These tools make The Ballot or the Bullet more memorable and help the speaker maintain his audiences attention. of the users don't pass the Ballot or the Bullet quiz! Malcolm X was a fighter for civil rights. Littles speech has a significant lack of logic; although, it is a clever move to predominantly use emotional appeal due to his motive - to incite anger in America and to showcase the government's faults. GradeSaver "The Ballot or the Bullet Literary Elements". The Ballot or the Bullet essays are academic essays for citation. One of the goals of the Civil Rights Movement was to end disenfranchisement of African Americans, but the Nation of Islam forbade its members from participating in the political process. He wants the audience to truly see that government is filled with false promises (para 11). Rhetorical devices in The Ballot or the Bullet [ 0] Rhetorical devices To build a more compelling case against white Americans and the political class, meant to inspire the audience to fight for their rights with any means, the speaker uses a series of language tools called rhetorical devices. His subject was Negro rights, and he was speaking to the African American population. What parts of African American society did Malcolm X want them to control? [and] anti-oppression" and that, if white Americans take issue with being considered a problem, all they have to do is stop treating African Americans in those ways. Whether you're educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you're going to catch hell just like I am. intentional balancing clauses within a sentence to create equality of development between ideas (a.k.a. Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes. "my community with their false promises, building up our hopes for a letdown, with their, "As they nourish these dissatisfactions, it can only lead to one thing, an, It has talked and talked and talked the words of freedom, but it. We ourselves have to lift the level of our community to a higher level, make our own society beautiful so that we will be satisfied in our own circles and won't be running around here try to knock our way into a social circle where we're not wanted. Malcolm X was no banal man he was a extravagant civil rights speaker, he showed the truth on how coming together can put the end to African American indifference. Malcolm X delivered a powerful speech on April 3, 1964 at the Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland, Ohio. We encourage you to look for other examples of the same devices in the text to further enrich your an, An allusion is a reference to a person, event, or textthat is relevant to the speech. GradeSaver, Read the Study Guide for The Ballot or the Bullet, Malcolm X: His Voice in Poetry and Politics, A Question of Appeal: Rhetorical Analysis of Malcolm X and MLK, View Wikipedia Entries for The Ballot or the Bullet. Malcolm X, a Muslim, credits Elijah Muhammed, the leader of the Nation of Islam, with making him into the man he is today. Malcolm X frequently uses provocative language to incite anger in his audience, as is evident in his accusation that the white man has made a fool out of you. Here, he is utilizing the rhetorical device of pathos, or appealing to the audiences emotions, to his advantage. Well, you and I been sitting long enough, he claims, and its time for us today to start doing some standing and some fighting to back that up.. [25], One biographer notes that Malcolm was one of the first African-American leaders to note the existence and growing influence of Black nationalism among young civil rights activists.[26]. The history of America is one of colonialism; Malcolm likens the colonists struggle against the British to that of African-Americans against white supremacy. Like the colonists, Malcolm X is ready to fight tooth and nail for the liberation of his community, whether that means using his vote advantageously or participating in outright revolution. We have to see each other as brothers and sisters. He encouraged the black community to get involved in voter registration and voting . He was also muslim. The. In addition, many African American men have fought and died in each war the United States has been involved in. JCBEdPRO. He emphasizes that the Negro vote is the key factor (para 12) that it is the only reason why they Democratic Party is a part of the government. Besides, in Malcolm X biography, I learnt that, an extraordinary person has an extraordinary characteristics. A Summary View of the Rights of British America, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae. The tone of "The Ballot or the Bullet" is both urgent and angry. Malcolm X begins "The Ballot or the Bullet" by announcing that he'll explain what he believes the next steps of the Civil Rights Movement should be. Compared to whom we are now. Malcolm X states that achieving a resolution for the African American cause would be more likely if it was taken to the United Nations. At the same time, the speech indicated that Malcolm still supported Black nationalism and self-defense and thus had not made a complete break with his past. Summary of Malcolm X's "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech. In doing so, the African-American community loses money and becomes poorer while the community the dollar was given to gains money and becomes richer. [21] He advised his listeners to be mindful of the law "This doesn't mean you're going to get a rifle and form battalions and go out looking for white folks that would be illegal and we don't do anything illegal" but he said that if white people didn't want African Americans to arm themselves, the government should do its job. "The Ballot or the Bullet" is the title of a public speech by human rights activist Malcolm X.In the speech, which was delivered on two occasions the first being April 3, 1964, at the Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio and the second being on April 12th 1964 at the King Solomon Baptist Church, in Detroit, Michigan. Malcolm X: ( 06:52) The economic philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that we should own, and operate, and control the economy of our community. I'm not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about,", "I'm not a politician, not even a student of politics; in fact, I'm not a student of much of anything. "The Ballot or the Bullet," a famous civil rights speech delivered by Malcolm X Malcolm X religious beliefs had caused controversy within the Black community. Earlier in the year, Malcolm X, once an outspoken follower of Elijah Muhammed, declared his separation from the Nation of Islam and realigned himself with the civil rights movement. . These 22 million victims are waking up. You can't open up a black store in a white community. Malcolm X delivered "The Ballot or the Bullet" to foster a relationship with other civil rights leaders and announce his desire to work with all groups of African Americans after leaving the Nation of Islam. It's time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem a problem that will make you catch hell whether you're a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Muslim, or a nationalist. Directly or indirectly labeling those against you in a negative way. However, he