A Burkeian Analysis of the Rhetoric of Malcolm X
A BURKEIAN ANALYSIS OF THE RHETORIC OF MALCOLM X DURING THE LAST PHASE OF HIS LIFE, JUNE 1964--FEBRUARY 1965 APPROVED: AO/LLJL Chairman, Department o£ "Sceech and Drama Dean if the Graduate School Cadenhead, Evelyn, A Burkeian Analysis of the Rhetoric of Malcolm X During the Last Phase of His Life, June 1964- - February 1965. Master of Arts (Speech and Drama), May, 1972, 202 pp., bibliography, 72 titles. The purpose of the study has been to analyze the rhetoric of Malcolm X with Kenneth Burke's dramatistic pentad in order to gain a better understanding of Malcolm X's rhetorical strategies in providing answers to given situations. One speech, determined to be typical of Malcolm X during the last phase of his life, was chosen for the analysis. It was the speech delivered on December 20, 1964, during the visit of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party candidate for the Senate. This study is divided into six chapters. Chapter I in- cludes a brief introduction to Malcolm X, the first contem- porary black revolutionary orator. It, too, establishes the justification for selecting one speech for analysis because it embodied the four philosophies Malcolm X advocated during his last year. Chapter I also introduces Kenneth Burke and his dramatistic pentad, with a separate explanation of the five terms of the pentad, act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose. A glossary of Burkeian terns to be used throughout the study concludes Chapter I. Chapter II is divided into two parts. Part I is a Burkeian scene analysis; scene being the background out of which the speech arose.
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