Name:______Block:______

Rhetorical Analysis:

“Stride Toward Freedom,” by Martin Luther King

“Necessary to Protect Ourselves,” interview with Malcolm X

“Black Americans of Achievement” documentary on Martin Luther King

1.  Read the background information on page 300 of the American Literature textbook. Write another fact you know about the Civil Rights movement that is not mentioned in the text, or write something you still want to know about this event.

2.  On a separate sheet of paper, set up the “Reader’s Notebook” diagram shown on page 300. Use about 1/3 of the page for each section (Response 1; Response 2; and Response 3).

As you read, complete each section of the diagram:

§  Summarize the problems associated with acquiescence and violence

§  Summarize the advantages of King’s proposed response. Give this preferred response a name, based on King’s description of it, and label it in your diagram.

3.  Which persuasive appeal(s) and techniques does King use in this excerpt? Copy quotes that represents King’s most effective use of these appeals:

  1. Appeal (pathos, logos, ethos): Best example (in quotations):
  1. Appeal: Best example:

4.  What rhetorical technique does King use on page 302?

Explain the point of using this technique: what argument does it support?

Does the technique most build ethos, logos, or pathos, in your opinion? Why?

5.  Read the interview with Malcolm X on page 305. What rhetorical techniques does Malcolm X use to support his positions?

  1. Technique: Quote or paraphrase (put in your own words):
  1. Technique: Quote or paraphrase:

6.  On a separate sheet of paper, answer the questions on page 307.

7.  As you watch the documentary on Martin Luther King, comment on what influenced his development as a rhetorician, thinker, and leader.

  1. How might King’s childhood environment have supported his development as a speaker?
  1. From whom or what did King derive important themes for his rhetoric?

8.  What appeal(s) and techniques does Malcolm X use in this clip to challenge King’s philosophy?

9.  Do you agree that a person’s “words can have as much impact as his deeds”? Would Martin Luther King, Jr. have had a significantly different impact on history if he were not a very skilled speaker? Explain.