civil War. Lincoln uses pathos to convey sadness when he says, “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” When saying this Lincoln appeals to the people’s emotions by explaining that their loved ones struggled there and he also appeals to the feeling of pride they feel for their loved ones who dedicated their lives to their cause. Another example of pathos in this speech is, “...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…” This quote again appeals to the sadness that the people feel over the loss of their loved ones. Abraham Lincoln calls the people to action in this excerpt and encourages them to take up their deceased loved ones causes and continue fighting this war until they are