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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Ballot Or The Bullet

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The Ballot or the Bullet Malcolm X, an African-American Muslim minister and a human rights activist, in his influential speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964), empowers and inspires thousands of the black race, and desperate people to fight for their discarded rights and maintain their vanished equality, declaring that if the government tries to hold them back from gaining full equality under the law, it might be time for them to rebel, and fight. X supports his claims by using accurate solutions based on logic reasoning, as he also appeal his audience by piteousness, backed up with credibility to support everything he states. The purpose of this speech is to encourage African-Americans to stand up for their rights and vote; X also establishes a close relationship with his audience by his overwhelming use of rhetoric. He uses ethos, pathos, and logos, along with examples of anaphora and repetition, but the primary use of persuasion that mainly convinced and attracted his audience was his use of pathos, through the calculated and …show more content…

X also had the ability to recognize what to do in order to excite them about his motivation. He included all the main rhetorical devices to achieve his audience assurance and plead them both logically and emotionally, encouraging them to earn their equality. X repetition of the word "the ballot or the bullet" helped him retain his concern in the audience’s mind, as he mentioned it after every new idea and related it to it. X speech was powerful and full of inspiration, and due to his confidence, syntax ,and use of formal English he was able to highlight the change he wants, and appear as a brilliant knowledgeable personality,he was able to end his speech in a heartening and motivational reminder stating , "The black nationalists aren't going to wait...In 1964, it's the ballot or the

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Instead of promoting peace to solve problems, Malcolm X used violence when necessary to get his points across to his audience. Little’s speech has a significant lack of logic; although, it is a clever move to predominantly use emotional appeal due to his motive - to incite anger in America and to showcase the government's faults. Through repetition of inflammatory phrases and accusatory diction both which create appeals to anger, Malcolm X effectively persuades his audience during “The Ballot Or The Bullet.” Throughout his speech, Malcolm X repeats incendiary phrases in order to kindle vexation in his audience. This tactic encourages his listeners to stand up for themselves now that they can see the issue at hand.

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We know that in order to create an effective message whether on speech or paper, the three rhetorical appeals are essential. The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X demonstrates all three appeals superbly. Malcolm X himself builds ethos very well, as well as displays his automatic ethos. He also appeals to logos through an ample amount of solid reasoning and several facts. In this speech pathos is extremely well present and effective.

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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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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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