Third Reading

March 30, 2018
Alexander Begins to Appeal to Emotion

Hello everyone!

I am back again for my third blog to date. I can absolutely say that I am thoroughly enjoying this book. Although it is quite dense with information and takes me a while to read, I am finding it to be a good read.

As I predicted, Alexander's style of writing changed a bit. Now, the chapters are largely focused on appealing to the reader's emotions. She does this by including real world stories of individuals affected by America's criminal justice system.

Alexander's book is organized in chapters, as are many books, duh. But within these chapters are mini-chapters. I think Alexander organized her book this way due to how the dense with information it is. Each little sub section of the chapters are focused on one topic, which she will discuss extensively. Then she will move on to a different topic, but each topic will connect. This set up makes it easily readable. It helps to break the book up into chunks, this way, the reader can process the information. And for this reason, the book has been much easier to comprehend.

In the beginning of the book, Alexander focused mainly on the use of logos. She cited articles, statistics, court cases, professional individuals, historical events and more. But as the book has progressed, she has shifted to appealing to pathos. She does this in order to show her reader's how serious of a situation we are in and how it affects those individuals and their families who are involved in the criminal justice system. She discusses the idea that once individuals are charged, they are permanently entered into this under caste. To highlight this, she provides stories of individuals who have been negatively affected by this system.

            Alexander states, "...the forty-two-year-old African-American man who applied for public housing for himself and his three children, who were living with him at the time. He was denied because of an earlier drug possession charge for which he had pleaded guilty and served thirty days in jail"(Alexander, 146).  This example makes one feel sympathy for this small family who was denied housing because of a minor drug charge. Critics may say, this is one extreme case. But this is far from the truth. Families and individuals on a regular basis are denied housing due to these charges. And she proves this with statistics and logic. Alexander reported, "More than 650,000 people are released from prison each year, and for many, finding a new homes appears next to impossible, not just in the short term, but for the rest of their lives"(Alexander, 148). And finding homes is so difficult for ex-offenders because, "Public housing officials are free to reject applications simply on the basis of arrests, regardless of whether they result in convictions or fines"(Alexander, 146).  Ex-offenders are legally denied housing due to their criminal activity, which as we know is not always justified and highly discriminatory. And 650,000 people experience this difficulty each year.

Another powerful example of pathos stated, "...a forty-one-year-old African American mother remarked after being denied housing because of a single arrest four years prior to her application, "I'm trying to do the right thing; I deserve a chance. Even if I was the worst criminal, I deserve a chance. Everybody deserves a chance"(Alexander, 148).  Yet again, Alexander adds this example to prove just how impactful this under caste has been on people of color.  And as stated before, it is a large portion of the population that is affected by these daily struggles.

I think her inclusion of the appeal to pathos has made her argument even more persuasive. But this does not mean she has abandoned the use of logos. She uses an effective combination of both logos and pathos to support her argument, which has not only made it more readable but also more influential. And this combination of pathos and logos has simultaneously strengthened her ethos. She is already very well respected, being a professor of law at Ohio State University and a former director of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). But her style of writing is impressive. She sounds not only professional, but highly knowledgeable. This trio of appeals makes her work believable and highly significant within our society today. That is why this book has been coined "The Bible of a social movement". 

Thanks for reading! I am really enjoying this whole blog thing :)