Malala Yousafzai's Speech

“Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing. Malala day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights. There are hundreds of Human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for their human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them.”

Persuasive

• convinces audience to veer toward a specific point of view
• tries to persuade youth advocate to be more vigorous in the efforts towards compulsory education all over the world (raw emotion)

“Dear brothers and sisters, we want schools and education for every

child’s bright future. We will continue our journey to our destination of peace and education for everyone. No one can stop us. We will speak for our rights and we will bring change through our voice. We must believe in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the world”

Narrative

• recreation of a personal incident that allows readers (in this case live audience) to connect with the presenter
• Yousafzai tells her story from the first person using pronouns such as me, my, us etc.

“Dear friends, on the 9th day of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. And then, out of that silence come, thousands of voices”

Repetition (Anaphora)

Repetition of word or words beginning a series of parallel syntactical units.

“Those who have fought for their rights: Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality of opportunity. Their right to be educated.”

Wordplay

A serious pun, as when a dying man says “tomorrow you shall find me a grave man.”

“They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed.”

Personification

Attributing animation to something inanimate; treating a thing or abstract quality as though it were a person.

“This is what my soul is telling me, be peaceful and love everyone.”

Connotation

Double and triple level suggestive power of words (replacing a word with a symbol that people can relate it to)

“Because we are all together, united for the cause of education. And if we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.”

“In many parts of the world especially Pakistan and Afghanistan; terrorism, wars and conflicts stop children to go to their schools. We are really tired of these wars. Women and children are suffering in many parts of the world in many ways. In India, innocent and poor children are victims of child labour. Many schools have been destroyed in Nigeria. People in Afghanistan have been affected by the hurdles of extremism for decades. Young girls have to do domestic child labour and are forced to get married at early age.”

- engages emotions

- allows visualization of a hot, small , dense room filled with children without food

- violence and weapons are not the only things that can corrupt children

Malala Yousafzai's Speech

Kevin Trang & Danamae Laja

Concluding Sentences & Effectiveness

- embedded in the hearts and minds of all those present in the conference

- utilizes hand movements and varies speed of speech

- sentence fragments enhance effectiveness

- reiteration of main idea

- ends with a bang

Imaginative Comparisons/ Analogies

Definition: a similarity between like features of two things

“Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. And then, out of that silence came, thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”

“I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me. I would not shoot him.”

- allows audience to visualize Yousafzai face to face with the Talib who shot her

- portrays Yousafzai's kindness and humbleness

Biased Adjectives and Adverbs

Innocent and poor

Orwell's Language Tricks

- shows that children are powerless, incapable and weak

- kids need their support

Effective

Does NOT use

Orwell's Language Tricks

Bright, peaceful future

- biased towards the future of many if people were to make a change for the good of education

- prosperous future is in store for all if actions in PRESENT are modified to accommodate all peoples' needs

Pretentious Diction

Glorious

- fight for education will not be easy but it will be worth it

- wants EVERYONE to have rights to equal education

“I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality of opportunity. Their right to be educated."

- direct and understandable words

- does not "dress up" content

Meaningless words

“One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education First“

- short and concise sentences

- larger impact

Rhetorical Devices

- allows the main point to be restated over and over again

- during a speech, the audience may not be able to grasp all of the concepts in one sitting

- repetition allows a climax effect to occur.

- tone is more serious

- uses wordplay in order to relate to death

- explains that she survived, and is now working harder than ever to fight for education

Techniques

- the action of "telling" allows for Malala Yousafzai to explain her strong beliefs

- tone is warm and sincere

Structure

Emotion

- weapon and shield connote wisdom and protection

- wisdom and protection are NEEDED with regards to education of young children

- many people are against modern ways

- stuck with traditional beliefs

- makes audience think into deeper meaning

Emotion is defined as a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.

Structure is defined as constructing or arranging with accordance to a plan. Yousafzai, even at the young age that she is at in her life, successfully builds up anticipation and gages the audience through the structure of her words.

“I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of all the extremists especially the Taliban.”

“This is the compassion that I have learnt from Muhammad-the prophet of mercy, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. This is the legacy of change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhi Jee, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt from my mother and father.”

Fact & Reason

Diction

• Throughout her recall of experiences endured in the span of over two years Malala does not fail to include the truth (as backed by proof)
• Explains that the reason behind the attacks and murders is lack of education and lack of support for women attaining higher education

defined as the choice of words that allows the enhancement of a certain piece of writing

“People in Afghanistan have been affected by the hurdles of extremism for decades … Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic human rights are the main problems faced by both men and women.”

“They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. And that is why they killed 14 innocent medical in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed many female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa and FATA.”

Type(s) of Speech

Components of the Speech

Who? Malala Yousafzai, a 17 year old Pakistani student and activist for education

What? Speech for Worldwide Youth Advocates

Where? Youth Takeover of the United Nations

When? July 12, 2013

Why? To make youth advocates

aware of education or lack of,

especially with regards to

women and young children

Thesis