Rhetorical Analysis of I am Malala; Malala’s Ideal of Muslim Girls

Abstract

Rhetorical style is not an ornament in the language; it is the use of language in persuasion. The purpose of this research is to highlight the style Malala employs to persuade readers of her ideal of modernity of Muslim girls. This research contributes to demonstrating Malala’s voice, which seems to resonate with Western ideology, that misrepresents traditional Pakistani Muslim girls. The present study aims to analyze the rhetorical style of the text I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai in the light of Toulmin’s model of argumentation. The researcher uses Chaim Perelman's theory of argumentation to analyze the rhetorical style of Malala’s voice, which may persuade readers to consider her modern from other Pakistani Muslim girls who are represented as restricted, backward, and unfamiliar with modernity. The study concludes that various features of voice style, like tone, diction, and contractions, are used by Malala Yousafzai that may influence readers about her ideal of modernity of Muslim girls