Rowan Tourtillott

Mr. Wolfe

English 101 and 101 Lab

1 Oct. 23

They don’t know what is written inside

“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world” Malala Yousafzai

was shot on her way to school by the Taliban on the ninth of October in 2012. Nine months later

she gave a speech on the importance of education at the United Nations Youth Assembly.

Yousafzai demonstrates effective rhetoric through her use of ethos, imagery and occasion of her

“Speech at the United Nations”.

Malala’s ethos within her piece comes from that she is a first-person witness of the violence

the Taliban had inflicted upon not just her and her friends, but the young girls of Pakistan.

“Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions injured. I am just one

of them” (Yousafzai 1). The humility she shows through her words allows the young girls she is

fighting for to be able to look up to her and know they will all benefit from her efforts. She

reminds the reader constantly she is not just doing this for her benefit but the many. “Malala day

is not my day. Today the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised

their voice for their rights”(1). Malala demonstrates her credibility through compassion as well

stating that even she was standing in front of the Taliban that shot her with a gun, that we she

would not shoot him. Yousafzai says that her compassion comes from her own religion of Islam,

and because of that the Taliban are misusing the name of Islam for their own personal benefit.

Malala’s statement has ground behind it since she herself is Islamic, and has been her whole life.
Malala’s use of imagery further exemplifies ethos through her use of vivid appeals and images of

her peoples struggles in swat valley.

Malala throughout her speech uses vivid appeals to create images to help her audience gain a

deeper understanding of the struggles of those under the boot of the Taliban. She begins to do

that by telling the audience about the shooting in which she was shot o the left side of her

forehead. She creates and image of how the Taliban believed that the bullet would silence not

just her, but everyone who supported her. She points out how we take for granted what we have

until we no longer have it, “Dear sisters and brothers, we realize the importance of light

when we see darkness. We realize the importance of our voice when we are

silenced”(Yousafzai 2) She tells the audience the reason for the Taliban blasting schools is

because they are afraid of the change and equality it will bring to their society. She says that she

remembers when a reporter came to her school, and asked why the Taliban are so against

education, and a boy in the school responded simply by pointing at his book saying, “a Talib

doesn’t know what is written inside this book.” The imagery helps the audience to understand the

fear the Taliban instill through their heavy-handed violence. Yousafzai tell the audience that her

people and the schools are not the only victims. Afghanistan and Nigeria children are victims of

child labor, and young girls are forced to marry at a young age. Through this vivid appeal you

gain a deep profound sense of defeat, sadness, fear; moreover Malala does this to help her

audience truly understand what is going. The biggest issue for her are the depravation of basic

rights, injustice, and racism faced by both men and women. To Malala, we are fighting a

continuous war against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism; furthermore, we should be united for

the cause of education.

 Yousafzai’s catalyst for giving this speech was when she became a victim of the Taliban.

Being a first-person witness gave her even more of an ability to convey how violent they are.

The United Nations puts that much more power behind her words, because the audience is

mostly comprised of powerful figures, who could assist Yousafzai in achieving her goals which

are education for everyone, and to bring the in justice of her people to the light. Malala wants the

audience to know that she is no longer asking for help, nor is she asking men to step away from

helping women to achieve what is a basic human right of education. She tells the audience that

when she was attacked her motivations only grew, and it became even more important she not

stop trying to achieve education for all. “We cannot succeed when half of us are held

back”(Yousafzai 3). Malala is asking that the injustices against women as whole be recognized

and remedied, but she knows that’s government authority won’t help.

Malala’s use of effective rhetoric through imagery, ethos, and occasion only serve to further

exemplify her goal of education for all. She has made it clear in the speech that she no longer

asking for help, she with get what she wants. She makes clear her goals which accentuate her

ethos of humility, first person witness. Her use of vivid appeals helps her audience understand

what is going on. She knows that asking for help is fruitless endeavor even from the government,

but she still wishes to bring to light the issues, and hardships that not everyone may see.
 Works Cited

Yousafzai, Malala. “Speech at the United Nations.” 12 July 2013,

http://www.teachhumanrights.com/uploads/5/1/4/4/5144250/

text_of_malala_un_speech.pdf. PDF file.