Malcolm X Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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King uses seasonal diction to convince his audience members of the power of nonviolent protests in attaining equal rights. Several times throughout his speech, King uses metaphors related to the seasons to portray the racial oppression that Black people have faced throughout American history. For example, King writes, "This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality" (112). The "sweltering summer" represents the conditions that affected African Americans when King gave the speech, and the "invigorating autumn" depicts the desired outcome of the civil rights movement—freedom and equality. King explicitly compares the challenges faced by African Americans …show more content…

However, simply asking his audience is not enough. By using phrases like "dumb vote," "ignorant vote," and "wasted vote," Malcolm chooses to anger his crowd by making them feel uneducated and stupid. By invoking an emotional response within his audience, Malcolm aims to mobilize his crowd to recognize and address the injustice they face. Moreover, Malcolm's use of provocative language stresses the urgency of the civil rights movement. In addition to employing provocative diction to rile up his audience, Malcolm X uses derogatory terms directed at white people to foster unity among his listeners and galvanize them to direct their frustrations at white people. At the beginning of his speech, Malcolm X clarifies that his speech has no religious affiliation; instead, he is strictly concerned with attaining equal rights for all Black people living in America. Malcom seeks to look past factions in the Black community and unite all Black people as they have all suffered political oppression. When Malcolm calls white people "crackers" or acculturated Black people "handkerchief-heads," he attempts to unify his Black audience and pit them against white people and the systemic injustices perpetrated by white

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