ENG 101 A: Rhetorical Analysis Activity based on Their Eves Were Watching God Chapters 11-14
Directions: Read the following passages from Their Eves and analyze how the passages include one or
more of the 3 rhetorical appeals: Ethos (the ethical appeal-building character); Pathos (the emotional
appeal arousing emotions from the audience); and/or Logos (the logical appeal through reason and
evidence). Annotate for the rhetorical appeals and related devices on the margins.
PASSAGE 1 (spoken by the narrator, page 108, chapter 11):
"In the cool of the afternoon, the fiend from hell specially sent to lovers arrived at Janie's ear.
Doubt. All the fears that circumstances could provide and the heart feel, attacked her on every side.
This was a new sensation for her, but no less excruciating. If only Tea Cake would make her certain!
He could not return that night nor the next and so she plunged into the abyss and descended to the ninth
darkness where light has never been before.
"But the fourth day after he came in the afternoon driving a battered car. Jumped out like a deer and
made the gesture of tying it to a post on the store porch. Ready with his grin! She adored him and hated
him at the same time. How could he make her suffer so and then come grinning like that with that
darling way he had? He pinched her arm as he walked inside the door."
Examples of ETHOS:
Examples of PATHOS:
Examples of LOGOS:
1
ch.
What might be the narrator's (direct or implied) claim regarding Janie and Tea Cake's relationship?
the narrator is claiming
What might be Hurston's universal claim based on this passage? Consider a theme topic she might be
focusing on based on this passage, such as gender roles, double consciousness, or ambition).