Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt

Introduce the concept of rhetorical appeal! Marginal boxes allude to the concepts of Ethos, Pathos and Logos by asking students why Nancy Sherman chooses to use specific supports for her claim. For example, to explain that survival guilt is an indication of a good person, Sherman calls upon three philosophers. Honors classes easily discuss this in relation to ethos and building credibility for the argument, a standard English course would look at this as a call to experts.

Along with this, students also followed the Argumentative Structure through the article. I’ve asked them to highlight the claim and counterclaim and summarize the closing argument. This then becomes a model for argumentative writing.

“The Moral Logic of Survival Guilt” can easily be implemented as a multi-level text. The complexity of the concept allows higher level students to delve into the intricacy of what Nancy Sherman says about morality, while the interwoven story related to military officers and their loss can be read on a surface level for students grappling with comprehension.

Alter these references to "The Seventh Man" to reflect another short story, or change the questions altogether. One deeper thinking question asks if the seventh man is experiencing objective or subjective guilt. This question can be easily applied to the Scarlet Ibis, Nick Carraway or any character at the end of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Included:

• Three page word document formatted for annotating
• Marginal boxes to guide student reading
• Link to a padlet discussion
• Link to Quizlet study guide
• Annotated Teacher guide
• Cornell Notes

Related Resources

• From “The News” by Neil Postman – Follow authorial purpose through a short excerpt.
• Curbing Nature’s Paparazzi – Take a deeper look at rhetoric and persuasion.
• Response to Pearl Harbor (FDR) – How persuasion leads to tone.