I Am Malala Rhetorical Analysis Malala Yousafzai unveils the morbid and cruel natures of mankind behind the shadows of ignorance in the country of Pakistan. She revealed how ignorance driven by fear amongst the people can blatantly condemn them into their utmost destruction and how the beauty of whispering hearts can echo the world. Influences of a misunderstood form of Islam succumbed the innocent under the hands of the wretched forces of mankind’s evil such as the Taliban. Henceforth, the country of Pakistan under Taliban rule has gone through constant terrors and discriminations that deprive girls from their education. Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani girl who only wanted an education, was forced to view mankind at its worst and at the …show more content…
Growing up from a peaceful land to a dystopia, Malala learned what the definition of terrorism was. Appalling and powerful definitions of terrorism such as, “It [terrorism] is huddling with your family in the center-most room in your home because you’ve all decided it’s the safest place to be. I is walking down your own street and not knowing whom you can trust” (Yousafzai, pg. 64), demonstrate how Malala’s use of emotional imagery allows the reader to visualize her situation in their own stance. While imagery was applied to describe physical and visual events, it was also applied to describe emotional pictures. This use of imagery was most effective for the reader involuntarily felt the impact each word as he/she read along. This was seen when Malala expressed, “Nighttime was the worst. When darkness fell, we all startled at every creak and jumped at every shadow [...] before I rounded the corner on the way to the Khushal School, I closed my eyes and said a prayer - afraid to open them in case the school had been reduced to rubble overnight. This is what terrorism felt like” (Yousafzai, pg. 65). Aggravating phrases that promote visual thoughts such as “darkness fell,” “startled at every creak,” “jumped at every shadow,”and “reduced to rubble overnight,” implement a fear onto the audience of what terrorism is. This style of …show more content…
This was noted when she gave her Nobel Peace Prize Speech in 2014. During her speech, Malala firmly stated,”I am not a lone voice; I am many. I am Malala, [...] I am those sixty-six million girls who are deprived of education. And today, I am not raising my voice; it is the voice of those sixty-six million girls” (Yousafzai, 2014). This is an example of herself symbolizing justice and education equality for she directly affirmed that she represents the silent and yet loud voices and hearts of oppressed girls who want the education that they are deprived from. Nonetheless, Malala’s symbolism of herself representing peace critically affects the audience’s philosophy of morals. As observed by Malala’s statement, “If you hit a Talib with your shoe, there is no difference between him and you. You must not treat others with cruelty. You must fight them with peace and dialogue” (Yousafzai, pg. 119). The direct comparison of applying violence with a shoe to the violent nature of the Taliban immediately challenges one’s morality. In this case, Malala gave a message of strict non-violence by referring to her own moral values. After all, by this point, the reader would accept Malala being a righteous symbol of peace. Hence, the reader would be prone to follow and learn from her lead of peace. This is a psychological and