Argumentative Essay On I Have A Dream Speech

In his 1963 speech, “I Have A Dream”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that now is the time to conquer racial inequality and it can be done neither alone nor through hate.

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.

He explains that he will fight unjust laws, even if it means spending a night in jail. He is willing to take the penalty for breaking a law, but is unwilling to let unjust laws degrade and take over African American’s

3. He is implying that this election year, African Americans have no intentions of having a friendly and peaceful protest march. Excessive violence will be used and whatever the outcome may be including death hence his statement of “They're going with one way tickets,” African Americans were willing to “go out with a fight “while fighting for true equality. Subtopic 3) Appeal to Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Subtopic 3a) a rhetorical tactic, modes of persuasion used to convince his audience 1) Appeal to Ethos: “Whether we are Christians or Muslims or nationalists or agnostics or atheists, we must first learn to forget our differences.”

“I Have a Dream,” however, played a major step into changing it. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. Without King, America would be probably still heavily segregated. Other than the speech’s heartwarming and moving content, King’s effective structure along with the usage of all three rhetorical modes and certain rhetorical tropes and schemes has revealed the reason “I Have a Dream” as a masterpiece of rhetoric and it persuades hundreds of thousands of people support the blacks instead of treating them

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.

He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In both of these, he used pathos and logos to appeal to the audience and fit the occasion, so that he can make the people do something about segregation and defend his ideas in an effective way. If he would not have spoken up and had influenced people to follow him, the world could have ended up still having segregation today. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the biggest visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used pathos and logos in his speech to draw in people so he can make them act and he used pathos and ethos in his letter to defend his ideas using his knowledge of the audience and the occasion.

The Declaration of Independence, The Emancipation Proclamation, and The Constitution all declared everyone of all color to be free ;however, people are still segregated and denied their rights based on the color of their skin. In the speech “I have a Dream” by Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. he persuades his audience to treat everyone (of all color) as equals and to give everyone the rights that they deserve. This speech was the most compelling because there were many rhetorical devices being used which helped emphasize the idea of all men being equal and free. It also emphasized how much he fought to be equal with no hatred in his heart.

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, a well-known civil rights leader, took many actions and went through many dangerous procedures to get his views on segregation and equality amongst all people across when presenting his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech. Numerous facts were stated to help in proving his beliefs to be true. These facts sat well with his already exquisite credibility earned from being such a well-mannered, genuine, and respected man. As factual as the speech was, Dr. King did not fail to speak with incredible passion in his voice and emotions so strong, connecting with them was inevitable. These components were essential to making Dr. Kings’ main message crystal clear; it was time for the government to make a drastic change in society’s effort towards putting an end to racial discrimination. Although both ethos and logos were evident in his speech, it is clear that the rhetorical appeal, pathos, was displayed most effectively.

Most people in this world aren’t born into this world alone, King knows this and reminds the clergymen and the white moderate that these people have families too. Even though slavery was abolished in 1865 racism has continued to dehumanize Black people. King has given these people an identity which humanizes them. Lastly King appeals to logos or the logical side of an argument.

In King 's speech he talks about the past 100 years of the emancipation of slave. Even though African Americans were technically free, yet they are still discriminated and face social injustice. He uses a metaphor that

In the opening lines of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he states, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation”. He establishes his purpose to promote equal rights for all citizens, regardless of his/her skin color. In King’s speech. He also

I Have a Dream - Rhetorical Analysis Inspiration and exuberance were the emotions that people felt as they listened to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s. , “I Have a Dream” speech. The momentous speech was delivered on August 26th, 1968, shocking the world with its influential expression of emotion and implication of social injustice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaims courage to the civil rights activists as he speaks passionately about the need to end racism.

The ultimate goal of justice is slowly but surely been achieved today for the black community. A day that heavily influenced this achievement was in 1963 during the March on Washington, in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The man who changed lives that day only wanted those who heard him to apply his message to their lives. In his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses repetition, specific, illustrative detail and examples, allusions, and figurative language in order to amplify his message that his audience needed to bond together in order to fight for civil rights and justice now. Dr. King emphasizes the fact that his dream is to achieve racial equality and justice through the use of repetition.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech had a great deal of logos and pathos appeals to persuade his audience to speak out against segregation and to give all men the rights they deserve. He often gave a clear line of reasoning supported by evidence in his speech, like when he says: “This note was 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.”... America has defaulted on this promissory note, ... given the Negro people a bad check… which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” (King para. 4)