Analysis Of The Bullet By Malcolm X Speech

On April 3, 1964, Malcolm X made a powerful speech called The Ballot or The Bullet that probably changed the way how African Americans saw themselves in 1964. African Americans didn’t have much to say when it came to elections during 1964. The caucasian politicians would come into black neighborhoods to force African Americans to put them in office. Throughout his speech, Malcolm X’s uses ethos, pathos, logos and tone to get his point across. He used rhetorical appeals to explain that all humans should be treated equally and given equal rights. Since his speech took place in the 60’s, most of the crowd that came to hear his speech were African Americans. African Americans wanted to hear how they could be motivated to bring equality to society. Malcolm X used great examples of rhetorical appeals to make his speech inspiring. Malcolm X speech starts off by using ethos to introduce himself to his audience. He informs his audience that he is still a Muslim that follows the religion of Islam. Malcolm X

He was not pleased on how the causians been treating him and other African Americans. During that time, African Americans needed to stop being violent and actually be educated to change the world. He says, “it’s time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what we’re supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we don’t cast a ballot, it’s going to end up in a situation where we’re going to have to cast a bullet. It’s either a ballot or a bullet” ( para. 21). This statement means that African Americans need to be educated and how their vote can give them power. Malcolm X also said, “You’ve got to control your own. Just like the white man has control of his, you need to control yours” (para. 61). He wanted to encourage African Americans to make a change on how individuals see the world, be politically aware, and actually participate in an