Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. TWO!

Page 23, Paragraphs 1-3


"My brother Philbert, who had already become a pretty good boxer in school..."

The boxing that started to become popular in 1937 evolved from a swelling of black pride within the black communities. "Joe Louis knocked out James J. Braddock to become the heavyweight champion of the world."

After this, Malcolm becomes interested in boxing, more for himself and regaining the admiration of his younger brother Reginald. My thoughts just seem to revolve around something called pride. The two instances of this circles in on Malcolm, and the other on blacks as a whole. 

With Malcolm, the entrance into the sport is for his own personal gain, his ego persé. He'd rather not have his little brother Reginald look up to Philbert instead of him, which seems understandable coming from a sibling-like point of view. However, it is more an attack to his pride, yet what he turns to, in order to correct this is violence. Boxing, a sport of violence. To me I think that this could be a catalyst to his future philosophy that he didn't want any violence to come into the struggle for civil rights, unless the opposers were using violence. Despite limited success (or none at all technically), he will advocate justifiable violence to those who followed him as a means of defending oneself.

In the position of the African-American community as a whole, it seems the common strife is violence. Wrongful persecution, death threats, segregation, crosses getting burnt in their yards; all violent acts that everyone wants to get themselves away from. It's ironic in the fact that a sport with such violence gets attention and enthusiasm from this crowd of people who want to disassociate themselves from just that; violence!  

Malcolm Exx

1) List at least one example of the following: Malcolm's use of ethos, logos, pathos.
Ethos: Opening of the speech, connecting with the audience, throwing a little humour into the setting to set a calm before divulging into his very serious topic.

Pathos: The family talk. He talks about the hours, months, and years that the ancestors of the African-American put in and received no compensation for, hoping to trigger an emotional response within the community.

Logos: Arguments on change, and how it can be done rationally. Many things that are needed to be changed are just ways of thinking, such as; "Now in speaking like this, it doesn't mean that we're anti-white, but it does mean we're anti-exploitation, we're anti-degradation, we're anti-oppression. And if the white man doesn't want uus to be anti-him, let him stop oppressing and exploiting and degrading us."


2) What is the purpose of the speech?  How does Malcolm obtain that purpose?
To encourage the black community to go out and vote. This is the direct message taken from his words, but he's more concerned with getting the people involved and educated on what is going on around them. Either get knowledge and empower yourself, or take 'the bullet' as an alternative.

3) Who is his audience?  How do you know this?
A large audience of black people. The black people need to be empowered in such a time when civil rights means so much and is in crucial need to be reworked for the benefit of the African-American community. He needs the people to take action and react to their surroundings in order for positive change to occur.

4) List at least one example of the following types of proof:

a) analogy/narration to back up his main idea
Comparing the audience and their need to work together to overcome such oppression, degradation, and exploitation. He compares those within the audience/negroes as a whole as having more in common than Kennedy and Krushchev, yet the latter two have functioned decently before.

b) statistics
 "In this present administration they have in the House of Representatives 257 Democrats to only 177 Republicans... In the Senate, there are 67 senators who are of the Democratic Party. Only 33 of them are Republicans.

c) facts
See Above.
Most come in form of statistics. Most others are logical facts or rational explanations.




d) expert witnesses
Lomax, the Reverend/African preachers he mentions. (Adam Clayton Powell - Christian Minister; Reverend Galamison.) Used more as examples than witnesses or givers of any testimony.

5) Does he have refutation of the opposing side?  If so, what is it?

Random bits that point out occurrences or loopholes of logic, or parallel a different attitude within American culture/politics.

"Don't let anybody tell you anything about the odds are against you. If they draft you, they send you to Korea and make you face 800 million Chinese. If you can be brave over there, you can be brave right here. These odds aren't as great as those odds. And if you fight here. you will at least know what you're fighting for.

6) List some structural devices and discuss their effect:

Parallelism
The parallelism is found throughout the entire speech and the effect of this repetition is to drive the point home to the audience. His resolve is so imperative that he emphasizes key phrases so that the audience can gauge the importance of his words and take action.

"All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man."

Short Sentences
The short sentences are typically the aforementioned points that Malcolm wants to deliver. They are short, hard-hitting, and simple to understand.



"It's got to be either the ballot or the bullet."


