Malcolm X Rhetorical Analysis

“We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary.” This famous quote was spoken by African-American Muslim and human rights activist Malcolm X in June of 1964. At this period of time America was going through the era of segregation and the civil rights movement so leaders like Malcolm X wished to bring blacks together to form strong organizations for change. Throughout the speech Malcolm attempts to engage his listeners to his ideas and explain the creation of an organization to increase Black Nationalism.

Can reading really be influential? Do you believe that reading can change lives? Malcolm X, one of the most influential man of his time thought so. One day he was able to turn his life around by just picking up a book and learning how to read. Whether it was in a jail cell or in a library he was reading wherever he went. In Malcolm X’s essay “Literacy Behind Bars” he writes about the topic of how reading changed his life. Throughout his life in prison, Malcolm X shares his experience of how learning how to read had changed his life forever. This essay shows how the ability to read and write opens new pathways into your imagination that you may not be able to experience if you lacked the ability to do so. Learning how to become literate did not come easy back then especially since he was African American. During his life in prison he realized that you do not need a college education to be successful; you just need to know how to read and write. The way Malcolm structured his essay helped improve his ethos much like other things did. Malcolm X’s encouraging tone was evident throughout the essay. He writes his essay with such a tone, because he is explaining his personal struggle of learning how to read and how it paid such dividends in his life after prison. By using this type of tone he appeals to people’s emotions through the use of logos, which in result helps build his ethos. As well as his tone he also uses different rhetorical devices to keep the reader engaged. The use of irony throughout the essay in appealing to the reader because it keeps them interested in the essay that they are reading. Similarly, his use of opposition within the essay makes the reader think about what they are reading. People may need to reread a sentence or two because how the opposition is used in the essay, which keeps them focused and aware of what they are reading. By utilizing several rhetorical devices, including pathos, opposition, and ethos, that being said, Malcolm X conveys the message of how reading changed his life.

In the speech, ‘The ballot or the bullet’, by Malcolm x, he claims that blacks need to exercise their rights, especially to vote, but if the government tries to prevent them from voting: violence might be necessary. Malcolm x uses emotional appeals, logical appeals, and ethical appeals to make his claim.

April 3, 1964, Malcolm X gives his well renowned speech; The Ballot or the Bullet in Cleveland Ohio. His purpose behind the speech is to encourage African-Americans of the United States to stand up to the unfair treatment that he believes they receive. Throughout the speech, Malcolm X creates an ambition in the audience, encouraging change through the numerous uses of ethos, logos, and pathos. Malcolm X uses his personal experiences to show the audience that he has experienced the same negativity that they do everyday. X suggests everyone should be treated equally; religion, gender and race aside. His audience was made up of a majority of African-Americans, he uses the common ground of wanting to achieve equal treatment to show his audience he is on the same side as them. Through the organization of the speech, it is rhetorically effective. He practices the phrase “The Ballot or the Bullet” which uses repetition, forcing listeners to remember the phrase which later becomes more effective. X begins using ethos by introducing himself, immediately gaining the attention of the audience as well as respect of the audience. X then makes the current problem in the African-American community extremely clear to the audience, this is his use of pathos, where he engages them in his thought process and bringing them in using emotion. The speech uses rhetoric to emotionally and logically

Malcom X gives his speech during a time in American history when equality and civil rights between blacks and whites had not yet been established. Like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X also fought for the civil rights of Black Americans in the 1960s, but using different tactics. Malcom X was angry that Congress had opposed bills that were intended to support the equality and civil liberties of African Americans. In the North, where Blacks were allowed to vote, White politicians came to Black communities with promises they did not intend to keep in exchange for black votes. Malcom X urged the African American community to fight in order to gain the equal rights they deserved, by either through immediate grant of the vote (the ballot) and if denied the vote, blacks should engage in violent opposition to the white rule (the bullet). Malcom X’s stature as a civil rights leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam helped strengthen these appeals. Throughout his speech, Malcom X shifts between various tones to make his speech more impactful towards his audience. He mainly spoke in an assertive tone, which proved the seriousness of his arguments. During his rhetoric appeals, it is evident that X moved into subtle changes of mood and tone to captivate the emotions of his audience.

This era was the time when both X and King would begin to express their opinions on race and equality. Georgetown University’s Keith Miller asserts that Elijah Muhammad, the man to whom X was devoted, taught that the Caucasian society actively worked to keep African-Americans from gaining power and respect and achieving political, economic and social success (“Malcolm X”). These teachings, asserts Malcolm’s official website, combined with how haunted he was by his childhood explain how the message he preached came to be. Malcolm’s idea of true equality was rebellious, negative and angry. He embraced separatist philosophies and felt that non-violence and integration were tricks that white people promoted to keep blacks in their place (“About Malcolm X”). Martin Luther King’s philosophies couldn’t have been more different, according to Long Island University’s Melvin Sylvester. He believed that through hard work, strong leadership and non-violence, blacks could achieve full equality with whites (“Tribute”). King urged all members of the black

