Simile And Metaphor In Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream

Racism in America has been around for centuries however it was in the 1960's that the attitudes of many Black Americans started to quickly change and they realized they wanted equality. Out of this, The Civil Rights Movement emerged which was a peaceful social movement that strove for equal human rights for black Americans. The leader of the Civil Rights Movement is no one other than Martin Luther King Jr. In his book, Why We Can't Wait, King tries to convince Black Americans to realize their reality, remember their roots and important and mainly, to seek changes to social conditions and attitudes. The intro to King's book can be split into three individual sections, each having its own meaning.

Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech was spoken when the black people fought for their freedom. King puts this fight into words. It is not just the words that make his speech so well-founded, it is the way he uses them. What builds King 's speech is his utilization of images, allusions, repetitions, emotive language, contrast, structure, and purpose. King uses images to strengthen his speech.

Stand Up For What is Right From a young age, people are told to be kind to others, no matter what they look like. Some, white people, though believed that they were superior to the African Americans so they did not have to be kind to them. This is when the issue of inequality between different races arose and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took action. Dr. King was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 through 1968. He wrote the famous, “I Have a Dream” speech and the “Letter From Birmingham Jail”.

There weren’t just blacks, but whites came to hear his speech too. By now Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech is having an impact. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have A Dream” the theme that if everyone is unified to speak up for equality, the results can bring them to freedom, hope, and racial equality which is revealed in this speech through repetition, allusion, and imagery. The poetic device repetition is used to show that freedom will come, if they are unified. King uses repetition to express that freedom still hasn’t appeared in a long time, for this to happen they must act now.

Martin Luther King preaches in his speech about the wronging ways they have been treated for so long and what he “dreams” will happen in the time to come. From his speech, he states, “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 is referring to the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” from the Constitution and Declaration of Independence about how they are not being treated as these two documents proclaim that every man should be. While Atticus states, “some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses more powerful and plentiful examples of pathos in his literature, examples of which being his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, than logos due to the more powerful emotional connection they carry which can convince his listeners to sympathize with his civil rights movement. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and letters, there are many powerful examples of the use of pathos. Firstly, from his speech “I Have a Dream”, MLK preaches: “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” (King, 261). This piece of evidence displays that

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.

Not only did whites use laws to help demean colored people but they also used physically violent and tortuous methods. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. The Black Lives Matter movement is defiantly a current issue that relates to some of the themes from King’s letter. Martin Luther King’s legacy will forever be imprinted in the fabric of America’s dynasty. Not only was his knowledge and eloquence as on orator a key factor in him being the phenomena that he is today but it is also his perseverance that helped him gain respect.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960’s and he’s very deserving of that title as seen in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” letter. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience. The “I Have a Dream” speech is well known throughout history to be one of the most famous speeches to be on the subject of civil rights.

This is shown by the countless arguments against slavery he delivers during his speech. Feredick states that his main point of his speech is how America is being untrue to their founding principles, by treating blacks like they are not real humans. Douglass concludes with an optimistic note saying eventually anti-slavery will triumph over pro-slavery. This helps further deepen his point that blacks deserve freedom because they are humans just like

African Americas were severely limited and punished just for the color of their skin. Taylor Branch captured the struggle of segregation and what it took to overcome it. He wrote about the things Martin Luther King did for this country and equality through race. “Rightly or wrongly, most attention has fallen on Martin Luther King Jr…Branches ideas were that King is the best and most important metaphor for the movement, but I disagree” (King). This peer reviewed article thinks that Branch should not have us Martin Luther King as a prime example for the equality movement, but I beg to differ.

“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” Fortunately, King’s and other people’s hope was completed but it wasn’t an easy task to do. During the time King was writing the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, the African-American Civil Rights Movement was proceeding. Men and Women were protesting for the equal rights of “colored people”, to overcome racial injustice in the USA and Martin Luther King Jr. was a major part of it. He was one of the main leaders of this movement; this

At the National Archives is located the draft card of Martin Luther King Jr., a Civil Rights Activist, who fought for the rights, freedom, and equality of everyone. Dr. King grew up during an era in history when racism and discrimination was the norm in America, so as an adult he dedicated his life to peacefully fighting injustice and inequality. He led marches, directed sit-ins, and participated multiple boycotts along with many other activists. Additionally, all of these actions where done to get the attention of the American government, American society, and the world. Dr. King wanted everyone to know that the way African Americans and other minorities were being treated was wrong and that these unjust norms needed to be removed or altered from our society.

Brooke served a person to the blacks and gave support to them when they were oppressed by society by giving them faith and hope. Du Bois and Washington share similar views, Du Bios saw his ideas as “unnecessarily narrow” and did not focus on equality (32) as he believed that blacks deserved “civic equality” and have the “right to vote”. Those are the crucial freedoms in America, for people to progress within society everyone should have equal rights to thrive. This novel was so eye opening and so informative. I can understand how the African Americas were treated during this time period.

Which leads her to be asked to perform the famous song at the march in Selma. Nina Simone released the song during the height of the civil rights movement. When analyzing the Mississippi Goddamn lyrics, Simone quoted I don’t belong, I don’t belong, I’ve even stopped believing in prayer. Arguing that regardless of how serve the racial tension has gotten, African American still believed that it would get better. Also, there is a sense of thinking that faith will play a part in solving issues.