ipl-logo

Dr. King Use Of Dichotomy Through Figurative Language

74 Words1 Page

People of color have been oppressed for too long. Dr. King use of dichotomy through figurative language alludes the reader of the dark and light path a person of color endeavors. This heavy emphasis on light and dark throughout the speech reminds the reader of the crucial times those of color had to go through, thus giving him the ability to empower his speech and get his message about freedom for those of color.

Show More
Related

  • Martin L King Letter From Birmingham Jail

    748 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1950s and 1960s, it was evident that racism was at its all time high with African Americans being lynched, segregated, and most of their rights taken away. According to the Washington Post, Researchers concluded that 3,959 black people were killed in multiple Southern states between 1877 and 1950. The injustice that was occurring in the United States is what fueled Martin L. King Jr to prevail and expose the issues. In his letter from Birmingham jail, he argued about many of the issues one specifically was the christian churches. In order for him to get his point across, he highly expressed upon nonviolent direct action, he used many profound examples of the injustice, and he showed anger towards his religion.

    Read More

  • What Are The Rhetorical Devices In I Have A Dream Speech

    512 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech led to a transformation in American beliefs and culture with regard to civil rights. On August 28, 1963, King delivered his speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in hopes that the man known as the “Great Emancipator” would remind the public that African Americans were protesting to receive rights that they should have already been granted. Martin Luther King Jr. utilized a plethora of rhetorical devices in order to project an effective speech onto an audience immersed by his plea for equal rights. Dr. King envisioned a United States of America in which African Americans were not forced to endure unconstitutional trials and tribulations. As he stated in his speech, King dreamed of a nation where “…they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but on the content of their character.”

    Read More

  • Identity In Letter From Birmingham Jail

    251 Words  | 2 Pages

    We live in a world with currently many conflicts from the racial disparity in high incarceration rates to gun violence and the war over gun rights. In his letter, King describes that Black Americans have no identity and that the oppressed cannot remain oppressed forever. King implies that they cannot be told to “wait for justice” because if they simply

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Techniques In 'Letter From Birmingham Jail'

    1094 Words  | 5 Pages

    With great emotion, Dr. King speaks on his daughter and son not being able to do thing the white children could do. He wrote, “when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her

    Read More

  • Parallelism In Speech From Birmingham Jail

    1348 Words  | 6 Pages

    King uses it in his speech in order to express all his points. First, King writes that “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” This antithesis makes the audience realize that the Negroes have been left behind and ignored while the rest of modern society has charged forward into prosperity and fortune. From this revelation, the audience will also realize that it is no fault of the Negro that they have been left behind – in contrast, modern society have been dragging them back through racism. In order to dispel any misguided ideas that whites have of the Negroes’ fortune, King tells them directly that Negroes are in poverty as everybody is blocking them from entering the ocean of “material prosperity.”

    Read More

  • I Have A Dream Speech Rhetorical Essay

    804 Words  | 4 Pages

    King’s dialect showed the audience civil right issues, involving many rhetorical strategies using ethos, logos, and pathos, to a racially tempered crowd whom he viewed as different, but not equal. From the very beginning of it , King brings his crowd back to the origin of America when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, that freed all slaves and gave hope to the former slaves. But immediately after Dr. King speaks out on how after 100 years Blacks still do not have the free will that is deserved. He points out the irony of America because Black Americans were still not truly free.

    Read More

  • Emotional Appeals In Mlk Speech

    730 Words  | 3 Pages

    “...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” (MLK, 276). King uses this strong sense of appeal to emotion to engross his readers and let them know how hard it is for them.

