A Rhetorical Comparative Analysis of Malcolm X’s “Black Man’s History” and “The Ballot or The Bullet”
One of the most important civil rights activists in American history was Malcolm X. He was an ardent supporter of Black emancipation, and a civil rights fighter; his words still serve as an example to people today. His most well-known speeches, “Black Man's History” and “The Ballot or the Bullet,” were given at a time when social and political upheaval was particularly severe in the country. These speeches offer a compelling look at Malcolm X's rhetorical techniques and the way he employed language to spread his message of Black empowerment. In this analysis, Malcolm X's use of ethos, pathos, logos, figurative language, repetition, and historical references are highlighted along with other rhetorical techniques. By looking at these components, we can see how Malcolm X expertly designed his words to connect with his audience and spur positive change. The rhetorical
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Malcolm delivered this iconic speech in April 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio, to a black audience. The text argues that if black people can unite and become politically mature, they would “determine who's going to sit in the White House and who's going to be in the doghouse.” If that fails, violence will be inevitable. Malcolm employs repetition, contrast, metaphors, similes, and other rhetorical devices to elicit action from his audience. These tactics and Malcolm's intense tone combine to generate a sense of immense importance and urgency in Black society. I love Malcolm's strategies throughout the speech, his blunt words that cut right through the audience, sarcasm, and rhetorical devices made this speech stand out to
Patrick Henry and Malcolm Little (more commonly known as Malcolm X) were powerful spokesmen of their times. Years after Henry persuaded the United States president in time of the American Revolution to fight for the rights of Americans in his “Give me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, Little encouraged the black community of his time to stand for their own deprived civil rights as a race in his own speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” While these two men stood at the head of separate movements in different points of history, both believed in a similar goal to be accomplished through the same means: to win their battle for the rights of Americans and African Americans through fighting hard, not necessarily through violence, but through whatever
Notoriously, Martin Luther King Jr. has been the name of the civil rights movement, the one we all look up to in terms of the end of segregation. But, this respectable man was not the only one to take action in the name of equality, as another infamous speaker, Malcolm X, also drove the civil rights movement in a way of ferociousness and rage. This man, the head of the Black Nationalist movement, gave phenomenal speeches that indirectly propelled the civil rights movement, including Prospects For Freedom, By Any Means Necessary, and Message to the Grassroots. Malcolm X was a man who was an illustrious black nationalist, and was the speaker for the Nation of Islam. He often preached controversial things that regularly contrasted him with Dr.
A quote mentioned in The Century: America’s Time: Poisoned Dreams, by James Baldwin, represents the mindset of many African Americans in the ‘60’s: “To be a negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” Many African Americans grew tired of the violence and injustices they faced “at the hands of the white man.” Due to this, Malcolm X advocated for Black autonomy. Malcolm X often used religious allusions to compare the Black struggle to divine struggles for justice and liberation in religious texts.
Both arguments use the literary devices to highlight their main point and emphasize it in a way not previously stated. By restating the argument to be more easily understood, both MLK and Malcolm X broaden their audiences to reach more people with their essays. Reasserting their main points with literary devices, both authors establish a specific target group they are
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both leaders of the Civil Rights movement often on opposite ends of the movement. The two men approached the need for equality in the black community from differing perspectives while sharing a similar ideology. King addressed the struggles, goals, and hopes of the movement with his speech I Have a Dream. In response, Malcolm X gave his own speech The Ballot or The Bullet, within his speech he addressed a specific topic of Black Nationalism. In both speeches, we find classic uses of rhetorical tools such as ethos, pathos, and logos.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both African American leaders of the Africa-American Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s. Although slavery had been abolished after the Civil War, Africans were still treated unequally. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X fought to gain equality between Africans and the white Americans through the use of rhetorical techniques throughout their discourses. By examining “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. and “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X, we observe their reliance on logos and appeal to logos in order to construct their arguments. Dr. King effectively uses analogies to depict his views and beliefs to the Clergymen.
