2 Locations One Struggle | Teen Ink

2 Locations One Struggle

June 6, 2017
By E.LInk BRONZE, Atascadero, California
E.LInk BRONZE, Atascadero, California
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther king are positioned on in opposite sides of the country, and fight for 2 separate groups of people, but still fight the same fight.  They both, at the core, want freedom and justice.  Chavez’s “Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” has strong use of pathos, logos, and ethos, crafting a well rounded argument.


Chavez sprinkles pathos throughout the first section of his speech to win over his audience.  He says America's leaders “rule over a racist society, filled with hatred and ignorance.” (16).  Chavez uses charged language and talks about subjects close to people's hearts.  It's pointed out that king “died while fighting for the rights of sanitation workers.” (20).  Chavez knows that many people supported and respected king, and that if he shows how king agreed with his cause, he can win people over.


Later, logos is used to build an unbreakable argument.  He quotes studies that show how “pesticides do not improve profits and do not produce more crops. (29).  He uses scientific evidence from a reputable organization to argue his point, because he knows it's hard to argue against facts.  Chavez also points out that “these poisons are designed to kill” (32).  This shows his audience that the root cause of these poisons is clearly bad.
    

Lastly, Chavez uses ethos to make it clear how wrong things are.  He states that the system “is a system of economic slavery.” (46). Everyone at this time knows slavery is wrong, so comparing slavery and sanitation workers paints a clear picture.  The system they had is also shown to be unethical  “when [the] workers complain, or try to organize, they are fired, assaulted, and even murdered.” (50). Punishments such as these clearly violate the workers rights.
    

In the end, Chavez used a struggle akin to his own, that many people believed in, to add credibility to his arguments.  He also cleverly implemented appeals to emotion, logic, and ethics.  His speech shows us that 2 struggles can be thousands of miles apart, and be very similar.


The author's comments:

this was an essay showing how the strugles of cezar shavez and martin uther king are the same.


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