Rhetorical Analysis Of Nelson Mandela's Speech

On April 20, 1964, Nelson Mandela delivered a speech to the Supreme Court of South Africa. Mandela was being tried for sabotage, high treason, and a conspiracy to overthrow the established government; these charges were brought forth during a time a great discrimination and segregation by whites against Africans. Mandela was a renowned and highly regarded leader in the movement toward desegregation and equality, and to this day is still recognized as a driving force in ending the apartheid in South Africa. Like many great leaders before him, Mandela relied heavily on peaceful political movement rather than riots or any violent acts as he described more in depth within this speech. The purpose of this speech was to convince the court that a majority of the allegations made against him, as well as the African National Congress, were false or twisted, but he also aimed to thrust their movement forward. Using his credibility as a leader for social justice, powerful language, and sensible logic Mandela was able to truly convey their struggle. Although his trial ended with a guilty verdict, he was successful in showing that some of the blame fell onto the government and that change was absolutely important.

At the very beginning of his speech, Mandela introduces himself and highlights his qualifications as a credible speaker; this is also known as ethos. The very first lines of his speech state, “I am the First Accused. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and practiced as an attorney… for a number of years… I am a convicted prisoner serving five years” (paragraph 1). This is a key and useful introductory statement; it is effective and is intended for shock value. He begins by stating his position in the case, “First Accused”,...

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...nfortunately, ineffective at convincing court officials of his innocence. The most obvious reason for this was because the decision was left to his opposition; government officials. Throughout the speech he used them as the reasoning for all of the ANC and his illegal activity. Although this was an effective way of gaining more support for his movement, this was not a way of gaining belief in his innocence. He never actually claims innocence for many of the things he was accused of, but simply gives a rationale for why things turned out the way they did, and why this was a benefit to the movement of the ANC.

In conclusion, Mandela was a successful advocate for his cause, but did not advocate well in support of his innocence. Then again, a man who titled his defense statement as “I Am Prepared to Die” probably wasn’t too concerned about his livelihood post-trial.