Pathos in "Us and Them"

Pink Floyd's powerful song "Us and Them" appeals to pathos by drawing in and exploiting the emotions and imaginations of the listener to create vivid images that encapsulate the horrors of war. The lines "Forward he cried from the rear, and the front rank died. And the General sat, as the lines on the map moved from side to side" create a very strong image in the listeners mind that emphasizes how nothing is really accomplished during war. In these lies, Pink Floyd's message is that the battles rage on but neither side will win. The lines "moved from side to side" really mean that each country pushes to win battles but in reality, both sides are losing. Pink Floyd appeals to logos by reminding many of the listeners of the time period (1973) and the police brutality experienced during times of protest. The lines "haven't you heard it's a battle of words the poster bearer cried. Listen son, said the man with the gun, there's room for you inside" is open to interpretation. One possible interpretation of these lines is that the people who were protesting war were being threatened with jail time if they continued protesting. More specifically, the lines "there's room for you inside" could be referring to the actual prison. If you listen closely, Pink Floyd includes an audio recording of some sort which says, "I mean they're not gonna kill you, so give em a quick short sharp shock and they won't do it again, dig it? He got off easy cause I didn't give him a thrashing I only hit him once..." Pink Floyd added this after the lines "there's room for you inside" to create an even stronger appeal to the emotions of the listeners who themselves may have experienced police brutality when they were protesting. All these things, as well as the soft, sad composition of the song create a very strong appeal to pathos by inducing images and emotions within the listener.