Christina Chavez Mrs. Coleman English 1 3 April 2023 MLK Rhetorical Analysis Three scores ago, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his inspiring, heartful “I Have a Dream” speech to the American people of all backgrounds to encourage equality. With his speech, he also wanted to spread awareness of the racial injustice the African American people suffered. Dr. King’s dream was of unity and that everyone would work together to achieve this dream, as well as equality, justice, and freedom for all. His tone was firm, passionate, and patriotic, hoping people would get his message of equality and racial justice. To help with getting his message across, Dr. King used rhetorical devices, such as anaphoras, metaphors, …show more content…
King uses metaphors; he uses metaphors in hopes to open the African Americans' eyes to the dreadful conditions they lived in. He uses two metaphors, “one hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity” and “one hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land” to emphasize the importance of the terrible living conditions they have been living in. Those metaphors highlight how African Americans lived in poverty while everyone around them lives in riches and much better conditions. He uses the phrase, “lonely island” because nobody else was being treated like that and “a vast ocean” because it is a massive problem and the rest of the citizens are living with many riches. Announcing that the African Americans find themselves exiled from their own land, allows Dr. King to explain the problem of the American land was promised to everybody, but the African Americans have been thrown out and not allowed in the land allowed for …show more content…
used rhetorical devices. He used his specific, “now is the time,” anaphora to spur people into taking action right now and not wait any longer. Using his two metaphors, Dr. King wanted to open the eyes of everybody to see how the African American people had been surviving in impoverished conditions. Not only did Dr. King wished to emphasize and open the American people’s heart to segregation and injustice, he wanted them to be united, and be as one. To unite them as one during his speech he repeated words that included everybody, such as “we”, “our”, and “us”. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted justice and equality, and used many rhetorical devices to hopefully open people’s hearts and eyes to the injustice happening around
Martin Luther King Jr., the use of Parallelism and Antithesis as rhetorical devices were used in his speech to gather the audience listening. Dr. King used parallelism to emphasize the idea of letting freedom ring by repeating the word freedom during his speech on the idea that one day, they will all be doing everything together, that there will be no more segregation. As well, Dr. King used the rhetorical device of Antithesis to illustrate the clear concept being made between the two ideas of injustice and oppression with freedom and justice. To be brief, by the use of rhetorical devices to ensure that every man, regardless of race, is equal, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emphasized solidarity to bring together the American people in anticipation of ending racial inequality through his mesmerizing
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.
Author’s use rhetorical devices to enhance their writing and deepen the conncetion between their audience in their story. In two of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous writings he uses rhetorical devices to grasp the audiences attention and persuade them. In the “Letter From Birmigham Jail,” and the “ I Have A Dream,” speech Dr. Martin Luther King uses appeals to make connections with his audience. Dr. King uses the rhetorical device hypophra, a posed question with an immediate answer. In his “ I have a dream speech,” he uses the hypophra: “ When will you be satisfied.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. is perhaps the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. He is famous for writing his “I Have A Dream” speech and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” Dr. King is known as a very high-minded speaker who avoids violence when making his argument. His work can be defined as a nonviolent protest. His “I Have A Dream” speech and “Letter From Birmingham Jail” are loaded with language that does not have a negative, violent-sounding undertone, but rather a passionate one.
The most effective rhetorical device, I think, used by Martin Luther King is, ethos and pathos because he used the colored people's belief to get them to support him in his journey and he used their emotions to compare it to the whiteś emotion. First, Martin uses ethos,¨Like paul, i must constantly respond to the macedonian call for aid.¨ (SB Page 207) This means, in martinś speech he wisely used the belief of his people (God) to inspirate them. This is a clear example of ethos. Next Martin uses Pathos ¨We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor.”
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. skillfully uses religious language and metaphor, rationality, and reason, and sentiment. A smart tactic to reach god-fearing and law-abiding individuals along with ordinary citizens. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. would tie into the listener's emotion by dramatically depicting the horrible things they had to endure in a flashy fashion through the use of his
1963, time of the Civil Rights Movement, and the world was one of chaos and the fight for equality was at its end. 250,000 people congregated at Washington D.C. to listen to Martin Luther King Jr. express his and his followers views on the issue of racial injustice. His words persuaded and inspired many to not only end inequality, but to expose of it. However, none of this would of been possible if good ole rhetorical devices didn’t come into play. His superb usage of ethos, logos, and pathos quite possibly changed the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement.
Justice is not treating someone unfairly because of their differences. Quite often many injustices go unnoticed; but one man noticed a big injustice that many people during his time ignored. This man was Martin Luther King Jr, famously known for addressing these injustices via his speech, “I Have A Dream”. This speech inspired over 200,000 Americans to march for a better future. The passionate tone of Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have A Dream” is magnified and supported through the use of rhetorical elements.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made long speeches, proclaiming his dream of equal rights for all people, including African Americans. He used rhetorical devices and ethos, pathos, and logos to spread his message. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's method of protest was effective because he peacefully resolved racial inequality and segregation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used anaphoras and pathos to persuade his audience to support equal rights for the African American community. In Dr. Martin Luther Kings Jr's "I Have A Dream Speech,"
The activist, Martin Luther King, revolutionized the civil rights movement as he addressed the issues that racism had induced from the beginning of its existence; to counter this damage, King encouraged peaceful, relentless protests for freedom and equality. Angry hate crimes tarnished the lives of African Americans in the United States, putting a stop to these monstrosities would be a momentous task but Martin Luther King was fearlessly ready to take on the challenge. The undoubtedly great speech was crucial for the development of the civil rights movement and success because the speaker compelled his audience to stand up for what they believed in and created a sense of purpose and drive that would lead to prosperity. In the speech “I Have
American Baptist minister and activist, Martin Luther King Jr., in his famous speech, “I Had a Dream”, highlights the broken and separated state that encompasses our country at that time in history. (Kirk) King’s intentions were to instill hope in his audience, including the African Americans, fighting for freedom from oppression. He portrays an inspiration filled tone, through multiple rhetorical devices, which motivates his audience to persevere in the tough battle against discrimination and segregation. Martin Luther King starts his speech, by approaching the subject of the disarray in our country. He compares the ideal rights everyone is granted and should possess, to what dosage of equality is actually paid forward.
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. Martin Luther King called for action when he said, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair.” Dr. Martin Luther King was simply pointing out that his people could no longer tolerate the injustices and discrimination that they were constantly facing. Also, Dr. Martin Luther King said, “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” Dr. Martin Luther King was addressing that his people had to take action to march and protest for what they perceived as fair and just. Dr. Martin Luther King use of stylistic elements such as figurative language along with connotative word choice and purposeful structure to persuade his audience to take a stand against discrimination.
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.”
Umer Tariq Bashir Mariam Ishtiaq Writing and Communication ss-100 16 November 2015 Martin Luther King speech:Critique Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I have a dream” is an inspiring elocution which induces people of all the communities. It tries to elevate the status of the Afro-American community and urges all people to strive for the attainment of an indiscriminate society. Martin Luther King is an eloquent speaker who has the ability to captivate an audience with his charismatic and persuasive speech.