blog




  • Essay / Persuasive Tactics David Thoreau Uses to Convince Readers in "Economics" and "Conclusion"

    The autobiography Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is a personal account describing how and why he achieved his experience of living in Walden Etang, close to nature. “Economics” describes Thoreau's personal experience early in his time at Walden, while “Conclusion” summarizes Thoreau's beliefs about how people should live their lives. In different sections of the essay, Thoreau uses the three basic persuasion tactics to convince readers that his beliefs are correct: ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos invokes our reasoning that people with expertise or personal experience on a topic are more credible than those without it. Logos appeals to the rational part of our thinking because, by nature, we trust data and the idea of ​​cause and effect. Pathos evokes what we think and feel about different topics using word choice (General). Authors attempt to persuade the reader using these techniques by appealing to various aspects of their thinking. In Walden, the "Economics" section and the "Conclusion" section share a common theme, that one can be self-reliant and live the simplest life possible in order to pursue one's dream and ultimately one's spiritual freedom. In "Economics", Thoreau uses logos and ethos to develop his theme because he uses his personal experience and his own records as evidence to support his point of view, but in "Conclusion" he uses pathos because he expresses his opinion and thus reveals his passions. appeal to readers’ emotions and values. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get an Original EssayA major element of "economics" is the use of ethos to establish credibility, since Thoreau is a city dweller and conducted his experiment in order to gain some experience of life in nature. Ethos is the primary way “Economics” conveys Thoreau's message of being self-reliant and living simply. He tells us that he “[lived] alone, in the woods… [earning his] living by the work of [his] hands alone. [He lived there] two years and two months,” and now he is “again sojourning in civilized life” (Thoreau 217). Thoreau begins by purchasing an old cabin in disrepair, and the very morning he moves in, he dismantles “this dwelling…and [takes it] to the edge of the pond in small carts” (Thoreau 218). During the construction of the house, he carried “two cartloads of stones up the hill from the pond in [his] arms” (Thoreau 218). To store food for the winter, he dug a cave "on the side of a south-sloping hill... down to the roots of sumac and blackberries, and the slightest patch of vegetation... down to 'to fine sand' (Thoreau 218). Building a house is probably the hardest part of making an independent living, but Thoreau, a city dweller, manages it. To earn money and to support himself, he plants "about two and a half acres of light, sandy soil near [the house] mainly with beans, but also a small part with potatoes, corn, peas, and turnips” (Thoreau 219), even though a farmer once declared that the land was “good for nothing but raising chirping squirrels” (Thoreau 219). Although the land near Walden is not the most fertile, Thoreau is still able to provide sufficient food. As for fuel and keeping warm, he obtained "several cords of stumps by plowing",.