Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential African-American activists in American History and was a key participant in the Civil Rights movement, the goal of which was to provide full civil rights to all rights in America. MLK has written many, many speeches and letters in favor of the Civil Rights movement in America, the most famous of them being his legendary “I Have a Dream” Speech and the monumental “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. To attempt to gain support for his cause, MLK employs the use of emotional appeals, also known as pathos, and logical appeals, also known as logos, which aid to stir emotion and reasoning in the listener. It is more than obvious that MLK tends to tug at the heartstrings of his listeners with his emotionally charged language essential to his success. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses more powerful and plentiful examples of pathos in his literature, examples of which being his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, than logos due to the more powerful emotional connection they carry which can convince his listeners to sympathize with his civil rights movement. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and letters, there are many powerful examples of the use of pathos. Firstly, from his speech “I Have a Dream”, MLK preaches: “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” (King, 261). This piece of evidence displays that
To start, Dr. King’s use of metaphors allows his audience to understand his viewpoint better. Since the founding of the Americas in the late 1400s, slavery was a problem; until the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. Then the segregation of African Americans and White Americans started. In his essay, Dr. King uses the metaphor “America has given the Negro people a bad check, which came back marked “insufficient funds” (46). King uses this metaphor to emphasize the treatment of African Americans in America.
Imagine you were part of a society where you had no rights, freedom , and you were judged because of what color your skin was. Well there was time when society did judge and discriminate against you. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech called “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial in front of a crowd of protesters for civil rights and for freedom. He also wrote a response called “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to 8 white clergymen that were giving him a hard time. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses both logos and pathos to describe a point using facts and evidence and or a language that arouses your emotions.
African Americans received no respect for decades and decades. No matter if you were old or young, man or a woman. You received no respect. Martin Luther King Jr. was an inspirational speaker sticking up for what was right. While dealing with the same disrespect all Negroes were receiving.
He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the biggest visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. This man was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In both of his writings, he used pathos and logos to appeal to the audience and fit the occasion.
On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy gave his remarks on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Robert’s goal was to inform people on Martin Luther King’s journey and to strengthen people’s attitudes on the whole situation. Robert’s main points throughout the speech were how the country as a whole should move forward, why the states should not resort to violence but unity instead, and he also addressed that the country needed unity, love, and compassion.
Whites-Blacks relations The relationship between the two races is practically the basis of the civil rights movement. From their rhetoric, it is clear that Martin Luther King and Malcom X held quite different views on the current and future relationship of Blacks and Whites in the United States. Martin Luther King knew that Blacks are the minority in the US and that they “cannot walk alone”. They need allies in the white majority to be able to achieve any changes.
LFBJ Martin Luther King (MLK) uses Pathos to persuade his readers and uses rhetorical questions. MLK appeals to his audience when he states, “ In justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (King 6) MLK. MLK used pathos here to link with the reader’s emotions. It makes the audience think about justice vs. injustice.
Martin Luther King Jr., a minister and social activist, led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He was an advocate for equality between all races and a civil and economic rights Activist. Because of his leadership, bravery and sacrifice to make the world a better place, Martin Luther King was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. His incredible public speaking skills and ability to properly get his message across can clearly be scene throughout the speech. Tone: Dr. King delivered his speech at the university of Oslo in Oslo Norway in front of a large group of people.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960’s and he’s very deserving of that title as seen in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” letter. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience.
Lastly he shows ethos by using authority in his speech by using quotes from two very famous documents. Pathos is the persuasion through emotion, it is the psychological response, but mainly it is the audience. In Martin Luther King’s speech, he uses and
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.
The Civil Rights Movement was a big thing for the United states and we as Americans will always remember Martin Luther King Jr. for helping lead the people and inspire change and bring hope. The speech “ I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an important gathering of people at the Lincoln Memorial. A huge crowd gathered to listen to his powerful speech which helped to inspire change. Martin Luther King also wrote a letter to eight white clergymen named “Letter From Birmingham Jail” the letter was written in in his jail cell which he was in for marching and protests. In both of these texts Dr. King used pathos and logos to inspire change and reach out to the people during the civil rights movements.
In these texts, King effectively persuades his audiences using pathos and logos. In Martin Luther King Jr. – “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he captures both pathos and logos. Dr. King
In Martin Luther King’s Jr, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” the letter was a persuasive attempt to get Americans to finally see the inequality in the United States of America. Throughout King’s letter, he used various ways of persuasive strategies: pathos, logos, and ethos. But the strongest influential device King used was pathos. Now the word “strongest” has various meanings, but in this instance, it means the most successful.
During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Opening his speech Martin Luther King Jr. sets up his credibility with his use of ethos, referring to the Declaration of Independence saying, “This note was a promise that all men… would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life.”