I noticed rhetoric being implemented in a sermon given by a young man from Freedom Village while our basketball team was at the Ross Corners tournament in Vestal, New York. Freedom Village is a small school in New York where young men are sent to be introduced to God after they get involved in dark actions. The boy's name was Christian, and he stood up during chapel and gave a message about how he came to find God after falling into some undesirable things earlier in his life. He spoke about how he became distanced from God and that Freedom Village had helped him get his life centered back to Christ. He mentioned how the comaradary with the boys helped him become less selfish and that basketball had especially helped him express himself in a positive way. He emphasized that everyone deserves a second chance and that he has learned to accept the challenges that will present themselves in his life, as they are all a part of God's plan for him. In this sermon, Christian used rhetoric by connecting with the audience and appealing to their feelings. He used a personal story to establish credibility and keep the members of the crowd engaged and interested. Pathos and ethos were prevalent in his testimony, but there was not much logos that I noticed. I think that when it comes to a sermon, ethos and pathos are most important in this setting. Logos could be used to further explain what the speaker is trying to communicate, but I don't believe it is always necessary depending on the topic of the testimony.
While at the movie theaters to see The Maze Runner , I saw a commercial that featured rhetoric. The commercial begins with a young woman named Jess purchasing two Coca Cola drinks in a convenience store. One has her own name on it, and one has the name of her friend Alisha on it. The cashier watches her forlornly as she leaves, hinting that he has a crush on his customer. Jess gives the Coke with Alisha’s name on it to her friend, and together the two friends drink them. Later, Jess, Alisha and two other friends come back into the store to buy more Coke, then leave and have a good time together. Jess keeps coming back to the store with more and more friends, each time purchasing Coca Cola with their names printed on the labels. The cashier smiles and watches, but it is clear that he wishes he was with Jess. Finally, as the cashier is closing the store for the night, Jess shows up at the door with a Coke that has the name Chris on it. She smiles and hands the drink to the ...
This is a really cool story. I think it's a great thing that sports in general can help release a lot of the stress people feel in their lives. It's great that Christian'school life was turned around because of Freedom Village.
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