ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Malcolm X And Martin Luther King Jr

651 Words3 Pages

Prompt: We have studied renowned authors, including Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., who portrayed the racial inequalities and promoted change through their powerful orations. How do these authors achieve their purpose of revealing the need for equality and rights for African Americans? “Your silence will not protect you” (Lorde 37). Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X advocated that instead of remaining silent, African Americans must actively fight against the injustices. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, two great civil rights leaders of the 1960s, held diametrically opposite political philosophies. While King was a pacifist who embodied the peaceful traditions of activists who preceded him, Malcolm X was a warmonger who …show more content…

Malcolm X utilizes repetition and metaphors to appeal to the emotions of his young audience in order to rouse them to anger. At the same time, these devices help portray the evil nature of whites. In the same way, King employs repetition and metaphors in order to convince African Americans to unite in order to further strengthen the resolve of the peaceful Civil Rights Movement. Although different in their approaches, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X both use repetition and metaphors to promote their common goal: freedom for African Americans. The repetition in “I Have a Dream” provides King the opportunity to translate his passion unto the audience and enforce the importance of fighting for equality. First and foremost, the most obvious case of repetition is the notorious line, “I have a dream” (King 57). Supposedly, King improvised his speech in response to the call of Mahalia Jackson when she cried out: “‘Tell them about the dream, Martin!’” (Branch 882). As he went on with his speech semi-extemporaneously, he continued to employ anaphora. This short and simple yet powerful repetition resonates with the audience since pursuing a dream is relatable. His dream was not an outlandish one—no, it was a dream that all of the

Show More
Related
1341 Words | 6 Pages

King uses repetition in his writings to give it more power and rhyme. Mr. King uses repetition in his I have a dream speech because it creates a sense of power that emphasizes the main points as well as lets the speech flow smoothly. He uses the repetition of the phrase “One hundred years later,” to enhance that one hundred years later the Negroes are still fighting for civil and legal rights. On page 262, paragraph 5, he repeats “we refuse to believe,” trying to get the point across that the fighters for justice don’t believe that they cannot give them what they are asking for. He also uses the repetition of “we can never be satisfied” to show that they won’t be satisfied until they get what they’re asking for such as racial equality, rights to vote, and desegregation.

Read More
418 Words | 2 Pages

Repetition is used a lot in both speeches to get their message across. King repeatedly uses freedom and justice throughout the speech like “We have come to cash

Read More
834 Words | 4 Pages

Imagine living in a world of segregation - constantly judged by color of one’s skin and not being permitted to associate with the “superior” race. From slavery to discrimination, African-Americans experienced this horror in daily life since the beginning of their existence. Due to the fear of severe punishment, blacks were scared to fight for equality; however, on April 3, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio, one brave soul finally did. His name was Malcolm Little (known as Malcolm X), a widely acknowledged human rights activist. Although he supported black equality, he attacked the problem unlike others such as Martin Luther King Jr. did.

Read More
1512 Words | 7 Pages

Philosophical differences between martin luther king and malcolm X The philosophical differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X have to do with the their protest strategies. MLK never fought with violence. Although he would get physically attacked, he stood his ground and continued to fight for equality peacefully. King believed that whites and blacks should come together to end the hate and violence.

Read More
971 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. A Brief History with Documents written by David Howard-Pitney is a great history book that gives us an entry into two important American thinkers and a tumultuous part of American history. This 207-pages book was published by Bedford/St. Martin’s in Boston, New York on February 20, 2004. David Howard-Pitney worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University in 1986, and that made him a specialist on American civil religion and African-American leaders ' thought and rhetoric (208). Another publication of Howard-Pitney is The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

MLK and Malcolm X both wanted equality but in different ways. Martin Luther King believed in nonviolence to end segregation. However, Malcolm X believed in segregation; where African Americans would govern themselves without bothering the whites. But which idea was better for society? Malcolm X’s philosophy offers a variety of solutions for

Read More
1974 Words | 8 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of peaceful protests and nonviolence for the segregation among blacks and whites while Malcolm X wanted to gain justice through any possible way even if it required violence. The Montgomery Bus Boycott made King a more prominent leader

Read More
1125 Words | 5 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr said,“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”. In the late 1960s, racial tension was high, African Americans were not given the right to vote, the right to a fair education, and the right to a fair judgement. This then led to the separation of schools and the destruction of a normal livelihood. Dr.King and Malcolm X, two men in the face of oppression rose up to challenge the racial barrier, thus changing the world forever. Although Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X seem to have mutual respect and an equal understanding of the inequality, their philosophies were quite different from each other.

Read More
525 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are two profound African American figures in history. They both fought for equality and to better humanity. But, the tactics they used were very different. Their different views may have been rooted from the where they were raised. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in a middle class family and received a very solid education.

Read More
780 Words | 4 Pages

Malcolm X was an effective leader because he had exceptional communication skills. These skills are viewed in his speech “By Any Means Necessary” and have been analyzed. The main goal of this speech was for blacks to figure out or to begin to figure out, what they can do to change the injustice, in order for blacks to gain things that

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr gave us one of one of the most rhetorically moving speeches ever given. Titled as the “I Have a Dream Speech,” he read this speech to the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”. As a civil right mover he gave this great speech to all Americans (black and white) so that he could give off the idea of equality on the same level. Because of his crowd of mix races King made sure to make his speech imploring to all no matter what the race that they may be. He uses metaphorical imagery, powerful diction,and symbolism to create an impact on the audience.

Read More
471 Words | 2 Pages

His words of power and rhetoric had made Dr. King create the emotion of empowerment for his huge audience. The one technique that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses is repetition. Repetition means one word or sentence is used over and over and over. This means, when something is repeated or even the action of repeating

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were both two African American civil rights activists who were very prominent throughout history. They fought for what they believed in but in vastly different ways. Martin Luther King Jr. was born to a middle class family and was well educated. Malcolm X, on the other hand, grew up in a rather hostile environment with barely enough schooling. Both their speeches, “I Have a Dream” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” may have shared some common traits, but at the same time, differed greatly in various aspects.

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

In paragraphs 16-24 he repeats the phrase “I have a dream.” This is an example of repetition. MLK also uses analogy in his speech in paragraph 4. In the text, King compares American civil rights to cashing a bad check. King compares the two to show how worthless the promise of African Americans civil rights is.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

used allusion, metaphors, and repetitions in his speech to try to convince Americans to open up their door of selfishness and welcome change. Dr. King used metaphor to let people better understand things that they don’t necessarily know. KIng also used allusions to show people his ideas compared to theirs, and to make people remember certain things that those people said that goes against what the audience is doing. Finally, Dr. King used repetitions to show people something that is really important, and to remind them about things in the past that should be remembered. In the end, Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream” speech used many rhetorical devices to try to convince people to change their ways, open the doors of selfishness, and invite change.

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Malcolm X And Martin Luther King Jr

Related Topics

Open Document