SECTION A: GENRES OF LANGUAGE
QUESTION 1: PERSUASIVE PROSE
The extract which will be discussed in this essay is from a speech by Indira Gandhi
about Martin Luther King. Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977
and again from 1980 until she was assassinated in 1984. She admired dr. King’s
work and everything he stood for. The extract is characterised by using emotive,
formal and persuasive language which will be discussed in the analysis to follow.
This speech is a great example of persuading and inspiring and audience. It is formal
writing as it contains no colloquialism or contractions. Formal diction is the use of
sophisticated language which is very prominent in the sentences used throughout
the extract. The purpose of the speech is to illustrate the subject, being Martin Luther
King and everything, he believed and stood for. He was an American Christian
activist and the most “visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement”
(Haberman, 1972) from 1954 until his assassination in 1968. He also advocated non-
violence and civil disobedience.
Gandhi uses several persuasive techniques to engage the audience. Firstly, the
extract begins by saying: “Dr King’s dream embraced the poor and oppressed of all
lands.” Martin Luther King held the poor and the oppressed very close to his heart.
He had a dream to fight for racial equality and to have peace in the world through
non-violence actions.
Secondly, the audience is drawn into the speech by using personal pronouns such
as; “us”, “we”, “our” and “ours” which aids in persuasion. It gives it a personal voice
that make the audience feel they can relate to something. It also establishes the
relation between the speaker and the audience. The use of these personal pronouns
indicates that this racial war is a worldly problem and not just the oppressed and
poor’s problem. It seems that the government and, sadly, the rest of the world are
failing at protecting the “two-thirds of the people” living in oppression and hunger. It
really is important for everyone to play a part in solving this problem. Gandhi only
speculates and gives her opinion which is formulated on the beliefs and dreams of
Martin Luther King. She says: “He (Martin Luther King) proclaimed that mankind
could be saved from war only if we care enough for peace to sacrifice it.” Giving her
opinion on this matter persuades the audience even more. Sometimes it is easy to
get the audience to feel involved when an opinion is given. People tend to be driven
by someone else’s opinions or beliefs before looking into any facts to make a
decision, formulate their own ideas or to feel their feels regarding a specific topic.
In addition to the personal pronouns, the speaker incorporates emotive language
and collocated words such as; “poor”, “oppressed”, “racial injustice”, “poverty”, “war”,
“hunger”, “bondage” and “racial superiority.” These words are all associated with
ethnocentrism and to evoke emotion from the audience. This could also be an
appeal to pathos, which relates to the audience, to hook them and to make them
accept the beliefs, values and understanding of the speaker.
ENG2602. May/June Portfolio
, In the first paragraph the speaker says: “under the lamp of affluence… lay the
shadow of poverty.” During Gandhi’s time as prime minister, the “light” of the world
was on the wealthy. Everyone focused on the wealthy which lead to the poor and the
oppressed living in the “shadow of poverty,” “compelled” by those in higher positions
to live in hunger and fear. This aids to the persuasion of the text, making the
audience believe that the majority of the world lived in poverty. They were
overpowered, overruled and “compelled” by their leadership to believe that they will
never soar high and they will live in poverty and oppression until the end of time.
In paragraph two the speaker uses an antithesis: “Only through truth can untruth be
vanquished. Only through love can hatred be quenched.” The purpose of using an
antithesis is “to create a balance between opposite qualities and create a vivid
picture” (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 2003). It is used to evoke the thoughts of the
audience for them to come to a better understanding of what has been said.
Martin Luther King, Mahalma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi were all assassinated
because of what they believed and stood for. Even though Jesus Christ was not
assassinated, He was crucified for the world’s sin even if He lived a life free from sin.
Martin Luther King was inspired by Christ and “his method of action from Mahalma
Gandhi.” This is quite ironic as they all believed in love, truth and peace yet that is
what got them killed by the end of the day.
The simile used in the fourth paragraph says: “live and grow together as flowers in a
garden with their faces turned towards the sun” indicates that the speaker convinces
the audience of the idea that if people from ever skin colour, “white and black, brown
and yellow” could put their differences aside, that people could evolve together
towards the light of the world and world-peace. In the first line of the fourth
paragraph the speaker also says: “While there is bondage anywhere, we ourselves
cannot be fully free.” The speaker uses the rhetorical device, juxtaposition to
compare the bad, present situation with her ideal bright future of living free from
bondage. This supports the rhetorical structure and persuasiveness of the speech to
convince the audience of her opinion. The use of repetition in line 7 in the fourth
paragraph: “his spirit never dies. That spirit can never die” reinforces the
juxtaposition used, to create a negative association with her adversaries in the mind
of the audience.
I conclude that the numerous devices the speaker uses in persuasion of the
audience, is applied effectively to infer the purpose of the text by creating a
metaphorical reference for the oppression of poor people and the judgement of
people’s skin colour. She uses figurative and emotive language, personal pronouns
and collocated words to persuade the intended audience.
