Introduction
Miriam Toews’s “A Father’s Faith” is a poignant exploration of a Mennonite father’s struggle to reconcile his faith with the harsh realities of the world, as narrated by his daughter. Central to this narrative is the effective use of the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, which Toews employs to evoke the reader’s empathy, lend credibility to the narrative, and present logical arguments.
Rhetoric Analysis
Overview of Aristotle’s Rhetoric Triangle
Ethos, pathos, and logos are rhetorical strategies that were first identified by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. They are often used in combination to create a persuasive argument or narrative.
Ethos
Ethos, from which the term ‘ethics’ is derived, refers to the credibility or trustworthiness of the speaker or writer. This mode of persuasion involves establishing a sense of authority or respectability, enabling the audience to trust and respect the speaker’s viewpoints or arguments. For instance, an author may use ethos by demonstrating knowledge of a subject matter or by aligning themselves with a respected authority or institution. The narrator, in telling the story of the father’s struggle with faith, showcases that his father “had been depressed all his life”(Toews, 828). This careful and respectful portrayal of the father’s struggle lends credibility to the narrator’s voice, making the reader more inclined to trust and engage with the narrative.
Pathos
Pathos, on the other hand, aims at eliciting an emotional response from the audience. It is used to provoke feelings of pity, sympathy, joy, anger, or any other emotion that can sway the audience towards a particular viewpoint or action. This could be achieved through the use of vivid imagery, emotive language, or personal anecdotes that the audience can connect with emotionally. Pathos, the appeal to emotion, is evident in the emotional resonance of the father’s struggle with his faith in a world filled with challenges, which elicits empathy and compassion from the reader, thereby making the narrative more engaging and impactful.
Logos
In addition, logos, from which ‘logic’ is derived, is concerned with the use of reasoning and evidence to support an argument. It uses facts, statistics, rational explanations, or analogies to persuade the audience of the validity of the argument being presented. It appeals to the intellectual side of the audience, making them think logically about the argument being presented and its implications.
Application of Aristotle’s Rhetoric Triangle
Thus, in Toews’s work, these three modes of persuasion are employed to create a compelling narrative. Ethos is established through the author’s expertise and knowledge of the subject matter. Pathos is used to engage the readers emotionally, drawing them into the story and making them care about the characters and outcomes. For example, the idea of a father’s profession as a teacher who helps others to make sense of the world, but struggles to find it himself, is based on the strong logic of human nature (Toews, 829). This combination of ethos, pathos, and logos makes Toews’s work persuasive and impactful, effectively engaging the audience on multiple levels.
Ethos
To focus on details, it is possible to state that Toews effectively employs ethos by presenting the narrative from the daughter’s perspective, someone who has an intimate understanding of the father’s struggles. For instance, when the narrator states that the father believed that God was love and had only love for humanity, the audience is inclined to accept the narrator’s authority on her father’s beliefs, thus establishing ethos. The entire storyline is shaped within the daughter’s understanding of the Mennonite church, where depression is referred to as “an awful sickness” (Toews 830). It forms a belief in the deep, cruel nature of such religious communities in comparison to real human problems.
Pathos
Pathos is used extensively in the text to evoke feelings of sympathy and empathy in the reader. The narrator’s descriptions of her father’s struggles, his crisis of faith, and the consequent impact on their family life tug at the reader’s heartstrings. The use of expressive phrases evokes sympathy for her father as she claims that “the world was a sad and unsafe place for him” (Toews, 830). The author states that the father was a believer and a questioner, evoking a sense of sadness and compassion for the father’s internal conflict.
Logos
The use of logos, or logical reasoning, is also evident in the text. The narrator provides a coherent explanation of her father’s beliefs, his struggles with maintaining his faith amidst the harsh realities of life, and the impact on the family. For instance, the father had always “believed in the next world, one that’s better,” and so religion became his savior (Toews, 830). At the same time, these doubts and assurances of religion create the central conflict of the story.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Miriam Toews’s “A Father’s Faith” showcases an adept usage of ethos, pathos, and logos, the three key rhetorical appeals that Aristotle proposed in his work, “Rhetoric”. These strategies bring an added layer of depth to the text, making it more engaging and persuasive. The effective use of these rhetorical devices enhances the reader’s engagement with the text and underscores the depth and complexity of the human struggle with faith. In a world fraught with challenges, faith becomes a complex issue, and Toews’s skillful use of ethos, pathos, and logos brings this complexity to life compellingly and persuasively. Therefore, these rhetorical strategies do not merely serve to make the text more interesting but also to illuminate the profundity and intricacies of human struggle with faith.
Work Cited
Toews, Miriam. “A Father’s Faith.” The Broadview Introduction to Literature: Concise Edition. 2nd ed., edited by Lisa Chalykoff et al., Broadview Press, 2019, pp 826-831.