Quit India

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1942

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Essay Analysis

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Literary Devices

Appeals

Gandhi couches his address in multiple appeals to his audience, specifically employing appeals to his own credibility (ethos). He reminds the congress that they know him—he is the “same Gandhi [he] was in 1920” (1)—and that he wants them to trust him because he worked for over 20 years with the Congress. He also repeatedly uses ethical appeals when addressing the Muslims; he references his friendships with them and claims that he “[stood] by the Mussalmans in the hour of their trial” (4). By establishing additional credibility in his English speech with the Viceroy Lord Linlithgow, he builds a foundation of trust prior to issuing his call to action.

Moreover, Gandhi relies on logical appeals (logos), specifically when addressing the Muslims and their concerns. He references their own understanding of their faith when he says, “Islam enjoins you not to revile even an enemy” (5). This attempt to use their own belief systems as a way to reason with them demonstrates his knowledge of their faith. He reasons that they did not want to achieve a “Muslim Raj” or Hindu tyranny, but that they did need one India.

Juxtapositions

To convey his argument in favor of a nonviolent revolution, Gandhi frequently uses juxtapositions to contrast different tactics and types of power. He knows that replacing one type of oppressive power with another would undermine his ideals. He contrasts “power” and independence” at the very beginning of his speech to highlight this very notion (1). One is about control, and the other is about freedom; pitting them so closely exposes their differences. He went onto to juxtapose the British Empire and the Indians: “We thus have to deal with an empire whose ways are crooked. Ours is a straight path” (8). Again, the starkness of this contrast serves to underscore his point that the Indian push for freedom is not corrupt or like the colonial empire in any way.

Later, when speaking directly to the wealthy Indian princes, he juxtaposes the self-serving power of the empire with a humbler kind of power, asking “the Princes to become servants of the people” (11). This would have been directly opposed to how the British Empire would have ruled India.

Inspirational and Resolute Tone

With the call to action in mind, Gandhi uses on an inspirational tone to convince others to join him in his cause, saying, “We have learned to hold on to our beliefs in the confidence that we are in the right. It behaves (sic) us to cultivate this courage of conviction, for it ennobles man and raises his moral stature” (3). The uplifting phrases “courage of conviction” and “raises his moral stature” encourage the Indians, confirming that they are acting righteously.

However, knowing the hardships to come, Gandhi understands that he would have to steel his audience for what lay ahead in addition to inspiring them. In the most famous lines of the speech when he urges them to action, he tells them they must “do or die” (10). This could have had both a literal and a metaphorical meaning in that it could mean physical death or the death of the dream for an independent India. Either way, his single-minded tone strengthens his call to action.

Rhetorical Questions

A speech is a monologue and not a dialogue. For this reason, rhetorical questions work well, since they are meant to hang in the air without response, leaving the audience to grapple with the question. Gandhi poses rhetorical questions with frequency throughout his speeches, and he often groups them to create a swell of relentless questioning. When he is rebutting Quaid-I-Azam Jinnah, he poses eight questions in a row to generate this effect (6).

While posing a series of questions creates pressure, it also creates a sense of urgency. When Gandhi says, “How can I remain silent at this supreme hour and hide my light under the bushel? Shall I ask the Japanese to tarry awhile?” (9), he implies that his back is up against the wall, and his options are few. It reads in our modern-day vernacular as, “What do you want me to do?” (which is what people resort to saying when the situation is dire). Gandhi is done with waiting and offers rhetorical questions to convince the others that they should be too.