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Rhetorical Analysis Of Malcolm X's Ballot Or Bullets

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Human rights activists, Malcolm X in his speech, Ballot or Bullets, published in 1964 addresses the topic of equality and argues that people must be politically intelligent and stand up against segregation. He supports this claim by using anaphora, then by using ethos and finally by using imagery. Malcolm’s purpose is to persuade his audience into standing up against white manipulation. He adopts a frustrated tone for his audience, the readers of Ballot or Bullets and others interested in the topic of black nationalist. Malcolm X starts his speech by explaining that factors like religion, nationality, and politics should not affect who deserves equality. He uses anaphora to inform his audience that his religion, nationality, and political views do not affect his thoughts on equality by stating "Although I'm still a Muslim, I'm not here tonight to discuss my religion. I'm not here to try and change your religion”, “I'm not a politician, not even a student of politics; in fact, I'm not a student of much of anything. I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican,” “it doesn't mean that we're …show more content…

He uses ethos to educate his audience of how he has been affected by white manipulation by stating "I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy,” “ I am one who doesn't believe in deluding myself. I'm not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and call myself a diner,” “We're all in the same boat and we all are going to catch the same hell from the same man. He just happens to be a white man. All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man.” he uses ethos to show he is qualified to talk about the dangers of racism. He adopts a sympathetic and informative tone for an

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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

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In “Learning to Read”, Malcolm X uses rhetorical analysis to argue how African Americans continued to struggle in gaining education due to racism. He informs people that through our history books, there have been modifications that restrain the truth about the struggles black people faced. Malcolm X encouraged his audience to strive to get the rights that they deserved. He demonstrates that knowledge is very important because the truth empowers us. In his interview he persuades his audience with diction, tone, pathos, ethos, and appeal to emotion to make his point.

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Introduction: Malcom X urges the Negro community to fight to gain the equal rights they deserve by taking action against their white oppressors. He emphasizes that blacks will gain their rights either thorough voting, with the ballot, or else through the inevitable violence with the bullet. Thesis [part a] Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., also fighting for the civil rights of black Americans in the 1960s, but in a more peaceful manner, Malcom X takes a different approach.

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According to X, “The ballot or the bullet”... “Now in speaking like this, it doesn't mean that we're anti­-white, but it does mean we're anti­-exploitation,we're anti­-degradation, we're anti­-oppression. And if the white man doesn't want us to be anti-­him, let him stop oppressing and exploiting and degrading us”(Malcolm #2). The essence of Malcolm’s argument is that he is not anti white, he is anti whites oppressing and disenfranchising African Americans and if the white person wants to not be hated, then he should stop hating himself. In a letter written in Mecca, Malcolm X says,“on this pilgrimage, what I have seen,and experienced, has forced me to re-arrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions” (Malcolm X).

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He relates with his audience through his words, showing them how he understands what they are going through, as well as showing them that it is hard to accomplish their goals. All because of the way they are looked upon by “Americans”. Throughout the speech, Malcolm X’s goals is to convince people that the black nation should be considered Americans, and that color should not define them as something other than that through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. He attempts to show them that they are all the same, aside from their skin color.

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