Malcom X

Malcolm

X- Harlem Speech

Malcolm

X uses several persuasive techniques to make the speech appealing to the audience, and to get them to respond in a certain way. His aim is to make them understand that they are not being treated equally in relation to white people even though its the only way that they know. Some of the techniques used are repetition, specific tone, inclusive language and shows some signs of constructing a persona.

He uses repetition of words and ideas in his speech. Repetition is used to make the main ideas solidify in the audiences mind and in doing so make them also feel the same way. For example in one section he repeats we were black 5 times in a very strong and proud voice. In the context of the sentence, he is saying that he has always been proud to be black and he always will be. This appeals to the black audience because being told that they are proud and strong makes them feel better about themselves. This then results in shouts and cheers of approval towards the speaker. X. also repeats ideas over and over during his speech. For example he repeatedly mentions the point about white men having control over black men when he says “You cannot

get gambling down here without the white mans permission” and “Every time you break the seal on that liquor bottle, that’s a government seal your breaking”.

The overall tone of the speech is determined and confident however anger can also be derived. The speech was set in a time when blacks were treated unfairly and they didn’t have the same privileges as whites. The main point of the speech is that the treatment is unfair and that there is nothing wrong with being black, The point begins to come through when he says “You cannot

get drugs in Harlem without the white mans permission” his voice begins to sounds agitated and angry. This anger is even more evident at the end of his speech when he says “Ya been had, ya been took, led astray run amok” Your can hear the growling sound in his voice which comes from the very pit of his stomach. You can also feel his the anger coming through from a deeper level, and that is from his background; getting separated from his mother and getting abused constantly by the Klu Kulx Klan and other white activists.

The speech itself has a climaxing structure. It starts off slowly and calmly, then as the speech progresses, it gets louder and the pace increases. The speech was purposely designed this way to keep the