ENG2602. May/June Portfolio
QUESTION 1: PERSUASIVE PROSE
The extract which will be discussed in this essay is from a speech by Indira Gandhi
about Martin Luther King. Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977
and again from 1980 until she was assassinated in 1984. She admired dr. King’s
work and everything he stood for. The extract is characterised by using emotive,
formal and persuasive language which will be discussed in the analysis to follow.
This speech is a great example of persuading and inspiring and audience. It is formal
writing as it contains no colloquialism or contractions. Formal diction is the use of
sophisticated language which is very prominent in the sentences used throughout
the extract. The purpose of the speech is to illustrate the subject, being Martin Luther
King and everything, he believed and stood for. He was an American Christian
activist and the most “visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement”
(Haberman, 1972) from 1954 until his assassination in 1968. He also advocated non-
violence and civil disobedience.
Gandhi uses several persuasive techniques to engage the audience. Firstly, the
extract begins by saying: “Dr King’s dream embraced the poor and oppressed of all
lands.” Martin Luther King held the poor and the oppressed very close to his heart.
He had a dream to fight for racial equality and to have peace in the world through
non-violence actions.
Secondly, the audience is drawn into the speech by using personal pronouns such
as; “us”, “we”, “our” and “ours” which aids in persuasion. It gives it a personal voice
that make the audience feel they can relate to something. It also establishes the
relation between the speaker and the audience. The use of these personal pronouns
indicates that this racial war is a worldly problem and not just the oppressed and
poor’s problem. It seems that the government and, sadly, the rest of the world are
failing at protecting the “two-thirds of the people” living in oppression and hunger. It
really is important for everyone to play a part in solving this problem. Gandhi only
speculates and gives her opinion which is formulated on the beliefs and dreams of
Martin Luther King. She says: “He (Martin Luther King) proclaimed that mankind
could be saved from war only if we care enough for peace to sacrifice it.” Giving her
opinion on this matter persuades the audience even more. Sometimes it is easy to
get the audience to feel involved when an opinion is given. People tend to be driven
by someone else’s opinions or beliefs before looking into any facts to make a
decision, formulate their own ideas or to feel their feels regarding a specific topic.
In addition to the personal pronouns, the speaker incorporates emotive language
and collocated words such as; “poor”, “oppressed”, “racial injustice”, “poverty”, “war”,
“hunger”, “bondage” and “racial superiority.” These words are all associated with
ethnocentrism and to evoke emotion from the audience. This could also be an
appeal to pathos, which relates to the audience, to hook them and to make them
accept the beliefs, values and understanding of the speaker.
ENG2602. May/June Portfolio
, In the first paragraph the speaker says: “under the lamp of affluence… lay the
shadow of poverty.” During Gandhi’s time as prime minister, the “light” of the world
was on the wealthy. Everyone focused on the wealthy which lead to the poor and the
oppressed living in the “shadow of poverty,” “compelled” by those in higher positions
to live in hunger and fear. This aids to the persuasion of the text, making the
audience believe that the majority of the world lived in poverty. They were
overpowered, overruled and “compelled” by their leadership to believe that they will
never soar high and they will live in poverty and oppression until the end of time.
In paragraph two the speaker uses an antithesis: “Only through truth can untruth be
vanquished. Only through love can hatred be quenched.” The purpose of using an
antithesis is “to create a balance between opposite qualities and create a vivid
picture” (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 2003). It is used to evoke the thoughts of the
audience for them to come to a better understanding of what has been said.
Martin Luther King, Mahalma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi were all assassinated
because of what they believed and stood for. Even though Jesus Christ was not
assassinated, He was crucified for the world’s sin even if He lived a life free from sin.
Martin Luther King was inspired by Christ and “his method of action from Mahalma
Gandhi.” This is quite ironic as they all believed in love, truth and peace yet that is
what got them killed by the end of the day.
The simile used in the fourth paragraph says: “live and grow together as flowers in a
garden with their faces turned towards the sun” indicates that the speaker convinces
the audience of the idea that if people from ever skin colour, “white and black, brown
and yellow” could put their differences aside, that people could evolve together
towards the light of the world and world-peace. In the first line of the fourth
paragraph the speaker also says: “While there is bondage anywhere, we ourselves
cannot be fully free.” The speaker uses the rhetorical device, juxtaposition to
compare the bad, present situation with her ideal bright future of living free from
bondage. This supports the rhetorical structure and persuasiveness of the speech to
convince the audience of her opinion. The use of repetition in line 7 in the fourth
paragraph: “his spirit never dies. That spirit can never die” reinforces the
juxtaposition used, to create a negative association with her adversaries in the mind
of the audience.
I conclude that the numerous devices the speaker uses in persuasion of the
audience, is applied effectively to infer the purpose of the text by creating a
metaphorical reference for the oppression of poor people and the judgement of
people’s skin colour. She uses figurative and emotive language, personal pronouns
and collocated words to persuade the intended audience.
ENG2602. May/June Portfolio
