Mark Antony and Tim Comparison C:

In Ellison’s Invisible Man, our beloved Tim gives a funeral speech for his ‘brother’, Tod Clifton, with no preparation or outline. He uses repetition to draw out his points that, one, he barely knew Tod, and two, he could only tell them two things; “His name was Tod Clifton, and he was shot.” This is what draws his crowd in…this use of repetition for what he doesn’t know to say, makes him seem like he’s experienced and planned out. The crowd eats this speech up like a moist piece of cake, and this is why most would compare his speech to the one Mark Antony gave for his great friend, Caesar’s, funeral. Mark also used repetition, but not about Caesar.

            Antony used repetition to voice his opinion, it seems. To voice that Brutus may or may not have been as honorable as he or others claimed him to be. To voice that killing your best friend, regardless of any petty reason, is wrong and forever will be wrong. To be taken down by someone close in heart is traitorous and despicable. The crowd soon turned away from the rights of Brutus, and back to how Caesar was amazing and good-hearted. Antony’s repetition more than likely caused some sort of doubt and hesitance in the people towards Brutus, and caused more love and respect for Caesar. Again, like Tim, Antony had no prepared speech, this was done with true emotion and care for a friend who had died for his cause, regardless of what it was.

            Both Tim and Antony were remarkable speakers; able to draw in a huge crowd with only words spoken with their voices, sometimes each speech was planned carefully, while most of the time, it was true emotion seeping through the cracks, and filling each hole with hope and adoration.