clarifies that they have yet to see the America dream but only to experience the American nightmare (para 11). At the time, blacks did not have much say in who they wanted to elect. (Malcolm X) Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. . In April 1964, in the midst of a 54 day Senate filibuster of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, Malcolm X gave his famous speech, The Ballot or the Bullet. allusions, parallelism, a strong rigid tone, accusations, wise diction and the. Malcolm X is the protagonist. He declares that religion is a personal matter, not a political one. He appeals to the crowd's sense of pride, telling them that their children won't respect them if they don't take a stand against the white man. The speech was strong and inspiring, and because it was combined with his confident and sturdy speaking, he came off as a respectable and intelligent leader who knows what he wants, Malcolm X evokes emotion with the use of objectification, by specifying particular instances of exploitation, degradation, and oppression that the black community has faced. The Ballot or the Bullet study guide contains a biography of Malcolm X, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. He made you think you were going somewhere and you end up going nowhere but between Lincoln and Washington. Gradesaver has a complete summary of "The Ballot of the Bullet" speech readily available in its study guide for this unit. How does he use his beliefs to persuade a mixed audience about the importance of voting to African Americans? Why did Malcolm X deliver "The Ballot or the Bullet"? The Ballot or the Bullet essays are academic essays for citation. I'm not a Democrat. Though he holds different religious beliefs from King and Powell, all three men are united by their prodigious work as civil rights advocates. The media misconstrued Malcolm X's calls for self-defense as calls for violence. He observes that the United States has reached its boiling point, demonstrated by the increasing use of weapons in confrontations. Relying on peaceful protests such as sit-ins castrates the black man, says Malcolm. He gave this speech on April third in order to talk about both the election and how African-American people should proceed in order to benefit from the election. ", a form of verbal irony generally intened as a witty insult. It outlawed segregation. The mood oscillates between despair, anger, and hope. California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, and activists like Dennis Peron whose partner died of AIDS in 1990 played key roles in organizing the ballot measure. X was a black civil rights activist who played a huge role in the black community during the mid 20th century. What does this mean? "The time when white people can come in our community and get us to vote for them so that they can be our political leaders and tell us what to do and what not to do is long gone. Let him go in there right now and take a moral stand right now, not later. 1964, against a backdrop of segregation and social unrest. Insulting his listener is meant to stoke the listeners sense of anger and injustice, and therefore to provoke him into more direct action against white supremacy than the peaceful protests advocated for by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are able to do. Everything you need for your studies in one place. That old Uncle Tom action is outdated. Stop procrastinating with our smart planner features. Parallelism The major conflict is between African-Americans and white supremacy, concretized in the twin issues of the upcoming election and the ongoing filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. StudySmarter is commited to creating, free, high quality explainations, opening education to all. As a member of PrimeStudyGuides.com, you get access to all of the content. (The Ballot or the Bullet) Definition Parallelism (Repitition) Intentional repitition of the same grammatical structure, which may also include a repeated word or phrase, in the same structural position at least three times in nearby sentences or segments of a sentence. [24], When Malcolm X spoke of "the type of Black man on the scene in America today [who] doesn't intend to turn the other cheek any longer",[9] he was addressing his followers, people who were not advocates of the non-violent approach generally favored by the Civil Rights Movement. In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy sent Congress a civil rights bill. was the black mans vote that put the present administration in Washington, D.C. [3][4], On March 8, 1964, Malcolm X announced his separation from the Nation of Islam, a black nationalist religious organization for which he had been the spokesman for nearly a decade. "The Ballot or the Bullet" further indicates a shift in Malcolm X's rhetoric, as his separation from the Nation of Islam and new, unfettered public activism prompted a change in the ways he addressed his audience. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Emancipation from British Dependence Poem, Poems on Various Subjects Religious and Moral. You don't throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket. "The Ballot or the Bullet" asks African Americans to put aside their differences and work together to redefine their civil rights as human rights so they can plead their case to the United Nations. Malcolm X delivered "The Ballot or the Bullet" shortly before leaving the United States to travel through North Africa and the Middle East. It was very influential speech that empowered the. has failed and failed and failed the works of freedom. intentional omission of a word or words that are readily implied by the context, intentional unconventional rearranging of word order to create an effect, create, study and share online flash cards, "realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common. "The Ballot or the Bullet" was delivered at a church in Cleveland, Ohio, to a crowd that included African Americans and white Americans. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in 1838 and eventually became a respected statesman and advisor to Abraham Lincoln. Don't be throwing out any ballots. The economic philosophy of black nationalism promotes African-American control of the economy of the African-American community. Our faith is sure, our resolve is firm, and our union is strong. Through his triumph and survival of the murder of his father in 1931 when he was six years old, but also educating himself in prison which he was in for seven years from the ages 21-28 (Draper 7).With this story, it inspired people in the various ethnic communities, and neighborhoods. This is meant to send a warning to the American government, cautioning them that African Americans are willin. He says non-violence is foolish when an opponent approaches with violence. I'm not here to try and change your religion. The speech is among the top persuasive speeches of the 20th century. By registering you get free access to our website and app (available on desktop AND mobile) which will help you to super-charge your learning process. You don't throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. An old man can sit. 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