Analysis of Pathos, Ethos and Logos in Lunch Lady Economics

Feeling like you’re poor and actually being poor are two different scenarios that lots of people don’t seem to know how to differentiate, at least according to Keith Payne. In the first chapter, “Lunch Lady Economics”, of The Broken Ladder, author Keith Payne discusses the difference between the two. Knowing those differences can help people correctly place themselves on the Status Ladder. Payne explains these differences by using a multitude of different rhetorical devices. In “Lunch Lady Economics,” Keith Payne tries to convince his audience that where you fall on the Status Ladder is all based on perspective through a heavy reliance on ethos, logos, and pathos.

The first chapter, Lunch Lady Economics, debates the idea that every human, voluntarily or not, cares about achieving a high status. That chapter first initiates the discussion of inequality by providing an image of a Status Ladder. The Status Ladder is used to “measure subjective perceptions of relative status.” (Payne 13) Participants were asked to place themselves on a certain rung of the ladder, and to a standard economic conclusion- most people only placed themselves on a certain rung based off what they feel. So if a participant felt poor, whether they were poor or not, they placed themselves lower. Vise versa with the participants who felt wealthy. The author continues by explaining that most people go on to compare what they make to others and that's why most people never really know when they are making “enough money”. Payne then goes on to describe the Lake Wobegon effect- where people overestimate their abilities in relation to the abilities to others. The study shows that the more we value a particular trait, the more we overate ourselves in relation to that trait. This being said, most placed themselves higher up onto the ladder. The author also makes a point to discuss that primates think the same way as us. That they are more concerned with higher ranking members of their species than the lower ranking members. This can be seen today as magazines have headlines regarding famous celebrities. Payne chose 2018 to release this book because inequality is greater now than it was in the Great Depression. Payne closes this chapter with the conclusion the more we as a human race are obsessed with a high status ranking, the more inequality there is in our society.

By Payne using ethos throughout this chapter, his work is strengthened through the credibility of his examples that further his points. Ethos is used as a rhetorical device that is used to convince an audience of an author’s authority or credibility. The first example of Payne using ethos is when he discusses the moment he realized he was poor. “My insight did not change my parents’ income. It did not change our monthly expenses. It changed nothing in the world, except for me.”(Payne 12) This is ethos because Payne used his experience to draw to the conclusion that he was poor, and that this way of thinking widens the inequality gap. It was through this experience that helped him gain clarity to the situation. When Payne discusses what his audiences’ background is, he uses ethos to explain the usual responses to his question. “What are the motives that drive you? I have asked hundreds of people these questions over the years and the usual responses include such ideals as love, faith, loyalty, honesty, and integrity.”(Payne 15) By Payne having asked “hundreds of people these questions” to conclude that these answers are the most common, he is using his ethos because he has built up his credibility. Payne also uses ethos when he begins to discuss his knowledge of hunter gatherers. “When I first learned about these egalitarian hunter-gatherers as a college student, I imagined them…” (Payne 20) This is ethos because Payne discusses his own personal experience of learning about this group of humans to lead into his next topic which is the inequality all species face. Every time Payne uses ethos throughout this first chapter, he furthers his point because he gives knowledge based on his experiences.

Payne uses logos throughout the first chapter to gain the trust of the audience by using facts that support the arguments of inequality. Logos is a rhetorical device that is an appeal to logic. The first use of logos is when Payne introduces the Status ladder. “It is true that, on average, people with higher incomes, more education, and more prestigious jobs do rate themselves higher on the ladder.”(Payne 13) This is logos because Payne is using statistics to prove his point to the audience regarding how people place themselves on the ladder. The next use of logos is when Payne discusses how inequality is higher today that it was during the Great Depression. “In modern history, income inequality has reached its highest point in the late 1920s, immediately before the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed- its highest point, that is, until today.” (Payne 23) This is logos because Payne is using statistics from both 1929 and today. Its used to prove to the audience that this is a big problem in the current age. The next use of logos is when Payne discusses how people don't recognize inequality. “For example, they judged that the wealthiest fifth had about 59 percent of the nation’s wealth, when in reality it has 84 percent.” (Payne 26) This is logos because Payne is using percentage facts of people's response to the Status Ladder. The more Payne uses logos in the first chapter, the more he is able to appeal to his reader’s sense of logic.

Payne uses pathos throughout this chapter to connect with his readers and provoke emotions to further his points on inequality. Pathos is a rhetorical device used by authors to appeal to their audience’s emotions. Payne starts off the chapter with a flashback memory. “I learned I was poor on the new lunch lady’s first day at work.”(Payne 11) This is pathos because Payne’s choice of using “I was poor” to connect to his readers who have also been/felt poor, especially in their childhood. The next use of pathos is used toward the end of the chapter. “The free lunches, food stamps, and government cheese that marked my childhood were objective signals indicating my family’s rung on the Status Ladder.” (Payne 29) This is pathos because Payne is using his childhood associations to appeal to the audience’s emotions and maybe even relate to their particular childhoods. The last example of Payne using pathos is when he discusses who is actually poor. “Feeling poor matters, not just being poor.”(Payne 29) This is an example of pathos because Payne discussing the feeling of being poor. If the audience is feeling anything about it then Payne’s use of pathos is working. Payne using pathos throughout this chapter helps readers draw connections from the text and to their emotions, which helps Payne further his points.

“Lunch Lady Economics” starts off The Broken Ladder’s argument of the inequalities faced today. Keith Payne uses multiple rhetorical devices throughout this chapter to further his point that where people place themselves on the Status Ladder is not based off their actual income, but based on their perspectives of themselves. Three rhetorical devices used were ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos throughout this chapter was used by Payne to strengthen his credibility to gain the audience's trust. Payne used logos to appeal to his readers a sense of logic and reasoning so they had no choice but to take in his facts. Pathos was used to connect his discussion to his audience's sense of emotions, making them more likely to agree with him. By Payne, using these three rhetorical devices, his evidence and arguments were strengthened.