28 pages • 56 minutes read
Malcolm XThe Ballot or the Bullet
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1964A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Contrast
Malcolm initiates his speech by acknowledging both “brothers and sisters” and “friends and enemies” (Paragraph 1). By this time, he has broken away from the Nation of Islam and knows that he has numerous detractors as a result of his perceived betrayal of Elijah Muhammad. Though much of Malcolm’s rhetoric focuses on relations between black men and white men, he also acknowledges the women present. This language of contrast, which also includes the very disparate options laid out in the title, speaks to the conflict of his time, one in which stark sociopolitical differences have impacted black people’s ability to relate to each other.
Malcolm specifically addresses this by defining himself as a Muslim speaking to Christian listeners. Yet he skillfully uses this contrast, as well as the others, to project a sense of unity. He also uses the conjunction “and” everywhere, except in the speech’s title, to signal cohesion between black communities.
Repetition
Malcolm uses repetition to emphasize his most salient points, drawing on a common rhetorical style present in political speeches and religious sermons. When Malcolm asserts, then reasserts, his Muslim faith, he communicates that his break from the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad has not caused him to waver in his faith. Near the beginning of the speech, he uses the adjective “still” several times to signal his steadfastness: “I’m still a Muslim […] my religion is still Islam. My religion is still Islam. I still credit Mr. Mohammed [sic] for what I know and what I am” (Paragraph 2). The effect on both the reader and the listener is to ensure that there is no misunderstanding about Malcolm’s context; he neither eschews his past nor defects to become a black Christian. His words are also a precursor for his future assertion that Islam could solve America’s race problem, which he will make after returning from his pilgrimage to Mecca and subsequent tour of West Africa.
Historical Allusions
Although Malcolm alludes to contemporary concerns, such as the Cold War threat of nuclear annihilation, he focuses on the U.S. history of revolution to liken the colonists’ struggle against British tyranny to black Americans’ struggle against white supremacy. He mentions the colonists’ outrage over “taxation without representation”—a situation not unlike that of many black Americans, particularly those who are poor—and Patrick Henry’s famous statement to the Virginia Convention in 1775, in which the statesman wished for either “liberty or death” (Paragraph 11). Malcolm uses these allusions to help his audience understand that their fight is a quintessentially human one—the desire to be free—and to point out America’s hypocrisy. If freedom was good enough for the colonists, it ought to be good enough for the 22 million black Americans who struggle under the heel of American racism.
Malcolm then positions the fight globally. He mentions the Northern Vietnamese victory at Dien Bien Phu and the victory of the Algerians, both against the French. He shows that it is possible for an oppressed group to fight and win against a mighty foe. He also uses these examples to prove that white Americans don’t really want guerilla warfare, particularly not on their own soil.
Malcolm delivers these prophetic words just 14 months before violence breaks out in Watts, a section of Los Angeles, California; the rebellion lasted for five days. His allusions to revolution, both past and present, reinforce the urgency of black people’s situation and the problem that the nation will face if it does not redress its injustices against black citizens.
Personification
Malcolm refers to the United States several times by the nation’s popular moniker, Uncle Sam. He personifies the country as a nefarious uncle, “guilty of violating the human rights of 22 million Afro-Americans” (Paragraph 22). He goes on to describe Uncle Sam as “a crook” and “a hypocrite” and compares him to “a bloody-jawed wolf” with the blood of black people’s ancestors “dripping down his jaws” (Paragraph 24). He uses the audience’s knowledge of the popular “I Want You!” poster, in which Uncle Sam points his finger at the spectator, to mention how Uncle Sam metaphorically points a finger at other nations, detailing their records of injustice while ignoring his own.
By personifying the United States in a form that his audience can recognize—white, masculine, avuncular, elderly—Malcolm taps into images of white men that the audience have grown to mistrust, particularly those of politicians who resemble Uncle Sam. Malcolm powerfully uses an image that white Americans admire and trust to evoke the feelings of mistrust that many black people feel toward symbols of patriotism.
