Malcolm X's Rhetorical Analysis: The Ballot Or The Bullet

The Ballot or the Bullet Rhetorical Analysis This is my rhetorical analysis of Malcolm X’s speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” I chose this piece because I focus on the concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos, which are the main three approaches when it comes to persuasive rhetoric. Malcolm X is known as one of the greatest leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement. On April 3, 1964, Malcolm X gave his speech called The Ballot or the Bullet in Cleveland, Ohio. The rhetorical speech is about the way the 'white man' treats African Americans in the United States, and to convince the people of America that needed to start standing up for themselves and how it is time to fight back. He made the point that African-Americans were treated as second class citizens that they were denied the constitutional rights that African- American deserved. Malcolm X also

He applies to the emotion of his audience, rousing them to anger, at the same time strikes fear into the hearts of his white listeners. Malcolm X emphasizes specific words to make the audience feel that the government has failed. He also uses unfortunate facts to produce a sense of urgency from his audience for example, “ You have 22 million Afro-American who choices are being bound, whose little girls are being murdered, who leader are being shot down in broad daylight.” Malcolm X uses ethos in his speech by introducing himself and he builds credibility by comparing himself to other activists such as, Adam Clayton Powell and Dr. Martin Luther King, who was also a minister and political leaders during the civil rights movement. He related to the audience “we all have the same problem. They don’t hang you because you’re a Baptist; They hang you ‘cause you’re black. They don’t attract me because I’m Muslim; they attract me ‘cause I’m black. They attract all of us for the same