Marilyn Manson’s “Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?”: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos Essay

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The skill of communicating through writing demands authors to organize their information in a way that is both convincing and capable of conveying the intended message in a manner that the audience can comprehend. Marilyn Manson employs ethos, pathos, and logos to appeal to his audience. Ethos is the use of morally appealing arguments to persuade a reader to accept a character or circumstance and establish the author’s authority. Pathos refers to the emotional appeal techniques that are used to persuade audiences through the use of emotional appeals. In contrast, logos is a communication approach focused on logical appeal that aims to persuade people through reasonable argumentation and rationalizable material in his article, “Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?”

Marilyn Manson is troubled by the April 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The mass murders there and the subsequent shifting of responsibility upset him. Manson criticizes culture and the media for their varying methods of dissemination. He thinks the media takes advantage of the tragic situation for their ends and to get more attention. Using pathos, he shows how the media loses sight of the big picture while seizing upon any crisis for ratings and attention. “I was dumbfounded as I watched the media snake right in, not missing a teardrop, interviewing the parents of dead children, televising the funerals.” (Manson par. 4). What he does not get is why the media would not leave the grieving parents alone instead of harassing them with interviews during their time of grief. Therefore, the reader can relate to him as he explains how inconsiderate the media can sometimes be.

Using ethos, Manson convinces his audience that he is an authority on the subject. Since his music contributes to the Columbine shootings, he uses this information to distance himself from the heinous events and acquire credibility among those who share his beliefs. According to him, as an artist, the criticism of his work provides no context for understanding the social issues for which Manson thinks his music is responsible. He offers rhetorical questions, such as why society has never investigated past perpetrators’ intentions (Manson par. 6). Manson wonders why Americans falsely accuse prominent people like himself of criminal activities merely because they stand out: “…and people tend to associate anyone who looks and behaves differently with illegal or immoral activity” (Manson par. 7). He cannot fathom why people in this world choose to ignore or rationalize the truth by pointing the finger at others.

In the article Columbine: Whose Fault Is It? Manson employs logos to persuade his readers to accept his thesis. His fundamental point is that someone must bear the blame for the shootings, and he presents several specific examples to make his case. The author paints a picture of the media as vultures scavenging for news and importance in society (Manson par 3). Manson warns that “…but with that freedom, there is a burden of personal responsibility” (Manson par. 8). The sentiments stress society’s responsibilities in shaping its citizens’ moral character. He defends the entertainment business, which he is a part of, by arguing that the media is at fault for several problems.

The author, Manson, uses the rhetorical strategies of ethos, logos, and pathos to communicate with his audience in his piece titled Columbine: Whose Fault Is It? He adopts various rhetorical strategies to establish his arguments and prove his thesis, including an appeal to logic. Since he provides a wide variety of credible and approachable examples, he ensures that the reader will find the essay both valuable and objective.

Work Cited

Manson, Marilyn. Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, July 4). Marilyn Manson's "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?": Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marilyn-mansons-columbine-whose-fault-is-it-ethos-logos-and-pathos/

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"Marilyn Manson's "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?": Ethos, Logos, and Pathos." IvyPanda, 4 July 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/marilyn-mansons-columbine-whose-fault-is-it-ethos-logos-and-pathos/.

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IvyPanda. (2023) 'Marilyn Manson's "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?": Ethos, Logos, and Pathos'. 4 July.

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IvyPanda. 2023. "Marilyn Manson's "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?": Ethos, Logos, and Pathos." July 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marilyn-mansons-columbine-whose-fault-is-it-ethos-logos-and-pathos/.

1. IvyPanda. "Marilyn Manson's "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?": Ethos, Logos, and Pathos." July 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marilyn-mansons-columbine-whose-fault-is-it-ethos-logos-and-pathos/.


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IvyPanda. "Marilyn Manson's "Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?": Ethos, Logos, and Pathos." July 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marilyn-mansons-columbine-whose-fault-is-it-ethos-logos-and-pathos/.

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