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Mlk Rhetoric

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The ability to rally individuals together has been a staple characteristic of leaders throughout history. Through their use of speeches and rhetoric, great leaders have been able to convince individuals to follow them and their endeavors. This has led to many crucial events, creating the world we know today. However, how do great leaders apply rhetoric to convince people to support them? I believe they apply rhetoric through the use of literary devices and techniques, which allow for them to effect their audience on a much deeper level. Through an analysis of the speeches and works of FDR, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, JFK, and 1984, their ability to convince people to give their support is developed from each leader’s use of …show more content…

MLK’s overall purpose of his speech was to stress the need of equality in America, and how African Americans deserve that equality. First, once describing his vision of future America, he repeatedly uses the phrase “I have a dream” (King). MLK is expressing his intense longing and desire for such a change. Through this repetition, the audience is able to grasp how meaningful equality is to MLK. It is not just a need, or want, it is a dream. A dream is something is, in a way, not comprehensible, and is a mystical thought of what could happen in the future. The audience, through the anaphora, see that not only is equality more than a desire, but a dream that he would give anything for. The audience is convinced of the importance of equality. Additionally, MLK’s use of anaphora allows him to present his dream for equality in a sequential order. He uses the phrase “I have a dream” several times, followed by a possible future scenario of how his life would change, like “one day the state of Mississippi will be transformed” (King). Through the phrase being used several times, MLK is allowed to completely describe how his life would change with equality. In the end, the audience is more convinced through seeing the depth of MLK’s need for equality, and how much of an impact it would be on his

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