pathos

Evoke emotions in readers to feel a certain way about a topic
Build bridges between writer and reader
Sustain or intensify an argument
Humor can distract, disarm, or sweeten an argument

Emotional Fallacies

Scare tactics
Either or
Slippery slope
Sentimental appeals
Bandwagon appeals

The entire concept of pathos and how it affects me is really interesting. Before discussing pathos in class I had never really thought about how it affected my reading and how I percieved what I was reading. For instance when going back and looking at one of my old favorite books called In the Time of the Butterflies, I now see how she used things like imagery and humor to make me or any reader more able to relate to her story.
Also, now that we have discussed what pathos is and how it can affect the reader and their reaction to the writing, I find that everything that I read now I begin to analyze how it is affecting me. I think about whether it brings out positive emotions or negative emotions, and how they were brought out. Usually, I find that if I am having a positive reaction to a certain piece, that it is usualy because I have found some relation to it. It is either a relation of experiences, views, or emotions, but it always brings out some positive emotion because in my mind, I am able to find one more connection between me and someone else. On the other hand, if I find myself put off it is usually because the author/writer has burned some bridge that I thought was there. This usually happens when there is a statement made that I disagree with. I think that pathos is one of the things that I look at when determining whether or not someone is a good reader.