In the film “The Great Dictator,” Charlie Chaplin’s character gives a speech that is meant for soldiers, victims of the current war, and ordinary people who are listening. The final speech is meant to inspire his audience to unite against the fascist regime, reclaim their dignity and humanity, and remind them that the power lies within the people and not the hateful. More importantly, Chaplin is trying to persuade his audience to mobilize. Chaplin’s character, the Jewish barber, used Aristotle’s modes of Persuasion beautifully.

First, Chaplin’s speech used Ethos to build trust and moral conviction through his use of a verse in the 17th chapter of St Luke, “The Kingdom of God is within man.” Secondly, Chaplin used Logos to support his emotional appeals with reason by showing cause and effect, contradiction, and pattern recognition. The best example of Logos is when he lays out the clear pattern of why people must reclaim power. He says, ” By the promises of these things, brutes..rise..lie..do not fulfill.. They never will!” Last, but most important, is Pathos. The final speech is driven by the mode of Pathos. Charlie Chaplin used emotional contrast and resonance to get his message across. He uses anaphora, personification, repetition, epistrophe, and parallelism to achieve his goal. The most important rhetorical device used is Anaphora. The use of this device is seen several times throughout the speech in his use of repeated words and phrases such as “more than,” We want, We don’t want,” “You are not, You are,” and my favorite, “machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!” All of these tools could not have been conveyed as powerfully if it weren’t for his amazing ability to deliver.

Great speeches that carry weight over the years tend to leave their audience with something memorable, and Charlie did just that. He used vocalics on another level. When analyzing his speech, I took note of volume variances, clear articulation, changes in pace and tone, intentional use of pauses, and changes in Pitch.He started calmly, slowly, and with a low volume. Chaplin would proceed to raise his volume, change pace, and use many of the devices I stated before. All of this gave the speech a sense of building momentum. He emphasized intentionally. Chaplin combined all this with an amazing use of kinetics. He would hold his head high when saying words like democracy, he would close off his body slightly when speaking about greed and hate, and he finished his speech with confidence and a proud raise of his hand when he said, “Unite.” His presence on stage gave off a focus, a feeling of urgency, and humble authority. Chaplin’s final speech in “The Great Dictator” was a moral plea that turned into history.

The film was released in 1940 during World War II. At the time, Charlie had already become a legendary icon for silent films, and this movie was going to be his first talkie. When he announced the film, he received many threats not to make it, but he did. Remarkably, Chaplin wrote, starred in, directed, produced, and funded the making of this film. Chaplin was faced with tons of political scrutiny for speaking up against fascism and the films satircal roles based on Hitler and Mousellini. The film was banned in some countries, and in 1952, the U.S. Attorney General placed an inquiry on his return trip from europe and he was banned from re-entering America. Chaplin’s film survives to this day as an award-winning, powerful message against fascism and hate.

All things considered, I chose this film because of the way the message moved me when I saw it in my Film class in 2019. At the time, Donald Trump was in office, and we were heading into the COVID-19 years. The hate and fascist rhetoric have risen in our country since and are at an all-time high today in 2025, and I feel Chaplin’s message is as relevant as it was almost 100 years ago.

Charlie Chaplin was a famous comedic actor, filmmaker, and composer. He was known for his persona, "Little Tramp," being THE icon for silent films, and his first talkie, "The Great Dictator," in 1940. He is famously known for his final speech in "The Great Dictator," as it was a political statement against fascism and the Nazi Party. He received lots of threats while making this movie. Chaplin believed in the film and composed, starred in, directed, produced, and self-funded this film.

This speech is a scene in the film, "The Great Dictator." The speech was made by the character, a Jewish barber, who was mistaken for the film's antagonist, Dictator Hynkel. It was a political statement against rising fascism and the Nazi Party, including its leader, Adolf Hitler. The film's theme is good versus evil, grounded in satire plus historical and cultural relevance.