Malcolm X Rhetorical Analysis

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X played pivotal roles in the civil rights movement for African Americans. They delivered powerful speeches that inspired people to fight for their rights. Although they shared a common goal of addressing the issue of Black Nationalism, their ideologies differed significantly in terms of context, diction, and language. Despite their differences, they both shared the same desire to liberate African Americans in America and unite them against any form of discrimination. Malcolm X concentrates on logical reasoning through parallelism, persuading the audience about the harsh treatment they faced while Martin Luther King Jr. uses metaphors as emotional connections to help the audience understand the importance of black nationalism. Malcolm X’s aggressive and militant

also used metaphors in his speeches to evoke empathy and understanding among his audience. He uses metaphors to emotionally connect and address the problem of the blacks optimistically. He focuses on how black equality could increase the rights of blacks as whites. By using metaphors he creates a sense of realization of the importance of equality and justice as evidenced by “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” which compares injustice to spreading disease (Source B). By using this metaphor, he emphasizes the interconnectedness of all blacks and the importance of addressing injustice wherever it takes place, encouraging equality and justice. Malcolm X’s way of using metaphors is more effective than Martin Luther King Jr.’s way of using metaphors. When Martin Luther King Jr. uses metaphors, he advocates the blacks and encourages them to have equal rights as whites, but through non-violent methods and employing integration. But when Malcolm X uses metaphors, he provides provocative and varied examples so that blacks understand that they are the only ones being oppressed and their race is the reason for the injustices