Nelson Mandela's Inauguration Speech Analysis

“Hundreds and thousands of Africans are thrown into jail each year under pass laws. Even worse than this is the fact that pass laws keep husband and wife apart and lead to the breakdown of family life.”(Nelson Mandela- April 20,1964 “An Ideal in Which I Am Prepared to Die) This quote comes from a well known African leader Nelson Mandela who fought to help his people in South Africa against apartheid, A set of laws which allowed whites to have all the power in South Africa from 1948 to 1991. He explains in the quote the mistreatment of his fellow Black, Native Africans forced out of homes and jobs due to the white government. Nelson Mandela and many other great leaders used certain rhetorical techniques to convince their people that apartheid is negatively affecting their country. The rhetorical techniques used by Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Steve Biko help to persuade their audiences of their messages of the negative effects of apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko were both activists in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, while Desmond Tutu is an Archbishop who created TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission). Nelson Mandela soon became the president of Africa, Steve Biko was murdered by police, Archbishop Desmond Tutu continued helping the truth behind apartheid get out so South Africans can have peace. The rhetorical techniques used in Nelson Mandela’s “An Ideal for Which I Am Prepared to Die” were pathos which is used to persuade a reader by making them feel emotional for the cause as if it is important to them as well which is an appeal to emotion, ethos to credit himself for his hard work which is the appeal to credibility , and logos a logical apply which is using facts about how it’s affecting them, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s “Forgiveness is Liberating” also uses pathos while applying repetition, the technique of repeating a phrase to persuade the reader that what they are saying is correct and anecdote which is to tell the reader a story of the event to convince them, while Steve Biko’s “Black Consciousness and the Quest for True Humanity” also as Nelson Mandela’s “An Ideal for Which I Am Prepared to Die” applied to logic and used the appeal to credibility.

The best inauguration speech in history was held by John Fitzgerald Kennedy on January 20, 1961. Kennedy helped America realize being a whole country is imperative. The reason for that is, when the whole country is together nothing can defeat them.

“To deny people their right to human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To impose on them a wretched life of hunger and deprivation is to dehumanize them. But such has been the terrible fate of all black persons in our country under the system of apartheid (“In Nelson Mandela’s own words”). Nelson Mandela was a moral compass symbolizing the struggle against racial oppression. Nelson Mandela emerged from prison after twenty-seven years to lead his country to justice. For twenty-seven years he sat in a cell because he believed in a country without apartheid, a country with freedom and human rights. He fought for a country where all people were equal, treated with respect and given equal opportunity. Nelson Mandela looms large in the

Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech that he had written while in a jail cell in Birmingham was very powerful and intense; the whole speech was a summary of the goal of the civil rights movement, such as the reasons why he is not waiting anymore and decided to take action or examples of other instances like this in history. The most prominent feature in the speech is the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Logos and pathos were the most used of the three throughout the speech and were the main reasons why this letter is powerful and intense. There were many other rhetorical devices within the speech such as the metaphors that form similarities between the ways the blacks are currently being treated and how the Jews were treated in the holocaust.

After reading and analyzing Dr.Kings “Remaining Awake during a Revolution” commencement speech that he presented at Oberlin College during his graduation ceremony; he wanted the people to have a good visual on what he was explaining and talking about. King wanted to inform the people about what was going; so he used allusions, statics, and logos.

The story depicted by the movie Invictus is just a glimpse at the many hearts that he touched through his transformational leadership approach proved to be a success in the accomplishment of his end goal of equal diversity amongst the citizens of South Africa. Mandela experienced a great amount of satisfaction from his role in changing the government’s environment and finding peace for

Throughout Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech is an array of rhetoric’s. The three main ones that are highlighted more than the others are persuasion, power and community. Dr. King’s speech was intended to persuade the audience to give the African American community freedom from years of harsh slavery. An aspect that contributes to persuasion is the appeal of what is trying to be persuaded. The speaker wants to use emotion or personal appeals when persuading and that is what Dr. King truly succeeded in. He was affected by the mistreatment and cruelty by others which made the audience feel closer to him because they were also affected.

Both Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech(1963) and Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural address(1994) were impactful speech every made in human history. Intriguingly, there shared similarities and differences, yet both fighting for human rights. This essay will compare and contrast about the content, purpose context and language techniques found within the speech.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an important public figure especially towards the African American people in order to bring equality through peaceful means and the power of speech (Media 2014). Through his cultural context, we can see the power of speech to emotionally engage his audience is demonstrated through his use of stylistic active verbs to fit the occasion. In his speech, rhetoric seems to be planned and adapted towards the audience (Herrick 2005). This was seen through the use of anaphora and symbolism to constantly engage the audience towards the central theme of movement for social justice. Thus by using both, grammatical choices and rhetorical techniques, a particular message to the reader or audience can be strengthened as seen in Martin Luther King Jr.’s

Specific Purpose: To inform my communication studies 192 with a general understanding of the life and outstanding impact that Nelson Mandela has left on the world.

The life story of Nelson Mandela has long become a legend, a story that transcends race, borders, culture, or language. He is one of the greatest leaders to ever step foot on this Earth. He was willing to give up his own personal freedoms for the good of his people. Still, his decisions at major points in his lifetime hold lessons for individuals who are inspired of becoming good leaders. Many leaders are inspired by the actions and decision-makings abilities of Mandela. He kept the interest of others before his own. This is what made Nelson Mandela a great leader, and worthy of winning a Nobel Prize. From the decisions he made, and his life experiences while fighting for human rights, one can conclude that Mandela is truly

Martin Luther king Jr, a strong, determined, and intelligent man who wrote a speech that touched many people including me. Martin Luther King's argument in the speech “I have a dream” was for freedom, racial equality, and to inform people that what was happening wasn't right and wasn't tolerable anymore. He achieved his purpose and proved his argument that nothing they were doing to the people of color was okay and that even though slavery ended and they were considered free they still weren't free.

In this speech Nelson also uses a lot of logic and statement, otherwise known as logos, to explain much of his thinking. Although at times Mandela literally convicts himself, he gives reasoning toward what lead him to those decisions. He states that “fifty years of non-violence had brought the African

Nelson Mandela was an exceptional leader, as President he took South Africa to somewhere it had never been. He valued his time as President, because he knew his time was limited; often working days without a break. Each step of the way he took risks for the good of the people. When told he was ‘risking his political capital and his future as a leader’, he replied, “The day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead.”

It was once stated, “Success will require an acceptance that, in many respects, we are a sick society” (Mandela 2). Nelson Mandela’s State of the Nation Address was an awakening moment for the people of South Africa. Although this is one of the most influential speeches of time, is it more powerful than a fictional novel? Nelson Mandela’s State of the Nation Address along with Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address were defining moments in history. Cry, the Beloved Country is not a nonfiction book, but it is based on events from the past. The connection between all three sources are known and make people think, yet the content and actions of Lincoln’s and Mandela’s speeches leave a profound impact on people’s lives.