Question

Which of the following passages from Edward Abbey's "The Damnation of a Canyon" best demonstrates his use of pathos to build his argument?A. As a result the volume of water in the reservoir is continually being increased or decreased according to the requirements of the Basin States Compact and the power–grid system of which Glen Canyon Dam is a component. B. The difference between the present reservoir, with its silent sterile shores and debris–choked side canyons, and the original Glen Canyon, is the difference between death and life. Glen Canyon was alive. Lake Powell is a graveyard. C. Up most of the side canyons, before damnation, there were springs, sometimes flowing streams, waterfalls and plunge pools the kind of marvels you can now find only in such small–scale remnants of Glen Canyon as the Escalante area. D. The rising and falling water level entails various consequences. One of the most obvious, well known to all who have seen Lake Mead, is the "bathtub ring" left on the canyon walls after each drawdown of water, or what rangers at Glen Canyon call the Bathtub Formation.

Answer 1

B. The difference between the present reservoir, with its silent sterile shores and debris–choked side canyons, and the original Glen Canyon, is the difference between death and life. Glen Canyon was alive. Lake Powell is a graveyard.

Pathos is the use of emotions to draw out the reader's sympathy for a subject. Using harsh adjectives (e.x. silent sterile shores and debris–choked side canyons), brings out a description leaning towards the main argument the author is trying to make. It is not based on facts or logic (like Ethos and Logos) since it does not provide empirical data nor utilize common sense.