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Rhetorical Analysis Of I Ve Been To The Mountaintop

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In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech about a promise land he was willing to fight for. Living in the 60’s there was racism and inequality among people of color. Dr. King describes the 60’s as a time that is in trouble but he sees great change coming where people will rise up and come together as one. An army of people coming together as one is always stronger than one single person fighting on their own. Dr. King’s purpose was to gain the interest of colored people in a non-violent fight to attain equal rights among all people. Victory of equality would be achieved by fighting peacefully no matter what came their way. Dr. King is successful in addressing people of color using ethos and pathos to gain their interest. Dr. King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” succeeds in establishing credibility with people of color by stating if sacrifices are willing to be made we will not give up until there is victory of the promise land. …show more content…

Equal rights of all people are stated in the constitution. All people have the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, and the right to protest. The intended audience is people of color who deserve to be treated equally. Dr. King’s purpose is to encourage people not to be selfish but to become one in a victory of equality. Referring to the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible, he states, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me? But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him" (King, 1968, para. 36)? The goal is to get people to think about what will happen to all the people who are suffering if they do nothing to fight for their rights rather than what will happen to them individually if they do. They must be willing to make sacrifices for their freedom. They can make more of a difference if they come together and fight as

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