Introduction
What event has affected your life the most? If you are from a small town and a low-income household, you are likely to remember the moments associated with admission and graduation from college or university. Changes in residence and social circle, as well as the personal growth associated with these events, can lead you to overestimate your own views and those of others, which previously did not seem so significant. In this essay, I will analyze the rhetoric of Chapter XI of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by James Vance. The text is rhetorically effective due to its effective use of ethos, pathos, and logos.
Background Information
James Vance is a politician, financier, presenter, and public figure in America. In 2016, he released his memoir Hillbilly Elegy about his childhood spent in Ohio. There, his family had to face many social problems that have become common in modern American society (Cătău-Vereș 47). Despite the heavy subject matter, the book became a bestseller and was listed among the best by The New York Times and Amazon.
After graduating from high school, J.D. Vance enlisted in the Marines, was trained, and deployed to serve in Iraq, where, thanks to his education, he performed tasks related to the army’s media relations. In his book, Vance writes that it was in the army that he first felt like an adult. This happened because it was the first time in his life when he was able to help his family financially.
Essential to understanding the author’s position is his childhood experience. The main character of the film mentions in the book that he had 15 stepfathers during his childhood. This number included all the husbands and boyfriends with whom his mother, Bev, managed to live until J.D. joined the army. Beverly’s relationships with men rarely lasted more than 18 months. As a child, J.D. witnessed how his mother drove into a pole in a new minibus after another husband told her about his affair on the side and demanded a divorce.
When it finally became clear that Bev could not cope with her problems and was not able to raise children, J.D. was moved to his grandparents’ house. In chapter XI of Hillbilly Elegy, James Vance states that living conditions in small towns lead young people to leave for megacities, so as not to return to the old way of life and the painful memories it entails.
First, the author discusses how his life changed when he entered college and how he was glad of all the difficulties he encountered along the way. Next, the author describes how he was searching for a job and, after failing, found something that provided him with an income. After that, James Vance worked excessively, which caused severe fatigue, and he had to return to his hometown to recover his health. This leads him to rethink the values and lifestyle he grew up with, as well as how the people around him are attuned to life and political reality (Khairuddin et al. 284).
Finally, the author concludes that a possible reason for his success was that, unlike the pessimistic people around him, he had an optimistic outlook on life. The text’s intended audience appears to be young people who grew up in impoverished families and small towns, who need support. In contrast, the pessimistic views of others make them even more hesitant to take serious steps. The text’s unintended audience includes people born into wealthy families who are unfamiliar with poverty.
Analysis
Ethos
First, James Vance’s text effectively uses ethos to appeal to its audience. The ethos is entirely dedicated to building trust. This demonstrates how effectively the author persuades his audience that he has the authority to speak on this topic (Khairuddin et al. 270). James Vance employs the most obvious types of ethos — he uses information about his own experience of living in a poor household and that of his fellow countrymen who had similar experiences.
In addition to the facts, James Vance mentions his real achievements. He doesn’t just talk about what he went through as a child. He also mentions the success he has achieved despite his background. Instead of saying that he went to college, he explained that his marks were the highest: “Now I had earned As in every class I took at my state’s flagship university” (Vance 181). The author’s use of the formula “was there, did it” as evidence is a sure and ethical way to gain trust (Cătău-Vereș 44). It may seem like bragging rights, but it’s a crucial aspect of establishing an ethos.
Another critical aspect of strengthening James Vance’s authority is creating a sense of mutual identification with the audience. He emphasizes the commonality of his fate with the life path of many: “Years later, I looked at my wedding party of six groomsmen and realized that every single one of them had, like me, grown up in a small Ohio town before leaving for Ohio State” (Vance 180). Between two speakers with the same achievements and qualifications, people will choose the one with whom they feel a deeper connection (Khairuddin et al. 269).
The author strengthens this connection with the following quote, which describes a common experience. To strengthen the ethos, James Vance went beyond the official authority. He shared specific achievements and encouraged a sense of cohesion with the audience by bringing details. They resonated not only with him but also with the intended audience, suggesting that the author effectively used ethos.
