"A Wrestling Mom" First Main Point

Mary Kay Blakely effectively uses pathos to communicate and relate to her audience throughout the article. She begins by introducing herself as a feminist, single mother and talking about her sons. She never thought that one of her son’s role models would be none other than Hulk Hogan, which she was not thrilled about. This is where she introduces her connection to her son Ryan and his love of wrestling. She says during a traditional Friday, match morning, “it was the wrestler’s mom, approaching the end of an eighteen-year intimacy with this body and this boy, who openly admired and winced through mornings such as these,” (263).  Mothers can identify with Blakely as she admires, but also worries about her son’s enthusiasm and relentlessness for a sport. But as she sits and watches him at the match she admires many qualities that her son and his team possess. As they warm up she watches them and “already my throat swelled with involuntary emotion, like that buried patriotism that reveals itself when a parade marches by,” (264). Blakely successfully utilizes pathos to connect to her audience, because surely other mothers feel the same emotion and pride when watching their children in an activity. Throughout the match she cheers Ryan on to the best of her ability as her “heartbeat accelerated, my skin dampened, my own muscles became taut. Sitting in the bleachers was an aerobic experience for me,” (266).  Mothers can relate to the nervousness that Blakely feels as she watches her son perform, the will to want them to succeed. As she connects with her audience through her son’s wrestling experience, she also illustrates her transforming relationship with her son.