Pathetic fallacy

The pathetic fallacy is a gross logical fallacy of considering inanimate objects or conceptual entities such as countries as if they were living creatures. For example:

• "America wants to punish France!"
• "Ah, it is no good. That car just doesn't want to start!"
• "the moving object, due to its mass, wants to keep going"

John Ruskin coined this phrase in his work "Modern Painters[?]".

The phrase is sometimes used in literary criticism, with reference to the above idea. For example, in a drama or novel, the weather might seem to be in tune with the characters' feelings.