Pathos- A quality that causes people to feel sympathy and sadness (defined by Merriam-Webster)
Discussing Pathos in a case that discusses race relations is rather easy. Racism in America has been a major issue since the slave era. Though many minorities feel that racism is solely between the African American and Caucasian race, racism is faced by many minorities such as Native Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, and even European Americans. America is a topic that is often brushed under the rug because most people feel that racism is no longer an issue because there is no longer segregation. In our society cases such as the Trayvon Martin incident uncovers years of prejudice. For example, the Trayvon Martin case was instantly linked to the Emmett Till case in society due to the creation of pictures like the one above. In the picture of Trayvon Martin's parents emotion is easily evoked from the viewer. Most parents are able to identify with the Martin family because of their lost. Other than parents, people can understand the severity of losing someone in such a tragic setting. I believe that the pathos of the picture is found easily because of the parents' faces.
-Amber Ebanks
I found this post very interesting and a part that especially intrigued me is the comparison of the Emmett Till case to the Trayvon Martin case, which draws parallels between America at two stages of race relations. The issue of racism is still prevalent today, what do you think we can do to completely eliminate it from our society?
ReplyDeleteRacism is a result of a level of fear of the unknown. I believe that to eliminate people need to be okay with accepting the differences of people of a different culture than their own. Until people can learn to respect people for their differences racism will always be a part of our society.
DeleteThis picture is extremely powerful. Just like Fatima said, I am intrigued by the comparison of the two cases. I agree that the picture of Trayvon Martin's parents is certainly provokes certain emotions. I don't think there is anything that is more moving than a picture of two parents crying over the death of their child. This is pathos at its finest.
ReplyDeleteThe pathos created in this picture is guaranteed for any viewer. Both cases spark powerful emotions and although not everyone has experienced something this terrible, the pictures allow for the viewer to make some sort of connection.
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