Final speech of the great dictator

Isai 2021-10-22 14:30:50

I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor-that's not my business-I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.
We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful.
But we have lost the way.
Greed has poisoned men's souls-has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.
We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness
in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say Do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die, and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die, liberty will never perish...
Soldiers-don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you-who regiment your lives, tell you what to
do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder!
Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate- only the unloved hate-the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers-don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty!
In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written the kingdom of God is within man-not one man, nor a group of men-but in all men-in you! You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure ! Then in the name of democracy let us use that power-let us all unite!!! Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a
chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to
power, but they lie! They do not fulfil their promise, they never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.
Soldiers-in the name of democracy, let us all unite!!!
[Speech by Charlie (Charles) Chaplin (1889-1977) from The Great Dictator movie (1940)]

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I want to help everyone, Jews, Non-Jews, blacks, whites. We want to help each other. Humans should be like that. We want a happy life, not a miserable one. Let us not hate each other.
In this world, the earth is rich, and it can nourish everyone. Life can be free and beautiful. But we are lost. Greed poisons human souls and obstructs the world with hatred, which makes us go bloody step by step. Our development is getting faster and faster, but we are closing ourselves again. The industrial age only leaves us with desire. Ours just makes us cynical, our cleverness makes us ruthless. We think too much and perceive too little. In addition to machines, we need humanity; in addition to being smart, we need kindness and meekness. Without these qualities, life will be full of violence and everything will cease to exist...
Airplanes and radios have brought us closer. These inventions call for the benevolence of mankind, call for the brotherhood of the world, and unite us. Now, my voice is spreading everywhere, heard by millions of desperate men, women and children, by those suffering under the tyranny system and by the innocent people who have been wronged and imprisoned. Those who hear my words, don't despair! The tragedy above us is nothing but short-term greed, but the pain of those who are afraid of human progress. People will hate the past, dictators are going to die, they take away the power of the people will return to hand
in. As long as people live, freedom will not be destroyed.
Soldiers, don't serve the beasts, the beasts who despise you and enslaved you, they manipulate your lives, tell you what to think and feel, they train you, treat you like cows, and use you as cannon fodder. Don't give yourself to these people, these people like machines. You are not machines, you are not cows, you are humans! There is human love in your hearts. Do not hate, only those who have no love and no nature hate. Soldiers, don't fight for slavery, fight for freedom! Saint Luke said "The Kingdom of God is in mankind." Not in one person or in a group of people, but among all people, among you! You have the power to make machines, and you have the power to make happiness. You have the power to create a free and beautiful life, to turn life into a beautiful experience. In the name of democracy, let us use this power. Let us unite, let us fight to create a new world, this world will give people a chance to work, will bring wealth to young people, and will bring security to the elderly. Promise these things, things that the beasts have promised. But they lied! They did not fulfill that promise, they never would! Dictators set themselves free but enslave others. Now, let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight for a free world, fight for the abolition of national barriers, fight for greed, hatred and intolerance, let us fight for a just world

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Extended Reading
  • Lavonne 2022-03-22 09:01:21

    It seems that everyone thinks the speech at the end is wonderful, but I think it is too deliberately preachy, like a political propaganda film. In addition, Chaplin's acting is excellent, but his films now seem to be free from the disease of loose structure and weak ending.

  • Gladyce 2021-10-22 14:40:14

    Chaplin said: Comedy uses long-term view, tragedy uses close-up view. And Chaplin's body language is far more than facial expressions. In the end, the tone was ridiculously absurd and ended with a serious, grand speech. Unexpected.

The Great Dictator quotes

  • Adenoid Hynkel: [in the middle of a speech in which he rants in "German"] Phooey!

  • Adenoid Hynkel: Garbitsch, what's the meaning of this? These appropriations? Twenty-five million for prison camps when we need every penny for the manufacturing of ammunition's?

    Garbitsch: We've had to make a few arrests.

    Adenoid Hynkel: A few? How many?

    Garbitsch: Nothing astronomical. Five or ten thousand.

    Adenoid Hynkel: Oh.

    Garbitsch: A day.

    Adenoid Hynkel: A day?

    Garbitsch: Just a few dissenters, that's all.