Martin Luther King’s historic I Have a Dream speech has a similar goal to Atticus Finch’s closing argument in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Both speeches use rhetorical devices along with ethos, pathos, and logos to support and defend their points of view in the situations in which they exist. Through each of their wording and literary methods, they defend racial equality for their fellow humans. Both Martin Luther King and Atticus Finch have similar styles over conveying their views.
King uses logos while referencing the injustice of the unfair treatment between racial minorities in the United States. He cites acts of care and equality he wishes to see in the future versus the acts of aggression and mistreatment he sees at the time. He says, “…one day right there in Alabama little black boys
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He states that all men were created equal as he says, “But this is a truth that applies to the human race.” King also uses ethos when he describes the prejudice and hate that he’s witnessed in everyday life. He then describes what could be everyday life, with children playing together and becoming friends regardless of race or nationality, saying, “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.” The two men use ethical influence to demonstrate why they are correct and just.
Finally, King and Finch use pathos. King pulls at his listeners’ emotions with his words of hope, living up to the speech’s name of I Have a Dream. He tries to rouse his audience, proclaiming, ”Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” Atticus Finch tries to get the jury to realize that Tom Robinson hasn’t done anything wrong. He describes him as “Quiet, respectable, [and] humble,” to try to convince others of Tom’s good will and intentions despite his disability, race, and