Nelson Mandela, An Ideal for Which I am Prepared to Die

In the past, it was stereotypical that the Black Africans used to be ruled by the whites. However, over the years, they started forming movements to fight back against colonialism and imperialism. Although the struggles were met with uncountable challenges, including intimidation, harassment, detention, and at times death penalties, they later bore fruits of self-independence and governance. Nelson Mandela is a perfect example of a leader who embodies such experiences. The former South African president is best renowned for his progressive movements that made the country attain its independence. One of his most iconic speech is the "An Ideal for Which I Am Prepared to Die." Nelson Mandela delivered this speech on 20thof April, 1964, after his own government charged him. Although he died a few years ago, on December 5th, 2013, aged 95 years, after a prolonged lung infection, his speech remains type scripted in Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Foundation.

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This discussion will chiefly focus on deliberating on how the revolutionary leader was successful in articulating his message to the audience. In particular, I will focus on how he created appeal throughout his speech to grab the attention of the audiences. Essentially, it is important to mention that the primary target audience of his speech were the people who were in the court, who were to judge him if he was liable to the charges leveled against him. Besides, it also targeted people who were oppressed by the regime that practiced racial segregation. Indeed, Nelson Mandela, in his famous speech, An Ideal for Which I Am Prepared to Die, skillfully employs literary devices, pathos, logos, and change of tone to grab the attention of his audiences.

Firstly, Mandela employs the use of pathos in an excellent way. His speech is punctuated with statements that elicit emotions among the audiences. In the beginning, he asserts that humanity has sacrificed the core duty of ensuring quality life to all people, irrespective of the color affiliation. He goes ahead to point out that, in contrast, that humans have supplanted that responsibility with utmost hate and violence. Indeed, it is undeniable that the words he uses are powerfully charged and they evoke the human feeling of the need to be liberated. One of the emotional statements that he recounted that affirms his exceptional talent of employing pathos in his speech is

"South African is the richest country in Africa and could be one of the richest countries in the world. But it is a land of extreme and remarkable contrast. The Whites enjoy what could well be the highest standards of living in the world, while the blacks continue suffering (Buzzard, Don, Nora, and Alexandria 190)"

This statement indeed arises the emotional feeling of wanting to live in a country that embraces equality, irrespective of the gender, race, or ethnic background. Also, the speaker repeatedly mentions the word "Africans" to call out to them. Moreover, the phrase, "Africans want to be part of the general population" to induce sentiments of regrets with respect to the current situation. Markedly, it is notable that during that time, racial segregation was deeply entrenched in South Africa- they practiced apartheid. For instance, the non-whites had no rights to vote, to contest for political offices, neither use whites only toilers, post-office, park benches, among many other facilities. Indeed, this critique was justified, and he employed rhetoric to achieve it.

The tone varied indiscriminately throughout the speech. The speech would begin calmly and quietly; however, as he proceeded, the speaker becomes more emotional and adopt a more tempestuous tone. This change of tone was critical in ensuring that he captured the emotions of his primary audience. Moreover, the speaker employs the use of the literary device, logos. This is evident when he cites a lot of facts and statistics in his speech. For instance, he mentions that "Africans, who constituted approximately 70 percent of the population of South Africa, were not entitled to vote, and were not even consulted about the proposed constitutional change..........30% are laborers, labor tenants, and squatters on white farms and work and live under conditions similar to those of the serfs of the Middle Ages. (Buzzard et al. 183)." Further, to defend his case, he punctuates his speech with rhetorical questions; for instance, "How many more Sharpevilles could the country stand without violence and terror becoming the order of the day? (187)" Notably, he uses of logos, in this case, statistics and facts, help to add credibility and authenticity to his speech.

Overall, the title of the speech, An Ideal for Which I Am Prepared to Die, draws the attention of the audience on how critical the situation. Thus, the title alone evokes the interest of the listeners. Apparently, a good leader should be ready to risk his or her life for the wellbeing of the citizens, and this is exactly what Nelson did during his speech. Markedly, it was during an era when the country appeared to be on the verge of collapsing, the legendary leader called upon the blacks to stand up and resist the apartheid rule, through delivering this very inspirational and emotional speech. Through this way, he stimulated his target audience, the blacks, to fight against the blacks and reclaim their land. Indeed, the speaker exceptionally employed pathos, logos, and change of tone to fully evoke the target audience to stand up against all forms of inequality that were prevalent in the country.

Works Cited

Buzzard, Laura, Don LePan, Nora Ruddock, and Alexandria Stuart, eds. The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose. Broadview Press, 2016.