Nelson Mandela once said, “As long as poverty, injustice, and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest” (8 Powerful Quotes from Mandela’s ‘Make Poverty History’ Speech). Inequality around the world has been a huge problem for many people. Not many voices have been heard, but the people who had the courage to speak up about it like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did in his “I Have a Dream” speech given to congress on August 28th, 1963. Like Dr. King, Malala Yousafzai spoke against inequality and injustice in her “Nobel Lecture” speech given December 10th, 2014 at the Oslo City Hall in Norway. Both Martin Luther King’s and Malala Yousafzai’s speeches are similar because they use Pathos, Ethos, and repetition to try and eliminate inequalities in the world.
In Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and in Malala Yousafzai’s “Nobel Lecture” speech, both speakers use the rhetorical device, pathos, to strengthen the severity of their points that they are trying to get across to the world. In Dr. King’s speech he says “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character” (King). He says this to appeal to his audience’s emotions, specifically parents and older generations. He is a father, and wants more for his children. He does not want his children or any child to experience what he had to during his life. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s utilization of pathos was effective by starting a feeling of blame in his audience, who displayed carelessness to the reason for the Civil Rights Movement and showed the lack of authorization of the protected rights that had a place with African Americans. Dr. King attempts to make his dissatisfaction with the fact that the years of ignorance has caused the world to go to pieces obvious. While listening to the speech, the audience can feel King's anger in it. His firm confidence in solidarity and kind heartedness are apparent at every part of his speech. There is an unmistakable sense of outrage in his speech at the limits that have shielded African Americans from discovering pleasure in their lives and he wants the listeners to feel it. As well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Malala Yousafzai effectively uses pathos to appeal to her audience’s emotions. Malala Yousafzai utilizes pathos often in her speech by talking with conviction, using clear language and shifting her manner of speaking. In addition, she likewise explains numerous stories to the crowd, both from her own life and from other individuals who have encountered comparable things as herself. A case of how Malala Yousafzai attempts to allow the audience to feel her words is when she says “I had two options. One was to remain silent and wait to be killed. And the second was to speak up and be killed. I chose the second one. I decided to speak up” (Yousafzai). This was to show that Yousafzai has been through alot of things in her life and she wants to bring awareness to the circumstances of which she, along with millions of people around the world, have had to live through. This illustrates a sense of passion in her speech because she firmly believes that there needs to be a change in the world regarding inequalities and injustices. The audience can feel her pain through her words and feel pity towards the situation. The speeches are similar in terms of pathos because both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malala Yousafzai successfully use pathos to appeal to their audience’s emotions, making them all have sympathy towards both situations. Dr. Martin Luther King looks to unite the different races and help them live as equivalents. The passionate component in his speech becomes more grounded as he talks about the different types of torment the African American society has experienced in its battle for equity and opportunity. This is intended to make the listeners feel a way. When Malala Yousafzai uses pathos, she also strives to make the audience feel a way when she mentions her personal experiences of injustice. Both speakers effectively used the appeal to the crowd’s emotion to strengthen their points to the world of people listening to them.
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In Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and in Malala Yousafzai’s “Nobel Lecture” speech, both speakers use the rhetorical device, ethos, also to emphasize the severity of their points that they are trying to get across to the world. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. mentions Abraham Lincoln when he says “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation proclamation” (King). His utilization of Lincoln brought authority into his discourse. Lincoln was an incredible and extraordinary president who empowered the American individuals all through the civil war. He picked up the trust of America and built up another feeling of opportunity. Dr. Martin Luther King is bringing forth the authority of Lincoln and his view on social liberties. This shows a president that each American knows about, fought for the equality of African Americans as well. Abraham Lincoln was a president everybody turns upward to as a good example and by utilizing him in his speech, the crowd should feel like they are battling for a similar reason. This is giving a solid ethos appeal and building up validity with his group of listeners. Dr. King also refers to the Declaration of Independence when he says that it “was a promise that all men...would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King). This displays that the founding fathers of our nation also desired everybody to have equivalent rights. Because most Americans express admiration for the Declaration of Independence, this makes it more likely for Americans to feel like its an ethical obligation to uphold the promises written in the popular document. Along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Malala Yousafzai uses the rhetorical device, ethos, as well. When she says “some people call me the girl who was shot by the Taliban. And some, the girl who fought for her rights. Some people, call me a ‘Nobel Laureate’ now'(Yousafzai). Malala Yousafzai expands on her own personal experiences from the Taliban assassination attempt and her title as a 'Nobel Laureate' to present herself as a reliable and dependable individual. This was an effective use of ethos as is gives the speaker credibility in her speech. In comparison to each other, both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Malala Yousafzai’s “Nobel Lecture” speech productively used ethos to provide more reasons on why the world should listen to them. Martin Luther King Jr. mentioned Abraham Lincoln which strengthened his point because Lincoln is a well known president and shares the same belief as Dr. King and Malala Yousafzai mentions how she is credible by revealing to her audience the title that she was given as a “Nobel Laureate”. Both speeches were successful in their uses of ethos.
Lastly, both Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Malala Yousafzai’s “Nobel Lecture” speech, use repetition to emphasize the importance of their topics.
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