College is a place where young adults learn to grow, become self-reliant, become responsible and mature, and get to know what they want to do in their future career path. A question that comes to mind is to what extent do college students need to develop perseverance to face academic challenges, social life difficulties and the pressure of job security.When diving deeper into the exploration of student perseverance, I found two articles, “Perseverance Is an Important Quality as You Will Face Challenges in Life, & It’s a Skill That Will Pay Off” by Sudhir Gupta and “Grit: The “Special Sauce” of Success.” by Jared S. Warren. Both convey the importance of perseverance, while using a variety of rhetorical strategies such as invention, pathos and ethos. On the whole Gupta’s piece uses more appeals to emotion in its appearance while Warren’s piece relies more on logic.

In terms of invention, Warren explores the importance of perseverance in a scientific/logical approach. He references William James, a famous physician, quoting “That humans usually live far within their limits.” This illustrates how Warren notices that talent is crucial, but it’s not enough to succeed, particularly when college students are applying what they learned in school to real world situations . In contrast, Gupta focuses on perseverance being built through overcoming challenges. It’s important to be passionate and know the importance of perseverance. Perseverance lets you constantly work hard and builds your success. In Gupta’s article, Gupta provides an example of how a difficult course will provide a similar level of reward: for each hour of perseverance there is proportional stamina that you gain. It’s clear that both Warren and Gupta in their respective writing promote the virtue of inner strength to persevere through life challenges in order to achieve personal success.

As Gupta and Warren utilize the appeal of ethos they are leveraging credibility and persuasion through referencing historical figures and celebrities that have high influence on the people.  In other words, in both articles we find references to famous writers and/or celebrities.  For instance, when Gupta is writing about persevering through life challenges, he makes a reference to Michael Jordan, a famous basketball player.  He writes, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” In this quote, we notice Gupta using Michael Jordan’s ideas of success to say something similar to what he himself is saying throughout the article.  By referring to Michael Jordan, a famous person, Gupta is trying to influence us and have us view perseverance the way both he and Michael Jordan do. Meanwhile, in Warren’s text, he makes an appeal to ethos when he refers to the work of our 30th President Calvin Coolidge. Warren quotes from Coolidge as follows: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent…” This passage exemplifies an appeal to ethos because it uses values that are commonly held by the people. Coolidge emphasizes the qualities of persistence and determination as a value to society, which he aligns his message with the people reinforcing his credibility. Comparing the two writers’ use of ethos, we note that while the both make appeals to it, they do so differently. Warren refers to a historical figure to support his view on perseverance.  On the other hand, Gupta makes use of a more contemporary, living celebrity to do so. 

Furthermore, both Gupta and Warren utilize the emotional appeals of pathos to engage and influence the readers in different ways. For instance, Warren argues that perseverance is a fundamental aspect of achieving personal success. When he referenced Ralph Waldo Emerson, he wrote “Every artist was first an amateur”. This quote exemplifies an appeal to pathos because it appeals to the reader’s insecurity about their personal growth. It is a form of encouragement- one that follows the author’s declaration that perseverance over a long period of time is important for success. Gupta quotes “self-doubting yourself while pursuing your dream is very natural.” Gupta employs pathos by using real life stories to connect with the audience on a personal level emphasizing that the greatest obstacle to our success is self-doubt. While both writers implement the use of pathos in their works, they are utilized differently. Warren refers to a scientific figure to support his view on perseverance. On the other hand, Gupta makes use of personal stories to define how perseverance is built to achieve the audience’s definition of success.

In conclusion, Gupta’s writing passionately communicates the emotional aspects of perseverance, resonating with the readers navigating the ups and downs of adulthood. Warren offers a more structured approach to developing perseverance, providing a clear pathway for people to succeed as they face life challenges. Together, their works offer a richer view of perseverance and its importance. Their combined perspective highlights the crucial role that grit plays, not only in personal development but also career success.