The Importance Of Family Engagement In Overcoming Obstacles Of Mental Illness In The Silver Linings Playbook By Matthew Quick
Individuals who endure mental ailments have a reality that not everybody can get. Matthew Quick, an American writer of adult and young adult fiction, effectively uses Ethos and Pathos, but not logos, to inform readers about the importance of family engagement in overcoming obstacles of mental illness. In Quick’s immensely likable debut novel, an emotionally damaged loser runs a complex pattern that transforms him into a hero we can all root for. Quick is trying to show the readers how family can always be a good thing in your life, as they can give you hope, power, and motivation. The credibility we built with our family can help us improve our mental situation, making us feel important, even though we might not be totally happy with our situation with our parents, but them just being there for your help a lot. According to Quick, Pat is happy that he is working on making his situation with his dad better, however, it might take some time. “Mom says he needs time to get used to my living at home again….…and he said some pretty awful things about Nikki and silver linings in general”. The fact that your family being with you can build trustworthiness between us and our loved ones, it will eventually help us in overcoming your mental illness. The example of a family just being with you builds up Quick’s ethos claim, as his dad needs time to feel comfortable with him again. This example of ethos has been effectively used, as it shows the reader that family can also be helpful in healing your mental condition.
The use of emotion and how it affects people's condition in mental illness, cause us to be emotionally stimulated. Quick feel angry with the fact that Fitzgerald in “The Great Gatsby” is not with his love, Daisy, which makes Quick feels that Fitzgerald is not grateful for what he has. According to Quick, Pat feels like people need to appreciate what they have because one day it will be gone and there will be nothing they can do about it. “When I read the actual story- how Gatsby loves Daisy so much but can't ever be with her no matter how hard he tries- I feel like ripping the book…. Probably deceased”. Feeling emotionally derived by someone's condition or pain can affect someone's opinion about a subject or topic, however, feeling angry about someone's action can cause you to have a stronger reaction. Quick feels angry as he feels that Fitzgerald is not grateful for his life with his love Daisy. Quick’s angry moment supports his use of pathos, as he expressed his emotions. The use of pathos has been effective, considering that it illustrates the importance of expressing your feelings in such situations.
Quick lacks logos, especially, after considering that he is writing a fictional novel. Quick lacks logical evidence in his novel, which weakens his claim in how helpful family is in helping patients overcome their mental obstacles. After looking at Quick’s novel you will realize that he tries to use logos to support his claim, however, he was not successful in convincing the audience as he thinks reading literature will impress Nikki. Quick deficit use of logos, does not set a space for an adequate supported claim. That's why he might not have had the best proof for his claim. Logos was not used adequately in the novel, which gives Quick a weak point in trying to support his claim.
In summary, Quick effectively uses both ethos and pathos, but not logos, to inform readers about the importance of family engagement in overcoming obstacles of mental illness. Quick’s lack of logos weeks his claim, as no effective and logical evidence were used in supporting the claim, however, he makes a good point in analyzing his ethos and pathos. For instance, Quick uses the credibility family gives us to overcome our problems to support his ethos. Quick, also supports his pathos by showing his angriness at Fitzgerald for what he wrote.
