Introduction
Education is not just about learning things at school; it is about creating one’s own identity and values, even if they contradict those of other people. I believe that this is the purpose of Tara Westover’s writing her book, Educated: A Memoir. In the novel, the author recounts her life from childhood to recent years. Westover recalls being raised in a Mormon family where children had no access to schools and health care and lived without birth certificates. The author describes how she managed to escape from those terrible conditions and change her worldview by means of education. I will argue that by means of logos, pathos, and ethos, Westover convinces the reader that education comprised of university studies and life lessons has made her a different person.
Pathos
In the book, Westover often appeals to emotions to attract readers’ attention to her efforts to define her identity. At the beginning of the novel, she says, “I am only seven, but I understand that it is this fact, more than any other, that makes my family different: we don’t go to school. Dad worries that the Government will force us to go but it can’t, because it doesn’t know about us” (Westover 9-10). This excerpt is written in such a manner that the reader feels pity for the child whose parents deprived her of the opportunity of learning. Furthermore, this passage serves as a hook that makes the audience worry about the child and read further to find out what happened to this girl. Finally, in this piece, the author introduces the problems that the entire book deals with. The first problem is education or, more precisely, the lack of it. The second issue is a personal identity because it becomes clear that Westover, being a child, understood that she was different and had to find her place in this world.
Ethos
Westover also uses ethos to make readers perceive her as a credible author. For example, she writes, “everything I had worked for, all my years of study, had been to purchase for myself this one privilege: to see and experience more truths than those given to me by my father” (Westover 330). In this excerpt, Westover appears an experienced person who has come through a long period of education and self-development. She comes to the conclusion that everything that she learned at university and from her tough life experiences has contributed to her ability to decide for herself, search for the truth and develop her opinion. This particular quote also convinces the reader that the author’s attitudes and views that she tries to convey in her book are not imposed on her by anyone else.
Logos
Appeals to logic also can be found in Westover’s writing. For example, this is how she reflects on what contributed to her education: “In retrospect, I see that this was my education, the one that would matter: the hours I spent sitting at a borrowed desk, struggling to parse narrow strands of Mormon doctrine in mimicry of a brother who’d deserted me. The skill I was learning was a crucial one, the patience to read things I could not yet understand” (Westover 76). In this passage, the author provides a definition of what she considers her education. The reader realizes that Westover’s learning process began far before she entered the university. By this excerpt, Westover explains that her eagerness to learn, which was expressed by her efforts to read incomprehensible texts, was the major part of her education.
Objectivity
Although Westover uses different appeals in her writing, some people may argue that Westover is subjective since she relies on her memories to make her point. However, she tries to be objective in her narration by providing explanatory commentaries in the footnotes. The author understands that individual memories are subjective, so she consulted her family members about moments that she was not sure she remembered correctly. For example, when the author recalls her brother Shawn’s fall that resulted in a serious head injury, she admits that she was not there and that the recounts of those who were there were different (Westover 360). Westover assumes that other people may be more accurate in recalling a particular event, which adds objectivity to her narration. In the end, she concludes that, perhaps, in critical moments, her father’s love toward his children overcame his faulty beliefs (Westover 361). However, she could have forgotten it because it was not characteristic of him in most cases (Westover 361). By adding such remarks, Westover convinces readers that she aims at objectivity rather than deliberately demonizing her father.
Conclusion
Overall, the author’s use of ethos, logos, and pathos make readers sympathize with her and believe her logical arguments and authority. The universal implication of the book is that education does not consist only of lessons learned in educational institutions; life experience also makes a great contribution to it. Another implication is that memories are subjective and depend on personal experiences. This text is worth studying because the author has a good command of different types of appeal and can make the audience read further until they read the whole book.
Work Cited
Westover, Tara. Educated: A Memoir. Random House Publishing Group, 2018.