Allusions In I Have A Dream Speech

Dr. King was there to talk about freedom. This is a very common speech today. A lot of African Americans were all for their freedom and joined the rally to have our world stop segregation. Dr. King speech was very powerful and he hoped to change the minds and hearts of many American people. His words had a lot of impact on American’s after his speech.

He calls upon the audience by asking them a question using an interrogative sentence “[...] allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today?” (P.1) Nevertheless, Douglass’s interaction with the audience allows them to reflect upon themselves and ask why he is speaking because that is what he thinks himself. In conclusion, this questioning tone of actions from Douglass conveys the audience to a state of mind of what else he considers the matter of

Dawn McNeil-Bruce English 2100 Professor Andrews- Parker 10/21/15 The Rhetorical Techniques in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” The unjust treatment of African Americans have cause a significant amount of African American leaders to use different ways to advocate for racial equality. One very famous advocate was Martin Luther King Jr. On April 16, 1963, Dr. King had written a letter from Birmingham jail to eight clergymen towards racial equality. Martin Luther King Jr. had used this letter to convince the clergymen of the racial injustice towards African Americans. In order to persuade his audience Dr. King had used rhetorical devices to appeal to them. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an urgent tone to his

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” was once spoken by Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most distinguished individuals on Earth. Known for his peaceful protests throughout the country of India, a great number of people have been inspired by him, such as Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, and even Martin Luther King Jr. The Civil Rights Movement leader took the wise man’s words to heart and delivered a life changing speech called “I Have A Dream” during a time of alienation between the people of America. In his speech, King turns back the clock to the time of slavery, reliving the brutality African Americans faced, then winds it back up again to the present where segregation has taken hold, and finally speeds up the hands to the future where he shares his dream to be of one. Throughout his declaration for freedom and equality, King uses empowering literary devices and urges the human race to take action before racism consumes all thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Repetition is found all throughout Washington 's speech. He repeats the phrase "cast down your buckets where you are" to strengthen his allegory. The more it is said, the more it is clear that he is not just talking to the African Americans, he is also talking to the "those of the white race". He is implying that the Whites could look to the African Americans for the prosperity of the South, instead of looking to "those of foreign birth and strange tongue and habits" (Line 74-75). He is telling both sides to notice what is around them and use what they have.

“I Have a Dream” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963 gave many examples of metaphors and allusions to build his argument. Such as alluding where they are located, comparing the treatment that African Americans were getting to handcuffs and restraints, comparing racial injustice to quick sand, and comparing brotherhood to a solid rock. These examples add support to back up his argument of how terrible the Africans Americans were being treated. Rev.

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.

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.” He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans.

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

King repeatedly uses the phrase “when you” –eleven times approximately- in order to resonate with his critics the importance of action in bringing segregation to an end and allowing justice for all people of color. Each time he uses the statement “when you”, his argument builds up with greater fervor and passion giving him greater persuasive power over his audience as the repetition of the phrase cause an emotional effect on the readers as they begin to simulate their own experiences with that of what he is citing. Anaphora is also particularly useful in King’s favor as he employs this towards the beginning of the letter, therefore by repeating the phrase “when you” multiple times, it enhances the likelihood that his reader will remember not only what the read but how they felt by the end of the piece. The audience is actively drawn into King’s arguments due to a perception of membership, by being able to anticipate that the next line will repeat what has been said it builds resonance within the audience. King’s usage of anaphora throughout the essay (not just in this one particular quote) serves to effectively strengthen his argument and persuade his readers to abide by the four steps of peaceful protesting for which he is concerned on behalf of the Civil Rights movement.