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Rhetorical Comparative Analysis Of Malcolm X's The Ballot Or The Bullet

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A Rhetorical Comparative Analysis of Malcolm X’s “Black Man’s History” and “The Ballot or The Bullet”
One of the most important civil rights activists in American history was Malcolm X. He was an ardent supporter of Black emancipation, and a civil rights fighter; his words still serve as an example to people today. His most well-known speeches, “Black Man's History” and “The Ballot or the Bullet,” were given at a time when social and political upheaval was particularly severe in the country. These speeches offer a compelling look at Malcolm X's rhetorical techniques and the way he employed language to spread his message of Black empowerment. In this analysis, Malcolm X's use of ethos, pathos, logos, figurative language, repetition, and historical references are highlighted along with other rhetorical techniques. By looking at these components, we can see how Malcolm X expertly designed his words to connect with his audience and spur positive change. The rhetorical …show more content…

Malcolm delivered this iconic speech in April 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio, to a black audience. The text argues that if black people can unite and become politically mature, they would “determine who's going to sit in the White House and who's going to be in the doghouse.” If that fails, violence will be inevitable. Malcolm employs repetition, contrast, metaphors, similes, and other rhetorical devices to elicit action from his audience. These tactics and Malcolm's intense tone combine to generate a sense of immense importance and urgency in Black society. I love Malcolm's strategies throughout the speech, his blunt words that cut right through the audience, sarcasm, and rhetorical devices made this speech stand out to

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The Ballot or the Bullet is a speech delivered by Malcolm X in 1964. The main aim of the speech is to urge African Americans to vote, and if they do not attain equality through voting, they can use violence to fight for their rights. The speech is among the top persuasive speeches of the 20th century. It was very influential speech that empowered the black people to fight against the domination of the white man. Malcolm X used the speech to advocate for racial, social and economic justice for all individuals.

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The Civil Rights Movement, occurring in the mid-20th century, proved to be a time of intense struggle and injustice for the black community as they clamored with systematic oppression. Malcolm X, a prominent leader in the movement, innovated the values and philosophies of America. X had a verifiable mastery of the English language, which granted him the upper hand amongst other activists. “The Ballot or the Bullet,” one of X’s most famous speeches given in Detroit, Michigan on 12 April 1964, teems with a flabbergasting amount of rhetorical devices. Malcolm X uses matured rhetoric, such as anaphora, contrasting ideas, and repetition, to manipulate the masses into a position in which they will muster behind his means of attaining racial equity.

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Patrick Henry and Malcolm Little (more commonly known as Malcolm X) were powerful spokesmen of their times. Years after Henry persuaded the United States president in time of the American Revolution to fight for the rights of Americans in his “Give me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, Little encouraged the black community of his time to stand for their own deprived civil rights as a race in his own speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” While these two men stood at the head of separate movements in different points of history, both believed in a similar goal to be accomplished through the same means: to win their battle for the rights of Americans and African Americans through fighting hard, not necessarily through violence, but through whatever

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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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Malcom X is able to capture his audience by using three rhetorical strategies: an appeal to ethos through his humbleness, logistically exploiting the flaws of his opposition, and an appeal to pathos and emotion. Malcolm X gave his The Ballot or the Bullet speech on April 3, 1964 at a meeting sponsored by the Cleveland, Ohio, chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality during a period when “race” dominated America’s domestic agenda. At that time, a bill that outlawed segregation

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Malcolm X’s speech was an effective example of pathetic because he understands the mindset that the audience is in, and knows what to say to excite them about his cause. He used ethos, pathos, and logos to gain the audience's trust and appeal to them both emotionally and logically, in order to inspire them to fight back. He constantly used repetition of the words "the ballot or the bullet" in order to keep the thought present in the head of the audience, and after completing every thought, he found a way to connect it back to the issue of the ballot or the bullet. The speech was strong and inspiring, and because it was combined with his confident and sturdy speaking, he came off as a respectable and intelligent leader who knows what he wants

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Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both African American leaders of the Africa-American Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s. Although slavery had been abolished after the Civil War, Africans were still treated unequally. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X fought to gain equality between Africans and the white Americans through the use of rhetorical techniques throughout their discourses. By examining “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. and “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X, we observe their reliance on logos and appeal to logos in order to construct their arguments. Dr. King effectively uses analogies to depict his views and beliefs to the Clergymen.

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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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Malcolm X was an effective leader because he had exceptional communication skills. These skills are viewed in his speech “By Any Means Necessary” and have been analyzed. The main goal of this speech was for blacks to figure out or to begin to figure out, what they can do to change the injustice, in order for blacks to gain things that

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African american rights were the main concern of many people, along with government corruption and the unwillingness to help. Malcolm X was no banal man he was a extravagant civil rights speaker, he showed the truth on how coming together can put the end to African American indifference. Due to the lack of government the dichotomy between african americans and the white men was still a major problem ; as African americans needed to put and end to the separation and earn civil rights. Malcolm speaks out to all who are willing to obtain their civil rights. ”In Ballot or Bullet” Malcolm X uses Anaphora, Antithesis, Ethical Appeal, Word choice, and Rhetorical question to show the lack of support from government and how coming together can help fight back.

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