MARTIN LUTHER VS MALCOM X, COMPARING THEIR ORATOR STYLES

MARTIN LUTHER VS MALCOM X, COMPARING THEIR ORATOR STYLES

            Historical orators used different approaches and styles in their works to convey their message to the audience and it is through such differences that we get to understand each of them. Basically, the differences were as a result of their different personalities and context in which the messages were being conveyed. This paper scrutinizes two of the historical orators, Martin Luther King Junior and Malcolm X using their works “Letter from Birmingham Jail” [1] and “Ballot or Bullet” respectively. The two works have the same timeline, and that is during the struggle of black Americans for equal rights.

Considering language usage by the two orators in the two works, many differences can be observed. For instance, Malcolm X has all through used aggressive words in his speech and which shows that he was totally emotional on what was happening to his fellow blacks. To some extent, he is using some statements which are extremely emotional and insightful to the audience[2]. At some point he tells his audience whenever in the demonstration and police men confronts them to both kill them and their dogs. Contrally, this is not the case with Martin Luther king who appears to be more composed although under tough conditions in jail. Martin Luther manages to respond to the message from the clergymen through his strong words and full of wisdom. For him, he tries as much as possible to explain the reasons behind his stand by drawing several connections to the bible as well as rhetorical questions e.g. “Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?”[3]

Again, the two have used different methods to pass their messages to the audience despite of the fact that they were addressing the same issue, civil rights for Negros. On the side of Malcolm X, he advocates for active participation of the blacks to fight for their rights through demonstrations and violence where they are confronted with violence[4] whereas Martin Luther King advocates on passive participation approach as it can be seen from his point of argument that he has “tried to stand between the two forces” to mean that he has attempted to bring the two sides into an agreement.

Their prejudices are also distinct from the way they seem to approach the issue of segregation. Malcolm X beliefs that for their civil rights to be respected, they must follow the hard way of Ballot or Bullet and that is a clear indication that he supports the violent approach towards the issue. This is not the case on the side of Martin Luther king who seems to belief that they can achieve their goals through non-violent demonstrations and agreements with the relevant stakeholders.

From his way of approach, Malcolm X seem not to consider both social and personal responsibility, this is evident from what he advocates for. He is advocating for retaliation which may lead to more harm to the citizens without considering the outcome. Martin Luther on the other side seems to advocate for peaceful demonstrations and mainly calls for common understanding as a way of solving the problem[5]. This can be seen from his thorough explanation to the clergymen in response to their letter which they had accused him as the leader of the demonstrations.

Despite of these differences in their works, they converge in their common agenda which is to see the blacks accorded the civil rights. Both of them advocates for equal rights regardless of the race. It is in pursuit for the agenda that Malcolm X advocates for any approach so long as they achieve their goals while Martin Luther advocates for non-violent demonstrations[6].

In conclusion, it has been evident that orators have different styles of expressing their points and messages to the audience. As it has been seen from the two orators, Malcolm X and Martin Luther, it is clear that the styles are influenced by orator’s personality and the context of presentation.

[1] King Jr, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham jail.” UC Davis L. Rev. 26 (1992): 835.

[2] Malcolm, X. “The ballot or the bullet.” April 3 (1964): 23-44.

[3] King Jr, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham jail.” UC Davis L. Rev. 26 (1992): 835.

[4] Malcolm, X. “The ballot or the bullet.” April 3 (1964): 23-44.

[5] King Jr, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham jail.” UC Davis L. Rev. 26 (1992): 835.

[6] King Jr, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham jail.” UC Davis L. Rev. 26 (1992): 835.