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Message in the Grass roots is a speech which was written to persuade the black people of America to put their differences aside and unite against the American racist hypocritical culture and defend themselves , so they can stay in America by forming a black nation. Evidence of this is when he states 'forget our differences and come together' and also he calls the black people the 'same family', he then says that they need to 'defend our own people right here in this country' .
This shows that Malcolm X has a strong opinion that the black people need to stick together and have a 'united front' in front of the 'oppressing white man'.
Also he is trying to explain to the black people that the hypercritical fascist white people aren't part of the 'family' ; they're the 'enemy to all'. He also encourages the black people to have a real revolution, which involves violence. He justifies this violence, as he says the American's always fight abroad ,so why not us.
4.7 (34)
“ She was very quick, it was a brief assignment, but she was done in a matter of hours when she had plenty of time. ”
In the speech Malcolm X uses language very cleverly to affect the audience; who are the black people of America. He uses a first person style of writing , which immediately engages the listeners attention.
An example of this is when he says 'you and me--us. We' . He adds two dashes after 'you and me--us ',to indicate a long pause . The pause is used to put an emphasis on the 'us'. This makes the speech effective as it makes the reader feel like Malcom X is speaking directly to them and so they feel included.
In turn the listener will be persuaded to take action to what Malcolm says about forming a black nation and real black revolution. The majority of Malcom X's audience were practicing Christians . For that reason he says 'we don't come together as Baptist or Methodist'.
He says this to connect with the audience, and make them understand that they need to put their religions and conflicts aside, and unite as a black people. Besides this ,Malcolm x also uses quite short sentence .
For example he says 'America's problem is us' . Short sentence similar to this are used throughout the speech ,so that the audience can understand it better. The black people at that period in time weren't as well educated than the whites ,most of their education came from the bible . For that reason short ,easily understandable sentences are used ,without complicated jargon ,so the message is clear to the audience.
Moreover, the writer makes the speech effective by using emotive language . Specific examples are he says' everybody calls yoU. He does this to stir emotion within the audience, so the audience will be inspired and persuaded to take action. However the whole speech is very emotive and touching and creates great imagery , Malcolm X does this on purpose so that this speech is memorable to the audience and it persuades the audience to do what he says. This is to form a black nation and create a black revolution. Additionally, Malcom X uses alliteration to engage the audience.
For instance he says' uncouth, unrefined, uncivilised' . This use of alliteration adds rhythm to the speech ,which makes the words flow better . So that the audience will understand the speech a lot more and will want to listen to it. As well as this, the writer catches the audience's attention by using rhetorical questions. For example he captivates the audience by saying 'But what else are you? '. This rhetorical question speaks directly to the reader ,which is effective because the reader will engage in the speech and question themselves .
Also it gives you the answer, in the question ,but the audience don't realise this . For this reason the audience id manipulated to think that they're and ex-slave . T his is done deliberately by the writer ,so the audience thinks that they're an ex-slave. Furthermore, Malcom X uses rhetorical devices to connect with the audience. An example of this is when he uses a list of three and repetition 'we have a common '. He does this to highlight this point and put an emphasis on this point ,as it is a very important point.
Part of the purpose of the speech is that the 'common enemy' the black people have is the fascist white man. This makes it clear to the reader this is a very important point and also so that the audience feels satisfied with the points. In addition, Malcolm X expresses his opinion through out the speech to engage the audience and to persuade them to take part in the revolution. For example he says 'It is right for you and me to do whatever necessary' . This is clearly the writer's opinion, as there is no evidence to support this opinion. However the reader is manipulated to think they must do it.
As Malcolm X was a respected leader amongst the black people, his opinion was highly valued and respected ,so many people thought his opinions were true . This is effective as they will agree with him ,also he uses a first person style of writing to get the point across. Also ,Malcolm X engages the reader by not using any facts or statistics.
The point of this speech is to persuade people to take action and join the black nation . This kind of an issue doesn't need facts or figures to support it ,it just needs emotion ,so that it tugs at people's heart strings . y not using facts or statistics he achieves the purpose of the speech and it is more effective and emotional . Also when using facts or figures ,political leaders have to be certain that they get them right, in case the media investigate and manipulate followers' to lose trust in them. In conclusion , Malcolm X uses many language devices and rhetorical devices to engage the reader . Such as Alliteration ,Emotive Language, lists, rhetorical questions, repetition ,short sentences ,opinions and a First person style of writing. He uses all these devices to engage the reader and to make the speech effective.
Malcolm X's "Message of the grassroots" speech - lanugauge analysis. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/malcolm-xs-message-grassroots-speech-lanugauge-analysis-new-essay
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