Rhetorical Analysis Of I Am Prepared To Die Speech

Through the use of many rhetorical devices, Martin Luther King expertly writes this piece using those devices to improve and influence the response of his audience. This introduction to his book, Why We Can’t Wait, is used to bring injustice to light and as a call to action piece. His goal is to inform the whites of America about racial inequality and to rally the African Americans to continue working towards a desegregated world.

“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 memorable speech by Steve Jobs entitled “How to Live before you die” inspire us to always pursue our dreams and never give up in everything we do despite we have to get through many awful challenges. He tells three inspirational stories of his own lives that could have made him to give up in life but instead; he used the challenges as stepping stoles for him to be more successful in his live. Steve’s first story really teaches us the value of determination. After he decided to drop out from Reed Collage, he continue to educate himself by going to classes that he really interest him and because of that he was able to create his own computer that is widely used nowadays which is Mac. The second story is about how he was fired from his own

The year is 1995. Mandela (Freeman) is in his first term as President. He recognizes the tremendous challenges facing his government in a land torn apart by apartheid. Racial tensions are at an all time high, people are struggling with the effects of crippling unemployment, and a new black government has shifted the

Today I have chosen two speeches which are critical to the growth and development that our nation has gone through. Two men from different backgrounds and different times with one common goal, equality for all. The Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” both address the oppression of the African-Americans in their cultures. Though one hundred years and three wars divide the two documents, they draw astonishing parallels in they purposes and their techniques.

Thesis: Actions, beliefs, and patience are characteristics that are comparable in both the lives of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

“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

Though many white men fight with violence, all black men must fight back with acceptance and love, which poses significant physical threat to the black man. The nonviolent black man is brave enough to act on what he knows: a black man is no better or worse than a white man. By acting rationally and without violence, a person can authentically maintain his or her dignity by being respectful, courageous, and accepting. These qualities are especially admirable when they exist in all areas of a person’s life, even in the face of physical danger, violence, and fear. When a person chooses to act on what he or she knows is right, this person understands that “to act is to be committed,” but “to be committed is to be in danger” (9). A white American man takes no risk in claiming that an African American is inferior, especially since his fundamental reason for believing so, that the black

Throughout King’s speech, he uses the rhetorical mode, pathos, to give the audience an ambience of strong emotions such as sympathy. For example, whites had

Martin Luther King’s use of Pathos and Logos in “I have a Dream” showcases how he uses the devices to inspire others, compared to how he uses these rhetorical devices in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to persuade the Clergymen. Martin Luther King, also referred to MLK, uses both Pathos and Logos to fit the audiences and occasions for each text. His uses of Pathos and Logos in these two texts are examples of how words can inspire change.

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

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.

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

Later in his speech he enhances his already established authority in the movement, by mentioning that, due to his involvement in organizing strike with fellow Africans, he “consequently… had to leave” his “home and family…and go into hiding to avoid arrest” (paragraph 13). This resulted from the unjust laws established by the current white-dominated South African government to halt black progression. This aided in highlighting the importance of the movement in his life, he is so faithful that he would leave his family to reach the objectives of the ANC and its supporters. Qualities like this established him distant from just any other social movement leader. Another way Mandela employs ethos is by using the credibility of others.