How Does Martin Luther King Use Pathos In I Have A Dream

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.

In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. protested the racial segregation in Birmingham and got arrested. While he was in jail he read a newspaper and 8 white clergymen stated their opinion of him. That inspired his Letter From Birmingham Jail. After he got out he continued to protest and  he wrote his I Have a Dream Speech. He spoke in front of about 10,000 people in Washington DC. in 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke his I Have a Dream Speech to try and grab the attention to anyone willing to listen. He did that to try and get the rights that the African American people deserve but don’t get. He also wrote his Letter From Birmingham Jail on April 6, 1963 to 8 white clergymen to reply to what they said about him for protesting racial segregation. They said that what he was doing was “unwise and untimely.” Both of the pieces writing had logos which is a logical appeal and pathos which is emotional appeal.  In this essay I will compare the two pieces of writing that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote and how he used logos and pathos in both pieces.

Martin Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream” is vastly recognized as one of the best speeches ever given. His passionate demand for racial justice and an integrated society became popular throughout the Black community. His words proved to give the nation a new vocabulary to express what was happening to them. Martin was famously a pacifist, so in his speech, he advocated peaceful protesting and passively fighting against racial segregation.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a very empowering speech in August 28, 1963 and an informative letter in the margins of a newspaper on April 16, 1963. Dr. King took his time to speak out for every African Americans rights, that made him known as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. The speech that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wrote “I have a Dream” gives a pathos feel, building ups emotions towards real equality for each and every person, and not just separate, but equal living conditions. It also gives a logos appeal. The speech also called for Civil and Economic Rights.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. King stood in front of many people and gave his speech, which was created to strike the people’s emotions of how African Americans suffered and why they wanted a change. In contrast, the letter was created to show the reasoning behind wanting a change, because he was writing to his fellow clergymen who said his actions were unwise and untimely. In Dr. King’s speech and letter, he uses rhetorical appeals many times to compel the feelings and reasoning behind the civil rights movement. In Dr. King’s famous speech, “I Have a Dream” he appealed to the audiences’ emotions about the topic of inequality and he proved his logic and reasoning for the Civil Rights movement. When Dr. King gave his speech about the inequality of African Americans, he backed himself up with reasoning to prove why equality was needed.

In “I Have A Dream”, Martin Luther King Jr. persuades people to treat black with the equal rights as whites have. Not to make blacks superior, but to their be peace among blacks and whites.

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King harped on civil disobedience for any moral arguments. Treating citizens differently based on skin color was nefarious, King wished to speak out to change but insisted on non-violent acts to do so. He expressed his thoughts in the “I Have a Dream” speech publically in a passive fashion. This passionate, positive and encouraging speech flourished King’s views and changed the American government’s unjust laws.

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 ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” (King, Jr.). Martin Luther King Jr. exceeded this “measure of a man” during his civil rights acts as a strong soldier in a very volatile time. During this time of “challenge and controversy” King made himself heard in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In some of his civil rights acts that occurred in Birmingham, resulted in him ending up in jail. During his time in jail, he wrote his also famous “Letter From Birmingham Jail.”

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

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.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s skillful and motivational I Have a Dream speech was a major turning point in America's history. King took a firm stand for equal rights as he confronted the issues of racism. King’s ambition was emphasizing his belief that someday all men could be brothers. The intensifying rise of the civil rights movement helped King’s speech produce a strong outcome on public opinion. The careful use of appeals in King’s most popular speech made it effective, recognizable, and life changing for the people that got to hear it that day and the generations to