“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”, is the name of the final speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, at Mason Temple on April, 3, 1968. The speech motivates listeners to fight against social injustice even at the darkest of times, and to push forward until the light can shine through even the darkest of areas. MLK uses imagery, simile, and antithesis to get his points across to the audience without having it obvious and bland. As well as to get the audience to pay more attention and pull them into what is stated. The Parthenon, Plato, the early 30’s: These are just a few of the images Dr. King uses within the opening paragraph. Imagery can consist of sentences containing visually descriptive or figurative language. Imagery can be used to explain something symbolic or create an image in the listener’s mind. He lists revolutionaries, leaders, and peacemakers who contributed to the evolution of society such as Plato and Lincoln. He tells the audience he would take a “mental flight” to get the audience to imagine what he is saying. He would take the listeners with him to see revolutionary philosophers “assembled around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issue of reality.” Later he goes on to say that he would travel to …show more content…
King goes on to state, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” This works because it gives these items something everyone can relate to or imagine. Like water, justice can be strong enough to change people. Justice is also natural and essential for people to thrive. And, finally, according to King, Justice is clear. Justice should flow like water and righteousness roar like a mighty stream. Martin Luther King uses this to get people’s attention, as well as to explain and emphasize in a way that is easily
Moreover, King uses these three rhetorical elements to express the treatment African Americans faced, the unjust laws by using examples back in history to show that these laws were not right at all, and his reason as to why he is in Birmingham due to the racial inequality whites have shown towards negroes. King main idea of his letter is “Injustice anywhere will be a threat to justice everywhere.” (King 1) Therefore, King is using this letter as a way of saying we have to protest racism and injustice, but we cannot do it violently because then that will be considered unjust too. Martin Luther King uses a tone of righteousness to talk about the right versus the wrong and explaining why what he is doing is correct.
In the eyes of Martin Luther King Jr., Justice within a society is achieved through the implementation of just laws. Furthermore, “just laws are regulations that have been created by man that follow the laws of God for man” (“Clergymen’s Letter”). Any law that does not correspond with the ideals of God and morality are considered to be unjust or a form of injustice. King identifies that injustice is clearly evident within the justice system. This injustice can truly be seen through the misconduct imposed toward the African American community.
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.
On April 3rd 1968 Former civil rights leader Martin Luther King jr. employs the appeal of ethos, pathos and logos effectively in his speech “I’ve been to the mountaintop”. to persuade the people to stand up for equality. Martin Luther king jr. use of pathos strengthens his ability to make an emotional connection with the audience because they must have went through the similar experience. “Thirteen Hundred of God’s children are suffering, sometimes are going hungry,going through dark and dreary nights”.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr gave us one of one of the most rhetorically moving speeches ever given. Titled as the “I Have a Dream Speech,” he read this speech to the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”. As a civil right mover he gave this great speech to all Americans (black and white) so that he could give off the idea of equality on the same level. Because of his crowd of mix races King made sure to make his speech imploring to all no matter what the race that they may be. He uses metaphorical imagery, powerful diction,and symbolism to create an impact on the audience.
Dr. Kings “I Have a Dream” speech shows powerful examples of logos and pathos. His effectiveness relies heavily on his usage of these two ways to explain the pain and suffering of segregation. By him capturing his true life’s reality through pity and credible sources allows him to become successful in attempting to end the racism crisis. King states that, “when our republic was writing the Declaration of Independence, they were making a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable rights’ of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Logos is the prime example of King using this event of writing the Declaration of Independence.
The author’s antithesis embedded in the anaphora, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” illustrates how crucial it is to battle injustice so that justice is not harmed (King). King does not want to threaten the justices in the nation through his protests, but rather the injustices in the nation. The general truth in the aphorism effects ethos by stating that the people’s justices will be endangered if injustices are not dealt with soon. The antithesis in the statement highlights that, while there are reasonable laws, there are also unreasonable laws that must be confronted in order to keep the nation in peace. Inequality is not felt by just those who are subjugated.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims.
“In expressing [his own emotions] with such powerful eloquence, in connecting strongly with the emotions of his listeners, and in convincing them to empathize with others, Dr. King demonstrated emotional intelligence decades before the concept had a name”(“Dr. Martin”). He demanded to end racism throughout the entire United States. King utilized repetition, metaphors, diction and rhetorical devices, that provokes ethos and pathos, throughout his speech in order to connect with his audience as well as to motivate them to stand up and fight for their freedom they well-deserve. One of the most used literary elements throughout Martin Luther King’s speech are diction, which leads to rhetorical devices such as, ethos, logos, and pathos.
philosophizes that if we, as human beings, forgo our instincts at the service of something higher, justice will prevail. In “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he asserts that there are certain permanent truths which will never evaporate. These truths will always stand firm as fundamental principles which justify what is morally right and wrong, just and unjust. King deliberates that “the yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself” (“Letter,” p. 771). Furthermore, Martin Luther King, Jr. declares that there are universal and borderless Gospels of Freedom and Justice, which resound in the natural constitution of every human person, and are uplifted, fulfilled, and dignified by the divine wisdom of
The main idea of his speech is that all people were created equal and, although this is no longer the case nowadays, King felt it must be the case for the future. He argued peacefully, yet passionately and powerfully. In preparation for the speech, he studied the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence and he alludes to all three in his address. The intensity of King’s speech is built through parallelism, metaphors, bold statements and rhythmic repetitions:
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.”
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.
Here in this quote, he personifies the abstract qualities of freedom, bitterness, and hatred and uses them to represent something we "drink" of "thirst for". King uses this metaphor to teach us that we should not be bitter and have hatred if we want to ultimately achieve freedom. An example of the use of a simile is in the line "justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream". In this simile, he compares the idea of us all having justice to water in a stream. Lastly, King uses imagery in his speech.
King addresses the characteristics of unjust laws in 3 points. First point being that just laws are always harmonious with natural morale law. Second point being that a just law is one that uplifts human personality as opposed to degrading human personality. Lastly, a just law can only be created in the most democratic manner possible and if it is not, the minority automatically has the right to disobey the law because they had no say in the creation of the law. As for the first point, a natural morale law must be measured by our natural human sense.