Jessie Salazar/ 2:00

Rhetorical Analysis

By definition the word speech is: a formal address or discourse delivered to an audience. As a

leader of the Civil Rights Movement or the youngest person to ever win a Noble Peace Prize, a

speech is a must. A speech is a way of presenting the speakers soul and mind. They are used to

share their ideas and to communicate with the audience. Like “,I’ve been to the mountaintop,” by

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malala Yousafzai’s speech winning of her Nobel Peace Prize are

both great examples of a speaker and their relationship with their audience. Whether it’s fighting

for equality or fighting for children’s education, both leaders had to connect with the audience in

order to make a difference

Speeches aren’t just large meaningful phrases being spoken to the audience but it is how

they are able to make an impact. There are so many tools that are used in a speech like ethos,

pathos and logos. These three devises are very important when it comes to public speaking.

Anyone can apply those to a speech but it is how well you apply them is what makes a

difference. For example, Pathos, Martin Luther King Jr. was very passionate about the Civil

Rights Movement and the audience was able to hear it through the tone of his voice, like

frustration. And that had an impact on the audience, whether they were Black or White. They

were able to hear how he felt. In Malala’s speech, she spoke of some statistics regarding the

education of many children around the world. In that case that would represent, Logos, which is

the credibility or logic. If she were to say number that were inaccurate than it would make her

speech not true or beneficial to her nor the audience. Last is Ethos, the credibility. Would the

speeches be accurate if a white man or a young boy getting education were to speak for others?

The answer would be no. MLK and Malala were speaking for those who didn’t have a voice.
King was speaking up for the inequality of the African-American race. He knew what it felt like

to be in that position at that time, to be beaten, chased by dogs, hit by water hoses. And because

he was coming from experience it was easier to connect to the audience. In the video one can see

that the reaction of the crowd is positive. It is audible that many of them are even chanting “yes,”

clapping and cheering. For his bravery and dedication to the equality for African-Americans, he

was rewarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala for young children (mainly girls) that were not

receiving the education they deserved. In 2012, she was held at gunpoint, threatened by the

Taliban when demanding that girls be allowed to receive education. Due to tradition and social

standards, girls and women are denied access to education because they are females. Resulting,

her in a near death from being shot in the head, she lived and is now an advocate for children’s

education. For her courageous actions she also received the Nobel Peace Prize (Kettler). During

the presentation of her speech, there weren’t any particular reactions from the crowd, but many

of them were enticed. But her friends and family showed expressions of being proud.

Martin Luther King’s famous speech “I’ve been to the Mountaintop,” is famously known

for it being the last speech of his before he was murdered. It is about the city’s (Memphis,

Tennessee) sanitation workers were striking for economic equality. On February 1st 1968, two

garbage collectors were crushed to death by a malfunctioning truck. People were outraged about

the city’s response in the long pattern of neglect of its black employees. And so eventually this

news would reach King, James Lawson and the SCLC. Although he said that he would not return

to Memphis, he changed his mind and came back one last time. Lydon B. Johnson negotiated

with Labor James Reynolds a solution to the strike. In memory of Martin Luther King Jr. Lyndon

B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 along with other provisions, the bill barred
discrimination in federally funding housing and created new penalties for threatening or injuring

persons exercising their civil rights.

As the young girl that was shot by the Taliban for speaking out for girls education, she

survived and to become the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. The purpose of

her speech is to spread the word that education is very precious. Raising her voice for the 66

million girls who are deprived of education. Raising her voice for the young girls that are forced

into child marriage and child labor. She even speaks of a friend of hers that dreamed of being a

doctor but would never become one because of child marriage. She dedicates the money from the

Nobel Peace Prize to the Malala Fund for girls to get quality education around the world. She

will build schools in Pakistan since there is no secondary school for girls in her village.

Being a public speaker isn’t easy but neither is trying to address a problem. Being able to

succeed in doing so and actually making a difference in the world is a huge accomplishment like

for children with little to no education and a whole race. People who want to see a difference in

the world will challenge higher authority and norms for the greater good. And their strongest

weapon is their voice