In Martin Luther King’s famed “I Have A Dream” address, and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” King makes use of bothe logos and pathos in his writing. It is because of these that his writings have risen to such prominence and stirred so many to action. But while he used both logos, the use of reasoning, and pathos, the use of emotions and charged language, a careful analysis shows that they are not equal. For King has a talent for dramatic, poignant resounding language, one which he uses to full effect and is much more powerful than logos. To demonstrate, take this passage “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of it’s creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
Rhetorical and literary devices has been utilized to persuade an audience throughout history. In Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Frederick Douglass’ “Address to the Massachusetts Anti-slavery society” speech, they articulate the injustices the black man has experienced over the years by exercising allusion and anaphora. King and Douglass, both civil rights activist, desire action from society; they seek true equality for their black brethren. King and Douglass use allusion to create a recollection in the minds of their audience in order to reinforce their intents. King states, “five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” referring to Abraham Lincoln.
Have you ever wondered just how powerful and moving words can be? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, “I Have a Dream” as well as his “Letters From Birmingham Jail” are full of powerful and inspiring wording. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr takes advantage of this wording to help bring to light the issues that black people in America were being subjected to, so that people would feel inspired to take action. Martin Luther King Jr utilizes figurative language to effectively make the people who listened to his speech better visualize the struggles of black people in America so that they will actively try to get the government to change laws to be more inclusive. An example of this is when Martin Luther King Jr announced, “[That] this sweltering summer
MLK Essay Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and “Letter From Birmingham Jail” both deal with the topic of civil rights. However, the letter and the speech are different in terms of rhetorical strategies because he is targeting a different audience. The “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered to over 250,000 people during the March on Washington in 1963.While giving this speech, King spoke in an optimistic and prophetic tone. The purpose of this tone is to give the listeners a sense of hope and to allow them to think about what is being said to them.
Third, the last technique is logos which means persuading by use of reasoning. In the “I Have a Dream” speech .Doctor Martin Luther King Junior uses logos in his analogies. He states “American has given the nergo people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” ” (king)
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. Throughout the entirety of “I Have a Dream”, Dr. King uses pathos more than logos. “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech had a great deal of logos and pathos appeals to persuade his audience to speak out against segregation and to give all men the rights they deserve. He often gave a clear line of reasoning supported by evidence in his speech, like when he says: “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”... America has defaulted on this promissory note, ... given the Negro people a bad check… which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” (King para. 4)
In his famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” Dr. King uses allusions, figurative language, and repetition to get his point across that they need segregation to stop and how they need to change those laws. Dr king claims that people are bound by segregation, he explains this by using metaphors. For example, in paragraph 3 he starts by saying that “The Negro is sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” This matters because he is trying to make a connection with chains and manacles to show the bond between African Americans, segregation, and discrimination.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s overall tone in his speech is determination; determination to gain equality for all races and colors and for the nation to unite in fighting the injustices of inequality in America in the 1950’s. I Have A Dream, is all about his dream that one day all the injustices in the world will one day disappear. The use of diction brings the reader towards his tone of determination , contributing to his overall feelings towards his mission of wanting freedom and equality, which he portrays throughout the entire speech. King uses bold words repetitively such as "freedom" "dream" and “justice” to open his argument that equality will bring freedom to the black community.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr gave us one of one of the most rhetorically moving speeches ever given. Titled as the “I Have a Dream Speech,” he read this speech to the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”. As a civil right mover he gave this great speech to all Americans (black and white) so that he could give off the idea of equality on the same level. Because of his crowd of mix races King made sure to make his speech imploring to all no matter what the race that they may be. He uses metaphorical imagery, powerful diction,and symbolism to create an impact on the audience.
During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Opening his speech Martin Luther King Jr. sets up his credibility with his use of ethos, referring to the Declaration of Independence saying, “This note was a promise that all men… would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life.”
As for style choices, King used friendliness to engage his listeners and activist. Formality to show to other races, primarily white people, that he was educated
Rhetorical Analyse a speech—I Have a Dream “I Have a Dream” is a famous speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. Martin Luther King born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, and was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee when he was only 39 years old. He was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. King became a civil rights activist early in his career because mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and so on influenced him.
Anna March writer of “Dreams of My Mother” visions Hillary Clinton the first female president to take office. After her grandmother’s, tragic passing March’s determination to fulfill the dreams of her grandmothers and for women of generations to put Hillary Clinton in office. Throughout her essay, March’s uses the appeal of emotion in many ways to let her audience to receive her message. With the use of the pathos rhetoric appeal March presents her point across and makes the reader’s feel emotional through reading her essay, or as if one feeling attacked by the use of her wording. In her essay “Dreams of My Mother,” Anna March predominantly uses emotional appeal to attack white men as if it’s their fault to why Hillary Clinton lost the presidential
I have a dream speech Analysis Martin Luther king Jr once said,“ I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of our nation.” He addressed these words on August of 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial after marching through the streets of Washington. He addressed segregation injustice and racial discrimination against African Americans that took place during his era, in his “I have a dream speech.” He recognized that american was founded on freedom, democracy where each individual has a voice and matters. Only few weeks back protesters were getting arrested for fighting for equality.