    Read More

  • Letter From Birmingham Jail And Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

    1093 Words  | 5 Pages

    Yet, Dr. King writes to justify his methods behind the burgeoning civil rights movement. First and foremost, he fiercely defends the non-violent direct-action campaigns he’s inspired, but he also delves into the why the fight for racial equality is a timely and personal one. Not only does he mention personal experiences, “when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: ‘Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?’” (King paragraph 14) but also talks about tragedies that have happened to others, such as “when you [see] vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim” (King paragraph 14). King’s letter is intended to rally people of all races toward his cause, while Head seems to have a more resigned position, accepting her fate and simply relieving herself of her sorrows through her writing.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream Speech

    211 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Dream” speech (Option B), he uses strong connotative diction to educate those in the audience who are not undergoing the hardships that African Americans are. King’s strongest use of connotative diction can be found in paragraphs 5 and 6. In paragraph 5, King refers to a “dark desolate valley of segregation” which is directly mirroring psalms 23; the quote is significant because King is widely known for being a preacher, and through this quote, he has specifically chosen those words to bring his persuasion to the next level. The Christians in the audience, will better understand the feeling of isolation in a world of happiness known by whites. King also suggests in paragraph 6, the feeling of

    Read More

  • Allusions In I Have A Dream

    722 Words  | 3 Pages

    King also uses metaphors to compare the stability of the two sides, being racial injustice and brotherhood, to help the audience and the opposing sides to see his point and see why he is correct. As he states in paragraph four, the quick sand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” Dr. King uses things that everyone knows about, quick sand and rocks, to demonstrate how injustice is a trap and very unstable whereas brotherhood is solid, stable, and safe. Similar to using quick sand and rock, he utilizes darkness and light to also compare discrimination and segregation. In paragraph four Dr. King says, “rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”

    Read More

  • Use Of Rhetorical Devices In I Have A Dream Speech

    794 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dr. KIng use of metaphors was to convey to the audience understand more in depth about the situation with the blacks at the time. One example of Dr. King’s use of metaphor is when he says, “Manacles of segregation and chains of discrimination.” Dr. King uses this metaphor to describe to the audience that even after the emancipation proclamation which meant for all slave to be free and treated equal is not being treated equal and it is the same as being a slave with weights on him. Another example of Dr. King using metaphors is when he says, “Whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” Dr. King uses this metaphor specifically to tell the audience

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

    1069 Words  | 5 Pages

    “In expressing [his own emotions] with such powerful eloquence, in connecting strongly with the emotions of his listeners, and in convincing them to empathize with others, Dr. King demonstrated emotional intelligence decades before the concept had a name”(“Dr. Martin”). He demanded to end racism throughout the entire United States. King utilized repetition, metaphors, diction and rhetorical devices, that provokes ethos and pathos, throughout his speech in order to connect with his audience as well as to motivate them to stand up and fight for their freedom they well-deserve. One of the most used literary elements throughout Martin Luther King’s speech are diction, which leads to rhetorical devices such as, ethos, logos, and pathos.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King's Speech Tone

    1111 Words  | 5 Pages

    This reference in particular evokes the strongest emotional response from black people because many African Americans revered Lincoln for his decision to sign the revolutionary Emancipation Proclamation, and how the document symbolized a free future for slaves--the ancestors of the blacks in the crowd. But the next few lines following this allusion also persuades those ignorant of how little things have changed by highlighting the “manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” that blacks still suffer from despite the hundred year gap. Here, he uses the connotations of “manacles” and “chains” to evoke a negative emotional response from the audience, especially from those unaware of the need to change, causing their opinion to match the speaker’s: against segregation. Additionally, King weaves biblical allusions into his speech to appeal to the Christians within the crowd. He uses the “dark and desolate valley of segregation” to illustrate the injustice African Americans have endured for centuries and juxtapositions it with the “sunlit path of racial justice” to exemplify a future where true freedom exists for

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

    1013 Words  | 5 Pages

    He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans. King skillfully evokes an emotional response from all races with the use of religion: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” By doing this he finds a common ground that brings black and whites closer with a common belief in God they share, as well as the mention of

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King's Speech Summary

    261 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Martin Luther King’s famous speech, King argued for freedom of African Americans by using metaphors to illustrate the serious effects and tolerance of discrimination in society. To motivate the public to take action, King created a scenario on how the Africans were treated amongst their white peers. “ the negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity” Moreover, King used a metaphor to highlight the ignorance of African Americans by representing their isolation as an “island of poverty”. In addition, he represented the white people’s capability of wealth in the perspective of an African American as being “in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. In other words, the effects of

    Read More

More about Dr. King Use Of Dichotomy Through Figurative Language

Open Document