In this speech, Malcom shows how dedicated he is about making an improvement in the black community. Throughout the speech Malcolm talk about how the black community gets degraded then he goes and say as I quote him saying “usually, when people are sad, they just cry over their condition but when they get angry they bring about a change{ –Malcolm x December,10,1963 page 2] . This is example how x try to encourage people to stand for what they believe in and also to fight for justice and to be proud to speak up about the black congregation and to make a difference. Malcolm x also made his own protest according to history.com x didn’t just believe in just talking to the congregation he believe in getting out and doing something about it, also x partner up with Dr. Martin Luther king plenty of times. According to cnn. Com king and x both had different ways to handling the justice for the black community but they still both mange to achieve the same goal. Although you might think he was just a civil right

Malcolm X used direct and to the point language, which could be understood, by all levels of society. He spoke in very casual, easy-to-understand words such as “all of that kind of stuff”, or “Just look here”, unlike Martin Luther King, who, in his speech, used many metaphors. “Mississippi will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice” (King 1963). King used his words in a very educated manner. This quality would appeal to all races including whites and African Americans. He is graceful and yet appealing to the black community. Malcolm X’s use of words reflected those of a man who came up out of the same world that he is struggling to set his people free from. He used “street talk” to appeal to his followers. Knowing that Malcolm X talked the same way his followers did, they felt a sense of

Reading stimulates your mind, reduces stress, expands your vocabulary, and also gives you knowledge. Books are literary works that can inspire change, not only personally but also socially and politically. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an example of one of those books which sparked a movement. The Black Arts Movement empowered black people to create their own literature and art and was triggered by the assassination of Malcolm X. His book, written by him and Alex Haley, was widely read and influenced the movement and views on racial issues at that time. Part of the reason why this book is so influential is the literary devices it uses. The Autobiography of Malcolm X utilizes tone, symbolism, and metaphors to connect with the audience and

In the excerpt "Learning to Read" by Malcolm X, the speaker utilizes multiple rhetorical strategies and devices to assist in conveying his beliefs, which are those of Elijah Muhammad. The first example of these devices presents itself in paragraph 19, when the speaker states "The teachings of Mr. Muhammad stressed how history had been 'whitened'..." In this way, the speaker appeals to ethos, or an appeal to authority, to express how his beliefs coincide with those of Mr. Muhammad, who he considers to be a reliable and respected source for the topic. The use of this appeal served one purpose - to introduce the topic of Muhammad, who had not previously been mentioned. It was through this device that he was able to connect the education he was receiving to the ideals of a religious leader.

The context in which a statement is made can change the entire meaning of what was said.  This is why many times people will use context as a defense for statements they make that offend or cause some sort of public backlash.   The manner in which a person delivers a message and what messages the rhetor chooses to deliver can be a great indication of foundation of that persons value and belief system. There are a number of value systems present in Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech that he delivered in the storied election year of 1964. There are many statements made in the ballot or the bullet

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Many might question Malcolm’s purpose for admiring and representing Elijah Muhammad the way he did. Throughout, chapter 15 “Icarus” and chapter 16 “Out,” Malcolm showed his admiration for Mr. Muhammad. Also, Malcolm X expressed the lack of consideration black people had towards their own educations instead they kept them concealed and to themselves. Instead the white people were showing their educations off every chance they could get.

In New York City on March 22 1964, Malcolm X delivered his speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” Malcolm X, a minister of the Nation of Islam and revolutionary advocator of nationalism in the black community, imparted this speech with the intent to reach the black population in a time of change. The adept use of ethos, pathos, and logos to build and maintain a compelling argument, brings about a call to action and firmly conveys his ideas within the black population. Within ethos, pathos, and logos, the implication of elevated language, loaded words, and logical statements, attains a sense of credibility, assurance, and cogency.

"They've become dissatisfied, and all of this has built up frustrations in the black community that makes the black community throughout America today more explosive than all of the atomic bombs the Russians can ever invent." He uses a metaphor as another example of Malcolm X believing black nationalism to be more powerful than any weapon known to this world. The reason he makes this comparison and specifically name drops Russia is because of the arms race between the two at the time. America and Russia alone had enough weaponry to destroy the Earth as we know it entirely. I believe this quote though exposes the obvious difference between Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. He alludes to the fact that he believes nothing will change unless African Americans get violent. He states that all this frustration has built up so much that it’s ready to be let out and explode at any time. Malcolm believes that the eventual “explosion” of frustrations will be more dangerous than all the weapons Russia, or America for that matter, could fire.

On April 3, 1964, human rights activist and Muslim minister, Malcolm X, delivered his most famous speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” to a predominantly black audience during a meeting at the Cory Methodist Church sponsored by the Cleveland Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In the speech, Malcolm X implores African Americans of all faiths to stand up for themselves and fight against the political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation of African Americans at the hands of the white man. The speech was given shortly after Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam, an African American political and religious movement, for which he had been the spokesman, and declared his willingness to cooperate with the Civil Rights Movement. Accordingly, he wanted to distance himself from the Nation of Islam, who critics have described as black supremacist and anti-Semitic, and expand his audience to include non-Muslim African Americans and moderates who viewed the Nation of Islam as too radical. Malcolm X begins his speech by successfully employing emotional appeals; he establishes common ground with his audience by discussing the collective experience of African Americans of all faiths in an oppressive, white America which invokes their anger and frustrations. Next, he builds his credibility, using numbers and federal law to expose the “political con-game” being played by the Democratic Party, with African Americans as its victims, and encourage blacks to uses