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Cesar Chavez Speech Analysis

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Cesar Chavez, a civil rights activist, published an article in a religious magazine devoted to helping those in need. The date this was published was particularly significant in that it had been the tenth anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This occasion allowed Chavez to tie in the work of nonviolence to his own cause. Cesar Chavez convinces the audience to proceed in a nonviolent manner toward their goals by utilizing juxtaposition to contrast the consequences of violence and pacifism, allusions to appeal to the moral aspects of humanity, and a diction that relates positive output to nonviolence. Chavez uses juxtaposition in his text compare the beneficial nature of nonviolence to the detrimental effects of violence. He first uses this strategy when he lists the overall effects of violence to the readers: “If we resort to violence then one of two things will happen: either the violence will be escalated … or there will be total demoralization of the workers” (17-21). Chavez intends to inform the audience of the devastating consequences caused through violent pathways by showing two viable outcomes. By doing so, Chavez persuades the readers into believing nonviolence is a …show more content…

In order to convince those who displayed skepticism, Chavez employed juxtaposition to show differences between the effects of nonviolence to the effects of violence. Consequently, Chavez utilized allusions to give his speech credibility and to show that his position was along the lines of Ghandi and Dr. King. The diction used throughout the entirety of the speech gave Chavez the ability to cause readers to associate certain words together in order to strengthen his own argument. Chavez decided upon using these devices to inform the audience and everyone else that peaceful protests would be the best way to attain

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Former civil rights leader Cesar Chavez justifies nonviolent protest with the use of several appeals to logic and ethics in his contribution to a magazine for a religious organization. His goal being to convince the audience into realizing that nonviolent protest is the more effective option when working towards a change. His optimistic tone helps the reader connect to the cause of nonviolent protest with the help of rhetorical devices like figurative

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Cesar mentioned that, “If we resort to violence…the violence will be escalated and there will be many injuries and perhaps deaths on both sides, or there will be total demoralization of the workers” (Garcia, 77). He created this idea that violence does not solve anything, and will only create bigger problems. However, a nonviolent movement is a protest

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Cesar Chavez wrote a piece in the magazine of religious organization on the ten year anniversary of Martin Luther King. He starts off saying that Dr. King was a very powerful man with nonviolent means. Throughout his writing he gives many example of why nonviolence will ultimately succeed over violent means, and give of many appeals of emotional, logical, creditable justification. Dr. King may have dies, but with his death only more power has come to the peaceful citizens of the world.

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Cesar Chavez, in his excerpt He showed us the Way, utilizes strong pathos, ethos and logos statements, precise diction, and valuable patterns of development to convey the power nonviolence has in fights for freedoms and rights. First, Chavez provides strong pathos, ethos and logos to convey the power nonviolent actions have to change the world for the better. He applies ethos to show that nonviolence is something that people are drawn to. In fact Chaves presents a great nonviolent advocate who lived during the segregation: “Dr. King’s entire life was an example of power that nonviolences brings...”

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Cesar Chavez During the 1960’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights movement activist. He used nonviolence to fight for what he believed until he was assassinated in 1968. In the article Cesar Chavez pleads to the audience that the only way to achieve meaningful change is not by killing or violence, but by nonviolent actions.

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The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. devastated a large majority of people around the world. His works of nonviolent acts against racism motivated many, including civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, to solve matters without resorting to inhumane behaviors. Inspired by Dr. King Jr.’s work, Chavez and his union of labor workers devoted themselves to helping those in need through peaceful protests. Similar methods are proven to be successful; Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, gained a great deal of supporters because of his pacifism and tranquil methods of boycotting against British domination. Despite brutal and savage methods of persuasion slowly gaining support, Chavez proves that nonviolent actions are superior; he does so by using ethos in order to uphold moral standards, logos (in reference to the past), and pathos to appeal to the emotions of his audience.

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The civil rights movement was a strong topic of discussion in politics during the mid-twentieth century. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most influential leaders of the civil rights movement, was assassinated which caused many protests and calls for violence. In Cesar Chavez’s speech, he is telling the people that nonviolence resistance is the best way to go about the situation. Chavez’s uses juxtaposition, diction, and rhetorical appeals to strongly convey his argument about nonviolent resistance. To begin with, Chavez uses juxtaposition to contrast the effects of violent and nonviolent resistance.

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In order to achieve true freedom one must discover that you can break unjust laws through peaceful protest. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and “The Speech at The March Washington” by Josephine Baker each article passionately argues about the disadvantages of the black community, the equality and power of education. We must learn to act with patients and not guns we must protect are self’s with a pen and paper not violence. Dr. King once4 said “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is unique in history which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.

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In order to further prove that nonviolence is the way to stop racism and gain equality, Dr. King writes: “I'm grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle. If this philosophy had not emerged, I am convinced that by now many streets of the South would be flowing with floods of blood” (). In this quote, Dr. King once again argues that non violence and peace are the best ways to stop the cycle of violence. The phrase “the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle” shows that even though they are struggling, nonviolence can help them.

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In “Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” there were 3 specific cases that stood out where you can see Chavez’s uses words to influence people. He was speaking to a crowd at a protest for the anti-pesticide movement and the people there mostly supported him, but they still needed to be inspired to take action. Chavez is saying how that they have been fighting this for a while and that “it should be clear to all of [them] that there is an unfinished agenda” and that although they’ve started working, they still “have miles to go before [they] reach the promised land” (13). Here Chavez uses charged language to appeal to his audience’s emotions. He wants them to realize that they still have a lot of

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He also very systematically explains the thinking process of the people involved in the various nonviolent demonstrations. However, in contrast to his previously succinct and to the point sentences, paragraph 14 contains an extremely long and detailed sentence. Here, he also changes from simply addressing the reader to actually attempting to put the reader

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In the text his main purpose was to persuade farm workers not to use violence to get their (farm workers) demands met, and boycott grape farms. In doing so the farmers would have to give in to demands of labor leaders. However, due to the struggles of others Throughout his speech there is a determined and insistent tone.

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In the first paragraph Chavez mentions Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, stating that Dr. King’s “entire life was an example of power that nonviolence brings…” This reference to Dr. King causes those who know of his impact to realize that he lead a strong historical example of what nonviolence could achieve. By using Dr. King as an example it indicates that Chavez thinks that if nonviolence had heavily impacted the past, then it would most likely do the same in the present and future. Chavez also makes a reference to Gandhi and his nonviolent boycott in India, claiming that what he taught “is the most nearly perfect instrument of nonviolent change.” By using the word perfect to describe Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence, it further supports Chavez’s stance for nonviolent resistance.

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Nonviolent resistance and realistic pacifism were more than an intellectual assent, but rather a way of life for Martin Luther King Jr. The profound dedication that King exemplifies is a testament to the power of love in the face injustice. King notes in his work Pilgrimage to Nonviolence, of the process of meticulously surveying the works of other philosophical thinkers in search of something to medicate his religious, and personal dilemma when addressing philosophical perspectives. Ghandi’s nonviolent resistance has made a lasting impact on King, which has made a tremendous influence in African American rights.

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