"Serve The People" Speech by Mao Zedong

Purpose: Uniting china, communist or not, to work for the better of china; use soldier's memorials to come together as well as mourn the death. 

Audience: The people of China; the attendees of the memorial meeting for Chang Szu-teh.

Context: Took place directly under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, on September 8, 1944--about 5 years prior to the communist take over after winning their civil war. 

Section 1 Comrade Chang Szu-teh and Death

Purpose: Quickly states the dedication of the Communist party including Comrade Chang Szu-teh. Introduces the idea of death, specifically the significance of someone's death varying. If you die for the people its weightier than dying for the fascists. 

Effectiveness: Works well to make the Communist party look good and trustworthy in this time of losing someone as well as making Szu-teh death look heroic. 

A. Chang Szu-teh/Communism

Appeals: Pathos- "wholly dedicated to the liberation of the people and work entirely in the people's interests" Also Szu-teh being one of the battalions that passed. 

Technique: Very positive connotation of the Communist party. (Previous quote) 

B. Death

Appeals: logos-- uses a quote of an ancient Chinese writer Szuma Chien. 

Technique: Metaphor, juxtaposition, and parallel structure that creates an antithesis--the weight of someone's death

Section 2 Uniting 

Purpose: Not being afraid of criticism, working with outside parties to fix problems, we need everyone in China to come together and unite as a whole. Using the memorials of fallen soldiers to unite. 

Appeals: Logos-- when they listened to Li Ting-ming (not a communist). Ethos-- stating that they already lead 91 million people. Pathos- "Chinese people are suffering, it's our duty to save them" "must care for each other, must love and help each other" talking about death as well. 

Technique: 

• Imagery-- "We hail from all corners of the country..."
• Metaphor-- "Pluck up our courage"
• Connotation-- respectful and united: "must care for each other, must love and help each other"

Effectiveness: Works well, Mao gets his message across, as a reader you feel united as though you lived in China at the time. Works all the appeals in there for a good message. 

General Evaluation:

Mao uses very little rhetorical devices in his speech. In a way this becomes a rhetorical devise in order to really get his message across. The short speech was straight forward and got to his points, he only needed a few to add to the inspiration of his message. He does this well because his biggest rhetorical device of the antithesis sets a serious but positive mood to what he has to say. 

Inspiration Vs. Manipulation

Aung San Suu Kyi and Malcolm X both are very motivated people who look to spread this motivation from with in them to the outside world; to use this for a better community and a better country. They want change for a higher quality of life, not just for themselves, but for their nation. Although, these two inspirational speakers are fighting for the same message, they have different ways of achieving it whether it is written towards self-realization or being upfront on the issue.

            Being courageous is the first step to motivation--for taking these risks of failure and setbacks of being thrown in to jail or hurt. Both speakers want this to be achieved for this reason. In Aung San Suu Kyi’s words taken from her “Freed from Fear” speech “Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” She views fear as a common weakness that gets in the way of achieving the courage to stand up. Whether it’s fear of losing your power or being scorned by the power that governs you—“for fear is not the natural state of civilized man” this is why it has to be forgotten, and we have to learn how to work past it. Now here is where Aung San Suu Kyi and Malcolm X both come together and split apart; the two of them speak of the courage and attaining it, but Malcolm X is more direct and harsh with his message. He makes you feel dishonorable by being direct and saying “If you don’t take this kind of stand, your little children will grow up and look at you and think “shame.” He pulls on your heartstrings to—although good—manipulate you to take that stand. “Let your dying be reciprocal” as in be the one to lead to the pack, everyone else will follow in your footsteps; this is how Malcolm X uses the being the majority in his manipulation.

            This is where the two speakers differ greatly, Aung San Suu Kyi has a more calm and collected tone which she uses towards her inspiration for the listeners and meanwhile Malcolm X bridles his anger as his tone and aims it in the direction of manipulation. I think of Aung San Suu Kyi as more of a philosopher tone, she reminds me a lot of Thoreau who famously wrote “let your life be the counter friction to stop the machine.” They both write, like in this quote, about overcoming the fears to be the one to stand up. Their messages are something to think about that you have to let sink in and a lot of the time those are the most powerful. For instance she writes, “Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying.” The in depth thought it takes to process this helps you come to a self-realization that in return motivates you. In contract Malcolm X tells you directly what is wrong and what you have to do to fix it. “Any time you demonstrate against segregation and a man has the audacity to put a police dog on you, kill that dog, kill him, I’m telling you, kill that dog.” Here he tells you what is wrong with our society—our own policemen keep us from carrying out our own law. Also telling us the remedy for a particularly common situation, killing the dog. Malcolm X does not hold back in the least, his angry tone causes him to lash out with intense statements such as these. This can scare people into the manipulation of doing what he says.