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"I Have a Dream" speech rhetorical analysis
"I Have a Dream" speech rhetorical analysis
Analysis of I have a dream speech
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Martin Luther King Jr. was extremely passionate about nonviolence. He just wanted people of all color to get along. In 1978 a guy by the name of Cesar Chavez read a speech about how important Martin Luther King's beliefs were. In his speech, Cesar Chavez uses hypophora, pathos, and repetition to support his opinion on non-violence. One of the rhetorical strategies Chavez uses is Repetition.
Throughout the speech Martin Luther King Jr. emphasizes his direct action plan to the local religious leaders by using logos and pathos. He sheds light to the distressed black community and illustrates the woeful dichotomy between whites and blacks. King states his proposal to a nonviolent campaign to convince the religious leaders of this direct plan of action. He exemplifies the steps in order to obtain a nonviolent campaign by saying,” a collection of the facts to determine whether injustice exist..”
Analysis: He first begins his speech with raising awareness and not shying away from the vulgar and disturbing actions of hatred that were allowed at the time. He does not shy away from using the word “death”, which for obvious reasons, has a negative connotation associated with it. He continues the speech by addressing the issues that the world is currently facing. He addresses 3 main issues of war, racial segregation and injustices and
In the course of pursuing his dream, egalitarianism throughout the community, Martin Luther King created numerous varied political speeches which justified his arguments of the controversy. From the moment when he began verbalizing this particular deliverance, I Have a Dream , King used appeal to authority in his speech to create ethos. While mentioning the Emancipation Proclamation, he expressed his reverence to Abraham Lincoln as “ a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today” ( King 1). By doing so, King is denoting the jurisdiction of Abraham Lincoln, the man who signed the document to free the slaves, in order to approach his goal of having equality for everyone of different races.
Throughout the world's history, many great and impactful leaders share an important connection: the ability to connect with an audience. From presidential inauguration speeches to ones for civil rights, people still look back to examine them today. Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. may have given one of the most famous speeches in the United States history, "I Have a Dream. " Given on August 28th, 1963, over 250,000 people attended his speech in Washington, D.C.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a pivotal member in the Civil Rights movement and was an advocate for peaceful protest to gain equality. The March on Washington was held on August 28, 1963 and was a crucial event in the Civil Rights Movement in which King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. His speech displayed how one could protest peacefully, whilst, his audience, the American people, absorbed the message whole-heartedly due to his use of rhetorical devices. The purpose of King’s speech was to broadcast to the American people that they should protest peacefully instead of protesting with violence.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s letter relates to the Civil Rights Timeline because not too long after the letter was written, segregation ended and equal rights gradually increased. As a result Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter created a chain of events that saved many black citizens lives. For example, “anyone who lives inside the united states can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. ”(SB 207) After all, it seems like Martin Luther King was referring to the blacks because it was the time of segregation between white and colored people. He claims every single person living in the United States should be treated the same no matter what.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize speech, he continued to help the audience see the importance of a non-violent approach to fighting against segregation and for equality. Martin shows us this by using allusion and symbolism to further prove his points. When using allusion, King quotes, “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together…” from the Bible. By using this quote, Luther can be inferencing many things. For example, the lamb is seen to coward down to the lion seeing as the lion at the top of the food chain, he can be comparing the oppressed to the lamb and the oppressor to the lion because it’s all the time that the person being oppressed stays quiet and takes it all in.
Why is a speech given? The main purpose of a speech is to employ an audience with a main idea or proposal. The act of engaging an audience is crucial. A speech is a relationship between the person giving the speech and the audience he is speaking to. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech during a time where racial segregation was very popular.
Theses rhetorical strategies make his argument affective because he makes a connection with the audience, not only blacks but all minorities going through the
When I first read Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter I knew that it would stay with me as long as I live. His way of dealing with injustices in this world compels me to never allow a person to deny someone’s rights. While reading this letter my admiration for Dr. King grew, I was impressed about this man couldn’t bear to see injustices in this world and nonviolently took on his oppressors. Lines like “Injustice anywhere is a threat justice everywhere” and Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever” ignited a feeling of right in me. Reading this letter made think of the current state of civil rights in the U.S. today.
He brings examples of people from Europe and how just because they are the same color they are considered to be Americans, when in fact they are the actual ones who are not. He continues to give the speech in hopes to motivate the black nation to come together and unite to fight for their
Martin Luther King Jr quotes: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” This quote explains that a man’s true colours and personality will be seen only when facing hard times and how the person would act while being put under pressure. Martin Luther King Jr uses the words controversy meaning; when stating an argument that an opposing party or large group of people strongly disagree with, and challenges meaning the hardships faced during the period of time, so that he is specific with what kinds of battles he is talking to the people about. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a very well written book written by Harper Lee which focuses on the
Umer Tariq Bashir Mariam Ishtiaq Writing and Communication ss-100 16 November 2015 Martin Luther King speech:Critique Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I have a dream” is an inspiring elocution which induces people of all the communities. It tries to elevate the status of the Afro-American community and urges all people to strive for the attainment of an indiscriminate society. Martin Luther King is an eloquent speaker who has the ability to captivate an audience with his charismatic and persuasive speech.
