In John Lennon’s song “Imagine” there two types of appeals used to persuade the reader to believe in his ideas of love and peace. Both pathos and logos are used. Though his ideas were definitely tied to an emotional feeling that all Americans could relate to, Lennon also attempted to use logic to make his ideas appeal to listeners.
Lennon used pathos by appealing to those who were upset about the way the United States government had placed the country in a war that many believed should not have been fought. It was a very emotional time for people all around the world. Lennon knew that many people were looking for something positive in life. His ideas of having a world with nothing to fight about appealed to many people. Lennon knew that people were desperate for a change. His ideas, while drastic, were popular.
It may sound a little strange to say that logic was used at in “Imagine” to appeal to listeners. However, Lennon was stating that the most logical way to make the world a better place was to rid the world of the evils that were causing war and conflict. He made it very clear that he believed that the best way to end conflict was to do away with religion, possessions, and establishment. Lennon felt that these things were at the root of all of our problems. The most logical way to solve our problems would be to make sure that we had nothing to fight over.
I doubt that at the time Lennon made any type of a conscious effort to use pathos, logos, or any kind of appeals to attract an audience. Lennon was most likely just trying to make a political statement by expressing his own thoughts and feelings. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t even know what logos or pathos were. Regardless, he did a wonderful job of using both to appeal to the world.
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