M.L.K and Malcolm X Compare/Contrast

The two most influential civil rights activists in American history were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They supported equal rights for every race, but when comparing MLKs I Have a Dream and Malcolm Xs The B all(prenominal)ot or the Bullet, one notices the similarities in their rhetorical styles and differences in their tone and nitty-gritty. As seen in I Have a Dream, MLK has a more educate and peaceful solution to the dry lands problems whereas in Xs he has a provide to do whatever it may take to solve the problems. Martin Luther King Jr. nd Malcolm X custom the analogous rhetorical strategies to enhance their message in their speeches. peerless device or strategy is repetition. In Kings speech he repeated the phrase I have a vision in order to emphasize to his audience the importance on their ca practise and to stimulate the peoples pride furthering civil rights. King wanted everyone to see Americas true potential and knockout and how America could be. Malcolm X also demonstrated the mathematical function of repetition when he repeats Im non here. He illustrates to his audience that he is not there to talk about himself, but of the greater cause, in other words, the fight for civil rights.Though both may have used the same(p) devices and advocated the same goal, both had opposite solutions to the nations problem. Another shared quality in their works is the use of antithesis. In Dr. Kings I Have a Dream, he states Now is the magazine to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. He depicts that the nation should give the axe all discrimination and come together as one and become a social unit of one another harmonizing. X also had great use of this device to amplify compassion for his cause.An subtle example is the phrase and title, The ballot or the bullet. He like King wanted to pole all the racial barriers that the nation had, but instead of encouraging the act of nonviolence he told the negro confederation that they either take the ballot signifying that they wouldnt do anything or the bullet that symbolizes and provokes the need to take achievement into their own hands and fight. Both King and X used the same methods to captivate their audiences towards their view, though communicated disparate messages.King and X employed figurative language in their methods of persuading their audience. In Kings I Have a Dream speech he conveys the use of similes in the phrase, We entrust not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream, in order to illustrate the need for justice until all are equal. He stresses the need of discrimination to end and for justice to let all nondiscriminatory in society. He used the negativity of injustice and turned it into a positive of justice being endless water that roars through a mighty stream that will forever be flowing.X also used similes to describe that all negroes are in the sa me boat and all will get the same treatment from the colour man in the phrase, youre going to catch snake pit just like I am. He emphasizes that all negroes whether educated or illiterate or wealthy or poor will gain the same result of the hell that is being brought upon the by the same man who happens to be white. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X felt the miss of acceptance and the treachery being brought upon them by the white man in their use of similes.Although Martin Luther King and Malcolm X may have used the same rhetorical devices to persuade the same general audience, both broadcasted only different messages, with entirely different tones, on what should be done on their problems. King concentrated on a more pacifist approach in his speech with the use of such words as dream, happy, greatest, and freedom. His message was to thwart racism with as much nobility as possible, so that when viewed upon youd be the light in the darkest of rooms.He wanted people to not gi ve up on their dreams and not lose their self control of humanity even though they were trying to abolish such misplay that was very inhumane. On the other hand, Malcolm X couldnt have had a more contrasting message and tone in his the Ballot or the Bullet speech. He chose words like hell, suffered, degrading, treachery and fictitious promises to instill the vengeance in the minds of his audience and for them to commend the will to fight for freedom. He wanted to gain total chaos and outrage in the souls and mind of his listeners to ensure the quickest modality possible for them to try out the core of his motives.He had no intentions in believing that racism would subside or that any of the white men would see the error in their ways and beg for their forgiveness and to live in write out harmony. He thought that the only way for the black community to really get what they deserve is to use the bullet and fight. King had a solution to end the nationwide problem with a more pea ceful and civilized solution, the brought out the goodness in humanity because an eye for an eye will make the worldly concern blind whereas X wanted the use of forces on the enemy no matter how much damaged caused in order for them to give equal rights to all.Martin Luther King and Malcolm X definitely had the same ambition to end segregation and discrimination, but the question as to whose message was more effective and which was a right way to address the cause is still questionable. King sought to spread pacifism and tolerance- the moral right that you should eternally live by whereas Malcolm X sought the need of destructiveness in a highly troublesome situation. One must look at the outcome and the current civil rights situations to find an answer to that question to see that without both types of arguments there would be no balance. For every light there is a cast of shadows that check it.