Saturday, October 3, 2015

Audience Analysis in "The Ballot or the Bullet"

In Malcolm X's speech regarding the right to vote, on the surface, it becomes quite apparent who the audience is that he is speaking to. He is talking to the men and women across the nation who can vote, telling them to open their eyes to the corruption he sees in the United States government daily. However that is not the only group he is speaking to, as he addresses his friends and enemies, fully believing that not everyone in the audience agrees with his ideals. The majority of audience for the speech is also poor, working long hours for small wages, which he addresses in the speech slightly. The ages of the audience vary and is applicable for all ages, as his points deal with not only people of his generation, but of those in the future generation. Finally, and most importantly, the demographic which he is speaking to the most, is of course, African Americans. The speech revolves around the importance of the black man and woman to be angry at the government and to use their right to vote very discreetly after seeing the daily corruption. Although a large portion of the audience is slightly ignorant towards the ability to vote, nonetheless, they are essentially working class citizens.

-Yoseph T.

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I believe that your distinction of showcasing the audience to whom Malcolm X is speaking to is wonderful and mostly correct. Malcolm X does address the men and women who can vote in his speech which would be the white race because he seeks to open their eyes to the degradation of black people that is being conducted by the corrupt political system. Malcolm's implementation of diction and rhetoric are a testament to his extraordinary usage of vocabulary and how his voice was able to transcend across the United States of America hitting the ears of the rich and poor and black and white.

    -Ikenna Mba

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  3. I think you are right about the audience Malcolm X is targeting. You could specify a little by pointing out Malcolm X is mostly likely not targeting very racist people from the south. Rather, for his white audience, he aims at those who have the capability of being persuaded to have sympathy for the movement.

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  4. I agree that the targeted audience is voting men and women, but I suggest specifying what they would change with their vote and for who. Also, I wouldn't say the speech is for all age groups just because some younger generations may not understand what his speech is saying. He was focused on the generations around his that would make a difference in their time.

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