This logical appeal to the reader shows that Irving is definitely not the only person with such beliefs. In fact, the entire basis for the implementation of the pornography victims" compensation bill has been disproved before. There is no relationship between pornography and sex crimes and in the year 1970, almost 35 years ago, where liberal thinkers and artists lived in a more strict society, this was proven. In 1986, two more commissions were unable to establish such a relationship. These points that Irving brings up shows he is a credible source for argument on this subject due to his research and credibility in dealing with the censorship of pornography. Anyone in Irving's audience now, that may have earlier had doubts about Irving's knowledge on this subject now realizes he has done his research and is ready to take a stance.
Later, in a reference to his own experience, Irving makes an ethical appeal to show once again that there is no connection between the words in a novel, the pictures in a book, or the clips in a movie, that force or convince people to commit sex crimes. Using a bit of pathos, he remembers:.
I received a lot of unfriendly mail in connection to my novel The World According to Garp, wherein a selfish young man loses part of his anatomy while enjoying oral sex in a car I don't recall a single letter from a young woman saying that she intended to rush out and do this to someone; and in the 14 years since that novel's publication, in more than 35 foreign languages, no one who actually has done this to someone has written to thank me for giving her the idea (527).
This somewhat humorous quote uses pathos to show that there is no connection between pornography (or that which may constitute as sexually explicit material) and sex crimes, shown by Irving's own experience. By saying he doesn't remember a single letter from a young woman saying that she would go out and do this, he uses pathos to show how ridiculous it is to connect literature to sex crimes.