Pathos
Next, James Vance’s text effectively uses pathos to appeal to its audience. Pathos involves skillfully appealing to the audience’s emotions (Khairuddin et al. 279). James Vance evokes vivid emotions in listeners, triggering specific emotional responses. People are more likely to be persuaded by a speech if the author considers the topic necessary. James Vance utters the following phrase: “Mamaw always had two Gods: Jesus Christ and the United States of America” (Vance 189).
The manifestation of passion and emotion in this phrase, along with the intense patriotism that elevates the love of one’s country to an almost religious level of devotion, strongly influences the audience’s thinking (Khairuddin et al. 265). Using the concept of service in this case evokes a sense of responsibility in the audience and captures people’s attention through an inspiring metaphor.
The pathos of James Vance is used where it has the greatest impact, thus seeming natural. For example, he describes the values instilled in him from childhood as follows: “Mamaw and Papaw taught me that we live in the best and greatest country on earth” (Vance 190). This technique is particularly suitable for serious public guidelines and the fate of the entire population (Cătău-Vereș 46). Therefore, the fact that most of the techniques of pathos, as in this quote, in James Vance, relate specifically to the topic of patriotism is not accidental.
The effectiveness of pathos in James Vance lies in his restraint in using intrusive pathos. Its overuse can have the opposite effect, forcing people to distance themselves. In James Vance, pathos is appropriate and moderate, avoiding the awkwardness of emotional outpouring, and therefore, it can be considered effective.
Logos
Finally, James Vance’s text effectively uses logos to appeal to its audience. His message makes sense, and the intended audience seemed logical (Khairuddin et al. 264). He uses several persuasion techniques to convince the audience. James Vance’s arguments seem so simple and rational that the audience cannot imagine any alternative. To do this, the author actively uses statistics: “Only 6 percent of American voters believe that the media is very trustworthy” (Vance 192). Thus, James Vance’s logos are not superficial (Khairuddin et al. 281). Facts support his conclusions about residents’ pessimism in small towns.
While the facts are important, a big part of the power of the James Vance logo lies in how it connects them. He lists the honest opinions he had to face: “Here’s a small sample of emails or messages I’ve seen from friends or family” (Vance 192). The facts given by him are arranged in order of gradation of absurdity so that their influence on the viewer increases (Khairuddin et al. 272). Thus, James Vance competently builds logical connections so that they lead to irrefutable conclusions.
The James Vance logos in this text are because the steps of presenting facts follow each other naturally. As a result, the intended audience reaches a logical conclusion just before the author himself makes the announcement. With a logical progression of facts, the author creates in the audience a sense that they have independently arrived at the desired conclusions about the dominant worldview of small-town residents.
Conclusion
Thus, James Vance effectively employed all three rhetorical techniques, including ethos, logos, and pathos, in Chapter XI. This matters because, with a competent combination of oratorical tools in his speech, the author effectively drew attention to a significant social problem. Readers should care because the use of James Vance’s techniques can help them convey a problem they find acute more competently.
This analysis helps the readers see the text differently than they might have. He demonstrates that the composition of the text, and the use and combination of both official facts and personal experience, are not accidental. Aristotle, a master of logical reasoning, believed that the logos should be the most important of the three ways of persuasion (Cătău-Vereș 48).
However, he recognized that, in reality, using only the logos is insufficient (Khairuddin et al. 263). James Vance, by adding ethos and pathos, evoked emotions in readers and made them resonate with what they read. Therefore, the analysis in this chapter can serve as a guide for actions aimed at convincing the intended audience.
Works Cited
Cătău-Vereș, Daniela. “Persuasive Discursive Elements in the Public Relations Campaign of Image Reconstruction: Logos, Ethos and Pathos.” European Journal of Law and Public Administration, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020, pp. 43–49.
Khairuddin, Zulaikha, et al. “The Use of Rhetorical Strategies in Argumentative Essays.” Social Sciences & Humanities, vol. 29, no. 3, 2021, pp. 263–285.
Vance, James. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Harper, 2016.