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Martin Luther King Jr Persuasive Speech

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Essay writers can only dream of writing a persuasive essay of Martin Luther King Jr.’s stature. Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay “I Have a Dream” displays many attributes of a well- written persuasive essay. These attributes include essay fundamentals, rhetorical devices, and many other features that exceed expectations for persuasive essays. Throughout the uses of these fundamentals, devices, and features King Jr. is able to captivate the readers and convince them that the African-American race is oppressed and discriminated against.
Tone, audience, and theme are the three fundamentals of a persuasive essay. The tone and theme are used to display the author’s intentions and emotions towards the topic of the essay. The audience of the essay …show more content…

A countless number of times throughout the essay rhetorical devices are used to persuade the audience. Martin Luther King Jr alludes to a speech presented by the former president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (King Jr, pg. 404). If the readers can familiarize themselves with the historic speech, they will have a greater understanding as to the content of the essay and will be able to relate to the topic. Alluding to a great speech gives King Jr.’s essay merit and helps him persuade his audience that is familiar with Lincoln’s famous speech. King Jr. also uses a metaphor to persuade his audience, “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds" (King Jr, pg. 405). This statement is a great comparison of the rights that have been promised to the African American race. The metaphor is relatable to readers because they are knowledgeable about cheques marked with insufficient funds. This vastly relates to the Declaration of Independence. This document states that there will be guaranteed rights, but these rights were not received much the same as an insufficient funds cheque. This reliable metaphor familiarizes the readers with the topic and allows them to understand it as well. Diction is another great rhetorical device that is used by Martin Luther King Jr.to adds to the persuasiveness of his essay. The quote “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice” (King Jr, pg. 407) visually connects with the reader through word choice. Using these rhetorical devices adds to the persuasiveness of the

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