Jaliyah Wright

3-21-19
Rhetorical Analysis
Persuasive writing and speaking advances the progress towards social justice and

equality because it gives the speaker/writer leverage upon their audience's opinion and thoughts

toward the argument by leading them with convincing ideas that’ll appeal to theirs. In Dr.Kings

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” he uses rhetoric to persuade the people of Birmingham and those

who have religious beliefs to take action on the present activities he does this by providing his

audience with information that relates to the topic of segregation. In Malala Yousafzai’s speech

she uses rhetoric to advocate for women's rights, girls education, and free education all over the

world for every child which she does by including her audience. In Julia Alvarez’s story she uses

rhetoric to convince her audience to stand up for justice, she does this by informing her

audience of the struggles her parents faced under the dictatorship of Trujillo raising awareness

for . Malala does the best job at advancing her purpose because she incorporates her audience

into her purpose and uses the power of education build up her argument against the taliban.

The purpose of King’s speech is to persuade the people of Birmingham and those who have

religious beliefs to take action on the present activities. King uses Pathos to persuade his

audience by stating “like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be

opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be

exposed”. This is an example of Pathos because King uses a descriptive metaphor to connect

to the current events which appeals to his audiences emotions because he is describing how

effective exposing these events to get justice can be. King also uses Ethos to persuade his

audience by stating “i think i should give the reason for my being in Birmingham. Since you have

been influenced by the argument of “outsiders coming in”. I have the honor of serving as the

president of the southern leadership conference, an organization operating in every southern

state”. This is an example of Ethos because King is stating his connection with Biringhams

direct action program as validation for why he isn’t an outsider and how he can be of some
Jaliyah Wright
3-21-19
Rhetorical Analysis
worthy help because his position gives him credibility. The purpose of Malala Yousafzai’s

speech is to advocate for women’s rights, girls education, and free education all over the world

for every child. Yousafzai persuades her audience using Ethos by stating “Dear Brothers and

Sisters”. This is an example of Pathos because the repetition of this statement directly

addresses a connection with her audience. Yousafzai persuades her audience using Pathos by

stating “we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty and injustice and

ignorance we must not forget that millions of children are out of their school. We must not forget

that our brother and sisters are waiting for a bright peaceful future”. This is an example of

Pathos because by using words such as “we” and “our”, Yousafzai incorporates her audience by

using these keywords because they show a sense of connection furthermore stating that

Yousafzai and her audience are on this mission to using education as power together. The

purpose of Alvarez's story is to convince her audience to stand up for justice. Alvarez persuades

her audience using Pathos by stating “ Perhaps because she had innocently revered him, my

mother was now doubly revolted by this cold-blooded monster. He became something of an

obsession with her-living as she wasby exile”. This evidence is an example of Pathos because

by showing her audience the obsession her mother had with the dictatorship it shows how

impactful the events have been which prompts a need to take action. Alvarez also persuades

her audience using Logos by stating “Under her breath, my mother is cursing this monster who

drags thousands of woman out on the hot streets to venerate him.”. This evidence is an

example of Logos because Alvarez bringing the effect of Trujillo's dictatorship to light making

sense of her purpose to stand up for justice which her mother had not much of courage to do.

The best argument came for Malala Yousafzai's speech because she uses rhetoric to

incorporate her audience into not only her purpose but also to shine light on her situation which

includes them as a factor to fighting for their education. In conclusion, King, Alvarez, and
Jaliyah Wright
3-21-19
Rhetorical Analysis
Yousafzai succeeded using rhetoric because they all persuade their audience by including

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.