“Don’t let anybody tell you anything about the odds are against you,” conveyed Malcolm X on April 3rd of 1964 (“Ballot” 2). Malcolm delivered possibly one of the most powerfully imbued speeches of the Civil Rights movement. The Civil Rights bill being recently passed and elections that same year Malcolm had one question for all blacks, whether they will choose “The Ballot or the Bullet”. Malcolm uses loaded language, multiple appeals, parallelism, and symbolism to achieve his claim, that black votes could alter the elections outcome. Malcolm Little was exposed to racism at an early age, his father was consistently a target for Ku Klux Klan. His father moved the family to Michigan, where they set fire to their home. He was eventually killed
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Malcolm tells the audience that, “If you don’t take this kind of stand, your little children will grow up and look at you and think ‘shame’” (Malcolm 6). Parents do not want their children to look down on them and according to Malcolm if parents do not take action their children would be disappointed. When he states, “If you’re afraid to use an expression like that, you should get on out of the country; you should get back to the cotton patch: you should get back in the alley.” (Malcolm 3), Malcolm reminds the audience of America’s disgusting past and present. The idea of being sentenced back to cotton fields sends chills down the spines of any minority in America, specifically African Americans. He wants to instill enmity into his audience and by referring to the past it brings his point across. He claims that African American’s are not actually American because they did not come out of Europe. In fact he claims that African Americans are victims of Americanism. He states, “ I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare,” ( Malcolm 2). He uses antithesis, as well as, loaded language to prove that the American dream is not something that can be applied to blacks. The idea of the American dream is one that immigrants can come to America and make something of themselves but when Malcolm argues that it is more of a nightmare, he washes away the idea of this perfect American and it’s hopeful image. When Malcolm states, “Your vote, your dumb vote, your ignorant vote, your wasted vote…,” (Malcolm 2) he utilizes parallel structure and word choice to show off a somewhat sarcastic tone. By choosing dumb, ignorant, and wasted he leads into this idea that your vote really is not and it comes off as ironic. He later states, “It’ll be ballots, or it’ll be bullets. It’ll be
Malcolm tells the audience that, “If you don’t take this kind of stand, your little children will grow up and look at you and think ‘shame’” (Malcolm 6). Parents do not want their children to look down on them and according to Malcolm if parents do not take action their children would be disappointed. When he states, “If you’re afraid to use an expression like that, you should get on out of the country; you should get back to the cotton patch: you should get back in the alley.” (Malcolm 3), Malcolm reminds the audience of America’s disgusting past and present. The idea of being sentenced back to cotton fields sends chills down the spines of any minority in America, specifically African Americans. He wants to instill enmity into his audience and by referring to the past it brings his point across. He claims that African American’s are not actually American because they did not come out of Europe. In fact he claims that African Americans are victims of Americanism. He states, “ I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare,” ( Malcolm 2). He uses antithesis, as well as, loaded language to prove that the American dream is not something that can be applied to blacks. The idea of the American dream is one that immigrants can come to America and make something of themselves but when Malcolm argues that it is more of a nightmare, he washes away the idea of this perfect American and it’s hopeful image. When Malcolm states, “Your vote, your dumb vote, your ignorant vote, your wasted vote…,” (Malcolm 2) he utilizes parallel structure and word choice to show off a somewhat sarcastic tone. By choosing dumb, ignorant, and wasted he leads into this idea that your vote really is not and it comes off as ironic. He later states, “It’ll be ballots, or it’ll be bullets. It’ll be