Known for his passionate, fiery speeches, Malcolm X delivered what some think to be his best speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, on April 12, 1964. Malcom wanted to invoke change in the hearts of his listeners, and push them to make change by any means necessary. X felt the way to make change is through unity of black citizens, using their voting right to demand change, and if that did not work, violence was an option to push back. Using many rhetorical strategies, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, became one of the most powerful speeches in the world, to this day. Historical Context
The speech opened the eyes of many blacks, inspiring a change to begin to occur. Through analogies, metaphors, and a vitriolic and urgent tone, Malcolm X concisely and clearly informs the audience of their mistreatment and encourages them to get their just deserts. X’s intelligence, passion, and oratorical skills helped make “The Ballot or the Bullet” one of the greatest rhetorical acts in black history. This phrase, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, truly defines Malcolm X’s stance on the current treatment of blacks and how he believes a violent response is necessary when all other means of communication are ignored or
Malcolm X’s speech was an effective example of pathetic because he understands the mindset that the audience is in, and knows what to say to excite them about his cause. He used ethos, pathos, and logos to gain the audience's trust and appeal to them both emotionally and logically, in order to inspire them to fight back. He constantly used repetition of the words "the ballot or the bullet" in order to keep the thought present in the head of the audience, and after completing every thought, he found a way to connect it back to the issue of the ballot or the bullet. The speech was strong and inspiring, and because it was combined with his confident and sturdy speaking, he came off as a respectable and intelligent leader who knows what he wants
Hello class, After watch the 1964 speech tittle the ballot and the bullet from Malcolm X, I find myself in a neutral position in. While I found the speech to be very moving and motivational I view his methodology to be very abrupt. He stated that “which calls for Black people to control their own economic wealth.
We know that in order to create an effective message whether on speech or paper, the three rhetorical appeals are essential. The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X demonstrates all three appeals superbly. Malcolm X himself builds ethos very well, as well as displays his automatic ethos. He also appeals to logos through an ample amount of solid reasoning and several facts. In this speech pathos is extremely well present and effective.
Malcolm X began his speech by urging African Americans to submerge their differences and realize that they all have a common problem - political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation at the hands of the white man. Malcolm X was one of the most dynamic, dramatic and influential figures of the civil rights era. He was an apostle of black nationalism, self respect, and uncompromising resistance to white oppression. Malcolm X was a polarizing figure who both energized and divided African Americans, while frightening and alienating many whites.
Thesis: In “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, Malcolm X in his telling of his life to Alex Haley uncovers the theme of positive and negative environments unearthed by the interaction of African Americans and White Americans in his life and what those kinds of environments inherently produce. Annotated Bibliography Nelson, Emmanuel S. Ethnic American Literature: an Encyclopedia for Students. Greenwood, An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2015.This encyclopedia points out that the negative interaction he held with the white man as a young hustler was countered by these same experiences pushing Malcolm X to reclaim his “African identity”. This shows, as described by the cited work, what a man pushed by his negative interactions with the oppressive white men is willing to do to find his identity (i.e. through hustling).
Instead of promoting peace to solve problems, Malcolm X used violence when necessary to get his points across to his audience. Little’s speech has a significant lack of logic; although, it is a clever move to predominantly use emotional appeal due to his motive - to incite anger in America and to showcase the government's faults. Through repetition of inflammatory phrases and accusatory diction both which create appeals to anger, Malcolm X effectively persuades his audience during “The Ballot Or The Bullet.” Throughout his speech, Malcolm X repeats incendiary phrases in order to kindle vexation in his audience. This tactic encourages his listeners to stand up for themselves now that they can see the issue at hand.
African american rights were the main concern of many people, along with government corruption and the unwillingness to help. Malcolm X was no banal man he was a extravagant civil rights speaker, he showed the truth on how coming together can put the end to African American indifference. Due to the lack of government the dichotomy between african americans and the white men was still a major problem ; as African americans needed to put and end to the separation and earn civil rights. Malcolm speaks out to all who are willing to obtain their civil rights. ”In Ballot or Bullet” Malcolm X uses Anaphora, Antithesis, Ethical Appeal, Word choice, and Rhetorical question to show the lack of support from government and how coming together can help fight back.