Long Sentences (Types of long sentences)


7) What other things does Malcolm X use for effect?

Personal Anecdote:
"I was in Washington, D.C., a week ago Thursday, when they were debating whether or not they should let the bill come onto the floor..."

Malcom X - Dialectical Journal No. ONE!

     The foreshadow of his father's death by his mother as well as his own death, especially by violent means, is an interesting view on the story/autobiography. Granted, there isn't much room for literary elements such as this given its non-fiction nature, however it is interesting how it is thrown into the story, whether it was added by Alex or spoken by Malcolm X himself. If the latter is the case, then it begs the question, how intelligent was this man? Granted, the circumstances faced by African-Americans throughout his life were ones that more often than not involved hate and violence to gross extremes. Could he have known what he would amount to, could he have known the impact he would have, could he have known his fight was one so strong that it would be the death of him? It is likely that because of his father, it is a typical death of the black-man of the era and he included himself to a similar fate.

Name Assignment

Write your whole name, or a nickname, and then jot down some ideas about it.  Are you named for someone?  Do you like your name?  Is there a funny story associated with you name, how it's pronounced, or how it's spelled?  Are there things you don't know about her name - why your parents gave it to you or what the word means?  Write those questions too.  Write quickly without stopping much to consider how you sound or where you're headed.  The idea is to get your initial thoughts on the page or screen where you can see them.


Airk Dane Cochran

Airk derives from old Irish/Gaelic language. A language that is uncommon, among the languages of the world that make up the tiniest of minorities.

Why was I named Airk? "Because it sounded cool," my mother stated bluntly. Contrary to what people tend to call me, which is often the two-syllable variant of what parents typically name children"Eric(k)", this single-word name seems more like an expression. An emotive sound of disgust, much like "Uck!" or a harsh "Argh!" Because of this, I don't really enjoy my name, although I appreciate it. It is nice to share a name with a remarkably small population (Perhaps 3-5 people? Haven't really googled my name...) it is a gross sort of sound, much like one you may find in some Australian Aborigine language. Thankfully, as previously mentioned, most people pronounce my name with two syllables and I think I prefer that. It isn't as rash or awkward, and it sounds more common, which is somewhat of the opposite of my mother's intentions.

My father had little say in the name choice. He regaled a time where the suggestion was brought up that I be named "Colin Montgomery Cochran", and at this point in my life, that might've been super awesome. It's so hard sometimes to know whether this man is joking or not though. If he was adept in coming up with names such as this, it is obvious why my naming was left up to the better half. In any case, Colin Montgomery to Airk Dane has saved me ink, finger cramps, and pencil lead in the long run. For this I am thankful.

Vocabulary

Atone - (v.) Make amends or reparation
"Tracy wanted to atone for her actions several years ago when she ran over my dog."
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Pinguid - (adj.) Regarding the nature of or resembling fat; oily or greasy.
"The pinguid liquid at the bottom of the lake convinced the local children to stay inside and hide under their tables."
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Agog - (adj.) Very eager or curious to hear or see something.
"Mildred was screaming agog when she heard her high school friends were coming to town."
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Panache - (n.) Flamboyant confidence of style or manner, or a tuft or plume of feathers
"He performed with great panache; captivating the audience, which earned him a standing ovation."
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Iconoclast - (n.) A person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.
"Since he went around burning crosses in peoples' yards and urinating on Bibles, Drew was labelled an iconoclast by the townspeople."
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Escapade - (n.) An act or incident involving excitement, daring, or adventure.
"No one could wait for the next Indian Jones escapade to arrive on the big screens."
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Offal - (n.) Entrails and internal organs of an animal used as food.
"Hadgar ripped the offal from the wolf and little Olaf watched in sheer terror."
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Paragon - (n.) A person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality, paradigm.
"Mainstream music is the paragon of talent and musical independence, as commercialization in the industry has been virtually eliminated."
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Palisade - (n.) A fence of wooden stakes or iron railings fixed in the ground, forming an enclosure or defense.
"The King valiantly put up palisades around the encampment, most of which were easily burned down by savage Australians."
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Diminution - (n.) A reduction in the size, extent, or importance of something.
"The diminution of the jawbreaker was enough evidence for Muriel to suspect that Little Billy was sneaking out at midnight and raiding the candy pantry."