Martin Luther King Famous Speech Analysis

Dr. Martin Luther King uses rhetoric his “I Have a Dream” speech in order to persuade the nation to condemn segregation. His speech focuses on the injustices his people endured and the need for equality. Dr. King does not entice the crowd with negative messages but hopeful words. He utilizes ethos, pathos, and logos through the incorporation of his faith, analogies and symbols of Democracy. At the beginning of the speech, Dr. King makes use of ethos by mentioning Abraham Lincoln.

The original idea, starting with basically nothing and seeing how successful he can become, stemmed from a book he read criticizing the death of the American dream. Shepard intended to prove this theory wrong. Through his hardships of homelessness, Shepard learns the lesson he teaches in this portion of the text, that society can’t blame others for their lack of success. This lessons extends to his overall purpose, showing that through hard work you can achieve success in America; therefore, he proves the American dream is alive as

In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter to Birmingham Jail” both have a purpose of expressing nonconformity towards the government by rebellions and protests of men for their rights. In “Civil Disobedience”, “...I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize” (Thoreau 942). In addition, in “Letter to Birmingham Jail”, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King 263). Both Thoreau and King express a belief system that for anything to change, one must be able to speak the truth and lead the people to create a greater force to defeat the

For example, the support in the clergymen’s letter is found when they are stating that there has been local “friction and unrest” from these protests proving that these protests are stirring up trouble (Wood 174). In King’s letter, the supports that he uses throughout his letter are references from people back in history such as Socrates, biblical references, and personal anecdotes about how he has to explain to his children when they ask him “Why do white people treat colored people so mean?” (Wood 179). Furthermore, the warrant in the clergymen letter is that protests and violence are not the way to figure out these problems about segregation. Similarly, King’s warrant includes how violence is not the answer, but sees protests and peaceful demonstration are necessary for change and attention. The backing for the clergymen’s letter was that the protests are causing nothing more but trouble in Birmingham, while the backing for King’s letter was that the protests will help everyone come together and fight the segregation and create a civil rights movement that will end

Martin Luther King believed in racial and ethical equality, nonviolent protests, and love and peace. These beliefs compare to those of transcendentalists in that both value individualism. Transcendentalists encourage others to think for themselves, which will promote peace and harmony in a community. “People can trust themselves to be their own authority on what is right,” (Transcendentalism). Martin Luther didn’t conform to a society that said it was okay to segregate people based on race.

Authors show character 's personality through their actions and their words. There were many instances in the book that Atticus used his actions and words to fight for social justice. By looking at impartiality, moral conviction, and selflessness Atticus showed through his actions and words, it is clear that Harper Lee believed that everyone should be treated equally, no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, or religion. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents the idea that moral conviction is demonstrated by doing the right thing even if everybody is against you. The author states, “but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself.

The call of Pope Francis to take “a clear stand for creative and active nonviolence and against all forms of violence” echoes the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of a nation without racism. Inspired by Dr. King’s concept of a creative and constructive tension, I seek the following solutions to the violence caused by racism: Treat people equally, join Anti-Racist and Anti-Prejudice, make an effort to know some different than you and to have freedom. The solution to ending racism is to treat people equally, here is Dr. King’s quote that supports this solution. “I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. “I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” This powerful, inspirational, and strong leader had a vision. He wanted to see change in the world, so he took action and made it happen. All his actions were regarded as disobedient, but he knew that if one does not fight to make a change in this world, change will never be made. If we have learned anything from history, it should be that taking action against unjust affairs leads to breakthroughs in society. In Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Ender, the protagonist, takes a stand various times in the book, similar to the way King did.

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.” (SB Page 207) This is where, in one of martin luther king speeches, he used pathos to motivate his listeners. He uses their emotion to gain their support.

Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” addresses criticism from clergymen. King expresses his belief that his actions during the Human Right Movement were not “untimely,” and that he is not an “outsider.”(1) King’s purpose is to inform them of his reason for being there and why he believes that although there may never be a proper time to change society, he is tired of it happening to his people. He adopts an optimistic tone in hopes that he can convince the people of Birmingham to give everyone their Human Rights that they deserve. By appealing to the mass population, King can effectively communicate to his argument by emphasizing his validation for being in Birmingham, the need for justice, and his peaceful movement.