Rhetorical Devices In I Had A Dream Speech

Dawn McNeil-Bruce English 2100 Professor Andrews- Parker 10/21/15 The Rhetorical Techniques in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” The unjust treatment of African Americans have cause a significant amount of African American leaders to use different ways to advocate for racial equality. One very famous advocate was Martin Luther King Jr. On April 16, 1963, Dr. King had written a letter from Birmingham jail to eight clergymen towards racial equality. Martin Luther King Jr. had used this letter to convince the clergymen of the racial injustice towards African Americans. In order to persuade his audience Dr. King had used rhetorical devices to appeal to them. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an urgent tone to his

The Letter from Birmingham Jail and the I have a Dream Speech, both written by Martin Luther King Jr., explain the same message to people in two different ways. The Letter from Birmingham Jail was to write a letter to defend the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. He wrote this because he wants African Americans to come together and peacefully protest the unjust laws that are in place. On the other hand, his speech was to a large group of citizens, black and white, fighting for freedom, equality, justice and love. He used many rhetorical devices in his speech and letter that compared the two, and to show the differences in a clear way.

Civil Rights Leader, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., in his speech, “Give Us the Ballot”, emphasizes the importance of African American suffrage and urges many groups of people to do what they can to help this cause. King’s purpose is to inspire the black community to fight for their right to vote through nonviolent protest. He adopts a tone of urgency in order to encourage action from the African American audience, as well as from politicians, white northern liberals, and moderate southerners. Martin Luther King Jr. begins his speech by vilifying the institutions which disobey the Supreme Court’s decision to allow black people to vote and by expounding how the newly enfranchised African American community will vote to make changes in the

His uses of the persuasive language of logos helps to explain that African Americans have waited too long to receive the freedom they very well deserved. This evokes sympathy in the clergymen and makes them realize a change must occur. On the contrary, King utilizes emotional appeal to explain to the church officials that the way African Americans were treated does not deserve praise: “I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen…if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing out grace together, I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department” (para. 44). King implements the use of emotional appeal to convince his readers of clergymen that the Birmingham police force does not treat African Americans who were peacefully protesting as they

Presenting to the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition, Booker T. Washington delivered his most famous speech, "The Atlanta Compromise Address". In this speech Washington shares his belief that his fellow African Americans and other former slaves should make the best of what they have and to strive to excel in the positions and jobs they already occupy rather than continually fighting for. He insists that the people of the white race also do not see what they have around them. He wants the whites and blacks in south to realize that they need each other and should act in ways to coexist. To convey his belief, Washington uses rhetorical strategies such as the following: the three rhetorical appeals, allegory, and repetition.

Martin Luther King Jr. used various types of techniques to persuade the clergyman and the other critics, but the method that I believe that was the most effective convincing the audience was pathos. King persuade the audience by using logic or reasoning. In the “Letter of Birmingham Jail” it states “So I along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here I am here because I have organizational ties here.” (paragraph 2). As you see it impacted various people because king wanted to make sure that the audience knew he had a right to be there, but not only him but his fellow members that form his staff. King was judged for his color and believing that all men should have been created equal no matter any situation.

The Union Army had prohibited African Americans from enlisting. As a result, Green wanted to persuade fellow African Americans to prepare to join the fight. He used a variety of tactics to deliver a convincing and heartfelt speech. Green uses motivational words and phrases in his speech that show how strongly he feels about the fight, and also about the mistreatment of African Americans in the North. The audience was mainly black.

How he wrote his argument and how well. Analyze his use of ethos/emotion Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written during 1963, when African Americans were fighting for black and white equality. We can see this by the vocabulary that he uses, like “Negro”, which was used around that time period and no longer used anymore. We can also see this through the context of the letter; that King wants freedom for African Americans. The purpose of this letter is that Martin Luther King is trying to convince the clergymen that him and his “people” demonstrated because it was absolutely necessary at that time.

Green asks his audience to “remember the past” and “ the brave deeds of (their) fathers.” What Green is not trying to establish is a disdain for the history of African Americans but rather motivation to go fight for a global cause. The past for blacks in America had been riddled by oppressive social standing. What Green wants is for African Americans to build on this harsh past. He wants his audience to look back on the past; he wants them to look at the “Revolution of 1776, and … the War of 1812 (which failed) to bring (them) recognition”; he wants “fugitive-slave laws, Dred Scott decisions, … and dreary months of imprisonment” to not be forgotten by his people; but most of all, he wants his audience to fight for what’s right. Through the war, Green which to set the precedent for an improvement in the social status of African American people.

Furthermore, each author use of rhetoric contributes to the power or the persuasiveness of their texts. Du Bois announces in Paragraph V, “The shadow of mighty Negro flits through the tales of Ethiopia the Shadowy and of Egypt the Sphinx.” Du Bois operates allusion to help provide power towards his passage. He is endeavoring to remind readers the history of black folks to prove African Americans can hold puissance. Washington reveals in paragraph III, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” Washington uses metaphor to supply persuasiveness towards his speech. He strives to persuade the whites that it’s okay to trust the black folks on hiring them for labor.