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Steve Jobs Ethos Pathos Logos

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Entrepreneur. Businessman. Inventor. Industrial Designer. Not to mention he was one of the most famous of them all. Steve Jobs was an American icon, and he left a lasting impact on the world through his miraculous advice. Many of his most famous quotes came from his Commencement Speech at Stanford University in July of 2005. His speech was beautifully written and organized into three emotional stories from his life, and tied together in the end so well he made it seem as though his life unraveled perfectly. He discussed the topics of love, loss, and failure, which are considered emotional topics to open up about. Through emotion, Steve Jobs conveyed his message in a unique and impactful way. Steve Jobs used all the necessary rhetoric devices of ethos, logos, and pathos. However, he used pathos arguably more than ethos and logos in this famous commencement speech to spread his message that to experience success, one needs to believe in spirit, themselves, and that they deserve that desired happiness. Jobs uses the rhetorical device of pathos most commonly in his speech. Through his short explanations of life experiences, he connected to the audience on a deeper and more personal level. Pathos is described to appeal to the audience’s emotions, which is exactly what Jobs’ specialty is. Steve Jobs’ second topic in the speech that he discussed was failure/loss. Jobs explained that he created a company named Apple with another individual, and they were fairly successful, until they hired a new boss they thought was talented and capable of co-managing the company. As soon as that boss’ views differed from Jobs’ views, they “had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating” (Jobs 11). When Steve Jobs explains this experience to his audience, he connects with them. Every individual has had their fair share with failure, so they understand the feelings behind it. Therefore, they share something with the speaker. That creates a strong use of pathos in his commencement speech. Steve Jobs also shares his story with disease, more specifically pancreas cancer. Everyone has gone

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