Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King Jnr and Malcom X Essay Example

place their issues within a larger framework and the audience should be able to identify. There is also a logo that aims at appealing the audience through logical reasoning .the reasoning should be true based on the facts which later follow a logical progression.

Martin Luther uses ethos tool of rhetorical analysis in various ways. In his letter, Martin Luther is reasonable, knowledgeable and also moral. Martin shows how reasonable he is when he says ”we have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional God given rights” Martin Luther is said to be reasonable here because he waited for the 340 years as the clergymen wanted him and his people to do(Lucaites et al, 7). Martin Luther shows how knowledgeable he is when he at some points states that Adolf Hitler of Germany very legal and that Hungarian freedom fighters were illegal. leff et al, (41) says he uses his knowledge to prove this point of deeds of Adolf Hitler being legal and those of Hungarian freedom fighters being illegal. The ethonic tool comes out when Martin Luther proves he is moral.

He is quoted saying “so we must see the need for non-violent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.”This shows martin is moral because his main goal for everyone in the country was togetherness and peace at large. Martin Luther king junior can also be said to be moral because, in his introduction, he shows a lot of respect to the clergymen. He addresses them like ‘Hello dear clergymen’. These mean

that he respects their role in the local churches”. On the other hand Malcolm uses ethos to deliver but with different message and agenda. Unlike martin, Malcolm advocates for ideologies that are radical and could result to violence in future. This was contrary to Martin’s moral nature. However like martin, malcom portrays some sense of reasoning. He says made the point that African Americans were treated as second class citizens. (Lucaites et al, 23). He is able to notice that Africans were denied their constitutional rights to vote unlike their counterparts.

Martin Luther king also uses pathos as a rhetorical appeal. in his letter, pathos is evident when he says” when you suddenly find your tongue-twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Fun town is closed to colored children.” (Leff et al, 37). This is a very good example of pathos appeal because it makes one feel very guilty and sad. Here people feel sympathy for children. When martin Luther says that, “tears were wailing up”, it adds imagery and the audience can clearly picture out this scene.

This makes people feel guilty and sad. Malcolm also uses pathos when he says” when you take across country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you .Here the descriptions of physical discomfort add pathos tool in the letter. Malcolm x also uses pathos as an appeal

of his argument. He says “Whether you’re educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you’re going to catch hell just like I am. We’re all in the same boat and we all are going to catch the same hell from the same man.” This brings emotions on the people. it is aimed at uniting people on one common ground and this makes them forget about their common and usual differences .Malcolm x also uses pathos when he talks about the actions of the white man .

He says "The year when all of the white political crooks will be right back in your and my community with their false promises, building up our hopes for a letdown, with their trickery and their treachery, with their false promises which they don't intend to keep” Malcolm X also displays sort of anger towards racial inequality, voting rights, and the civil rights of the black American-people. Anger gives the audience more passion towards the subject. Dyson et al, (19) says that Malcolm x points out that racists were hanging black people .He says that racists hanged black people because of their skin color and not just because of their religion. This statement made people who were already angry to become angrier. Malcolm used this rhetorical tool because he knew that logically angry people agree to radical ideas more easily that people who are calm and can think critically.

Towards the end of his speech Malcolm x uses pathos but here he does not use anger to fuel his passion. He instead uses more compassionate approaches in delivering his arguments. When Malcolm tries to convince

the Africans in American were not citizens of American .He reminds them that they are still Africans. He begins his sentence ‘everything that came out of Europe, every blue –eyed thing is American as long as you and I have been over here ,we are not Americans..Malcolm states that black people are not Americans; he insists that they are just Africans (Dyson et al, 21). These phrases bring about emotions to his audience.

Martin Luther king junior also uses logos in his letter to deliver is idears to the clergy. This was a backup to his argument against the clergy men. He says “it’s unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it’s even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative”. Malcolm x here uses logic to bring the attention of people demonstrating and instead tries to focus the attention on the problems or reasons that were causing this demonstrations. In this letter, King tries to show the fact that the black people had no alternative apart from preparing a direct action. In his argument, he uses historical evidence .He uses logical fallacies such as appealing to the authority (leff et al, 43).

For example he says” Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...”Here he uses a famous person that people respect. Malcolm x uses logos when he tries to convince his audience that it was very possible to have nationalism again in American .He tries to argues that without black nationalism, the amount of change in America in the favor of the black people would be very little or

even no change at all. Malcolm says,” as in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointments settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community”. This is a logos appeal because Malcolm x states facts that supported his claim that they were being take advantage of.

”Both Malcolm x and martin Luther king jr arguments were very effective because they both very Cleary understands the mindsets of their audience. They know what to say to excite them about their cause (Lucaites et al, 15). They are using ethos, pathos and even logos to gain the audiences trust and also appeal them emotionally and even logically. They are ford of repetition words in order to keep the thoughts of their audience present .foe example Malcolm x keep on repeating the terms “ballot or the bullet.”These give him the chance to connect the issue of the ballot and that of the bullet. Their speeches were strong and inspiring because they combine their confident and even sturdy speaking. This helped Malcolm and martin king to come off as respectable and intelligent leaders who knew what they wanted to achieve.

WORK CITED

• Leff, Michael C., and Ebony A. Utley. "Instrumental and Constitutive Rhetoric in Martin Luther King Jr.'s" Letter from Birmingham Jail"." Rhetoric & Public Affairs 7.1 (2004): 37-51.
• Vail, Mark. "The" Integrative" Rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr.'s" I Have a Dream" Speech." Rhetoric & Public Affairs 9.1 (2006): 51-78.
• Dyson, Michael Eric. I may not get there with
  

you: The true Martin Luther King, Jr. Vol. 233. Simon and Schuster, 2000.