In Schindler’s List (1993), Oskar Schindler undergoes a shift in his character during the liquidation of the Kraków ghetto.
Establishing Shot
Pathos refers to persuasive appeals to the emotions of an audience. In Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, Crowley and Hawhee explain that pathos operates by shaping the emotional state of an audience so that they are disposed to alter their view. Drawing on Aristotle, they describe emotions as states “through which, by undergoing change, people come to differ in their judgments.” Emotional appeals therefore function rhetorically by influencing the conditions under which reasoning occurs.
Key Scene
In Schindler’s List (1993), Oskar Schindler initially participates in the war economy for profit, viewing Jewish labor as a resource within Nazi Germany’s industrial system. His perspective shifts during the liquidation of the Kraków ghetto, when he witnesses violence against civilians. The sequence focuses on what he sees: the chaos of the raid, the vulnerability of noncombatants, and the isolation of individual victims – particularly the child in the red coat – transform the scene from a distant political event into a human catastrophe.
Content warning: This clip includes violent scenes that may be distressing to some viewers.
Framing
Schindler’s perception shifts through what he witnesses, altering how he understands the situation. By directing attention toward individual vulnerability within a larger system, the sequence positions the audience to register suffering as immediate and consequential. The audience sees the child wandering alone in the midst of a brutal raid, and sees concern for her reflected on Schindler’s face. Pathos operates here by making certain aspects of a situation visible and urgent, directing the audience’s judgement.
Continuity
Pathos interacts closely with logos because emotional states shape how audiences interpret evidence. Logical claims are evaluated within emotional contexts that influence what appears urgent, credible, or morally compelling. Logical claims are evaluated within emotional contexts that influence what appears urgent, credible, or morally compelling
Stakes
Pathos is central to rhetorical study because persuasion often depends on the emotional conditions under which arguments are received. Public discourse regularly mobilizes fear, anger, sympathy, hope, and indignation to shape collective responses to political events. Attending to pathos reveals how emotional appeals guide judgment, intensify urgency, and motivate action. Rhetoric often appears to operate through logical demonstration, even as emotional orientation determines which arguments resonate with audiences.
Passion Project
Seeing Saving Private Ryan (1998), my sense of how pathos positions audiences differently depending on who they are. I tend to avoid films with gratuitous violence and keep those images at a distance. I chose to see it, however, because I recognized that it would address the realities of war, and I wanted to understand more deeply. During the scene in which a man is killed slowly with a knife, the friend beside me – steady until then – became so angry and shaken that he could barely remain seated. That reaction clarified something I had not fully seen: for him, and for many men, those scenes register as imaginable experience, situations they might encounter. I remained positioned as a witness rather than a potential participant. This contrast shows that pathos does more than intensify feeling; it situates audiences within the stakes, directing what feels urgent, personal, or possible. I left that screening with greater understanding and empathy for why my male friends are drawn to war and its history.