I Am Prepared To Die Speech Analysis Essay Sample

📌Category: Speech
📌Words: 686
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 18 June 2022

Nelson Mandela, a South African human rights activist, is the speaker of "I Am Prepared to Die." Mandela was 47 years old at the time of this speech and a member of the African National Congress Party, as well as one of the leaders of the party's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, which he founded after the Sharpeville massacre. 

The African National Congress Party was a social-democratic political party founded by John Langalibalele Dube on January 8, 1912, with the primary goal of defending South Africans' rights and freedoms. This included restoring full voting rights to South Africans and ending apartheid, the South African government's system of segregation and discrimination based on race. To achieve its goal, the party initially used nonviolent means. However, the party was banned after a massacre in 1959 that resulted in the deaths of 69 black South Africans.

Following this, Mandela and other African National Congress Party officials decided to organize Umkhonto we Sizwe, the party's military wing. The organization's goal was to provide military training to South Africans and use violence to disrupt the apartheid government's economic infrastructure.

Mandela gave his speech from the position of the accused in the Rivonia Trial, after he and Lionel Bernstein, architect, and member of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Denis Goldberg, leader of the Congress of Democrats, Arthur Goldreich, Bob Hepple, Abdulhay Jassat, James Kantor, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Moosa Moolla, Elias Motsoaledi, trade union and ANC member, Walter Sisulu, and Harold Wolpe, prominent attorney, and anti-apartheid activist were arrested because of trying to sabotage the South Africa apartheid government. 

During the speech, The South African government attempted to prevent those with written copies of the speech from making it public during the speech. It took several years for the speech to be published after it was given. However, Mandela's speech was intended to appeal to both a national and international audience, encouraging them to support the South African movement for equal rights.

In his speech, Mandela used rhetorical devices such as Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to persuade the audience to evaluate the issue from his point of view. To begin, Mandela used Ethos, or the construction of an argument based on the ethics or the trustworthiness of the person delivering that said argument. In his speech, Mandela utilizes Ethos by saying, “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.” Mandela's notable saying effectively demonstrates Ethos because he described his “lifetime” experience of oppression, thus deeming him worthy of credibility. The audience can trust his viewpoint because he is knowledgeable on the topic after being in the background for so long. Secondly, he strengthens his argument by using Pathos, or the use of language to elicit emotions in an audience such as sympathy or joy. In his speech, Mandela utilizes Pathos by saying, “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Mandela's use of siding with the audience on how South Africa should be an ideal democratic and free society effectively demonstrates Pathos. The audience would be delighted to learn that their future-president wishes to transform South Africa's society from the dreadful state of apartheid to a democratic and free society in which everyone has equal opportunities. Finally, he strengthens his argument by using Logos, or the ability to reason with your audience, by providing them with facts and data, or by using historical and literal comparisons. In his speech, Mandela utilizes Logos by stating that 85,000 individuals were incarcerated for breaking apartheid regulations, that 70% of South Africans did not have the right to vote. Mandela's use of statistics to show wrongdoing against Africans effectively demonstrates Logos. The audience would have had similar experiences and would be able to empathize with his pain. 

Ultimately, in his speech, Mandela used a variety of rhetorical techniques to persuade his audience to see Apartheid through his eyes, including Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Pathos, however, is the most seen of the three because the entire speech Mandela defends his position with logical and factual arguments. Without a question, Mandela's speech shaped the destiny of South Africa's independence and equality.

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