Ying/Yang: the Pacifist and the Antagonist

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Ying/Yang: The Pacifist and the Antagonist
America: land of the free, unless you were a black American during or before the 1960’s. With such tribulation of a community as that experienced by African Americans, come people with an equally powerful passion for revolution. That passion was the driving force behind two people particularly who led the two of the biggest turning points during the civil rights movement. Both, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with his “I Have a Dream” and Malcolm X with his “The Ballot or the Bullet” speeches, had the same objective in mind, but took different approaches in conveying their messages. Together they create a large enough message for people to focus the appropriate attention to the counterfeit liberty of African Americans and influence reform for civil rights. An in-depth analysis of the two lyrical art pieces revealed both speeches have the same objective of ending oppression for African Americans, but Dr. King’s speech has an optimistic tone of hope and peace, while Malcolm’s focuses pessimism and promotes violence. Both speeches use repetitious rhetoric as a tool of art and is part of what made each of them so memorable. Dr. King’s speech primarily uses a logical appeal, while Malcolm’s primarily uses an emotional appeal.
Dr. King uses an optimistic tone expressing hope for the end of oppression of African Americans. This tone is expressed with phrases like, “Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning” (King, 1963). He does not want to dwell on the horrific past, but wants to look forward to the promising future. He reinforces this by explaining that under no circumstances should violence be used, and not to loose trust in all white people in the pursuit for equality. He promotes pea...

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...hetorical techniques in their conveyance. Dr. King’s speech was given as a motivational piece meant to stimulate the optimism of integration and to strengthen hope for progressive equal rights. His rhetorical techniques are enriched with repetitive splendor and became an unforgettable part of his battle. His speech is endeavor for equal rights, but denounces any violent action taken to achieve it. Malcolm X’s pessimism is abundantly found as he focuses attention to the details of the problems to stir foul emotions to use as a tool of persuasion to rally the Black community into action. His rhetoric is charismatically displayed throughout his speech and even in the title. Both the pacifist and the antagonist connect with polar demographic and why it is necessary to have both, sprinkled with a little of each in the other, to invoke the full circle required for reform.

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