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I Have A Dream Rhetorical Analysis

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I Have A Dream - Rhetorical Devices
In his critical speech given to the people at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. audibly expresses and emotionally convinces his audience through the use of Imagery, Metaphors, and Anaphoras to promote changes to segregation laws. MLK speaks to abolish the segregation of blacks and whites as well as the injustice toward African Ameircans of the nation. He speaks to an audience of all colors from a young age to an old age.
One of Martin Luther King’s effective strategies in his speech was the powerful use of imagery. According to MLK, “Again and again, we must rise to majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force,”( 9 ). When one hears this quote, one can imagine that MLK is trying to show how one’s self has been beaten down over the years and now they must rise and fight back. King proposes, in paragraph 8, the whirlwinds of revolt were believed to have shaken the foundations of the nation that won’t let up until justice comes through. He shows that the whirlwinds of …show more content…

MLK remarks, “Desolate valleys of segregation to the sunlight path of racial justice,” (6). He proclaims that segregation is a deserted valley, where we should follow the bright path toward equality. A deserted valley is a place where nothing can grow to become something, where everything will be able to flourish into something better. In King’s text, he declares, “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends,” (16). Martin Luther King indicates that wallowing in sadness does them no good and that speaking out will help destroy the unequalness of the United States. In any case, the metaphors are used to show what MLK thinks of the segregation and injustice of the nation. King does not only promote justice for African Americans, but he also uses the rhetorical device of

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Dr. Martin Luther King Junior attacks the clergyman and speaks what he believes with these similes. King is using real life examples that the clergymen are not seeing. Kind is giving them his side of the story. " But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more so, to use Morrow means to preserve immoral ends" (paragraph 3). There pare many things that help King’s way of expressing how he feels and what he sees, like pronouns to address the audience and

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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

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I Have a Dream’s Rhetoric A momentous day in history is exalted by the enthralling speech and resonating imagery of a man whom wanted to make a difference. Just over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was implemented, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a very riveting speech to over 250,000 Americans during the March on Washington, the nation’s largest demonstration of peaceful protest. With peace typically comes logic of which King very much emanated from his speech. With powerful rhetoric, King captivated an entire crowd and subsequently the entire nation with emphasizing while being freed from the travesty that was slavery people of color are still placed in chains by society’s gruesome yet commonplace demarcations.

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Dr. King also establishes emotional appeal by his use of metaphors, “Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?"(King 29). Dr. King’s use of metaphors generate emotion by alluding to the discrimination and struggles of being African American in the United States. Through his skillful use of symbolism, historical references, and calls to action, Dr. King enables the reader to empathize and join the movement toward social equality. Dr. King, in his essay, is advocating against inequality using an appeal to emotion; he does this effectively through his use of metaphors and figurative

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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)

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He also uses highly connotative words to evoke an emotional response in the audience such as, “chains of discrimination” and “oppression” to reinforce the need for change. He also uplifts his audience through positive diction using words such as “freedom,” “majestic,” and “brotherhood” to motivate and inspire his audience. He also appeals to logos through his use of analogies: “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” This analogy uses logic as a form of reasoning because he appeals to the basic concept of money and the frustration of receiving a “bad check.” Besides connecting to the audience through appeals, Martin Luther King Jr. also uses rich metaphors to convey his

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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.

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I Have A Dream The use of extended metaphor, parallelism, and antithesis are rhetorical techniques that impact Martin Luther King Jr's speech by helping shape his argument. King used these devices to not only grab the attention of his audience but to also share his beliefs. Without these devices, King’s speech wouldn’t be viewed as the iconic, well put together speech that it is today.

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On April 16th, 1963, after being thrown in jail for protesting segregation in the height of the American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist and pastor, in his letter entitled Letter from Birmingham City Jail, urges for social equality in America and justifies his use of nonviolent protest. He supports these claims by first stating his people will gain freedom because freedom is an American right as well as a God-given right, then explicates how the methods of law enforcement are unjust because any protection of segregation is immoral, and finally claims all of the people who have made sacrifices on the path to a segregation-free America will be the people to unify the country. Through King’s use of tone,

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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.

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Martin Luther King Jr. has metaphors in his speech, which has a huge impact on the audience because it appeals to their emotions. For example, when he remarked, “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, 4) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s comment states that the promise they had been made as American citizens has been broken. King’s causes an uproar upon the crowd when he states this because King finally starts to tune into their emotions, which causes the audience to have a better understanding of his point. Furthermore, he proposed later in his speech ,”Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlight path of racial justice.”

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“I Have a Dream” Doctor Martin Luther King Junior’s infamous speech could be said is so powerful because of its strong use of rhetoric. There’s evidence of irony, oxymoron, symbolism, connotation, but the easiest to pick out in this speech is the use of metaphor, hyperbole and anaphora. A metaphor is a comparison in which something is said to be figuratively something else. A good example of this in Dr. King’s speech is provided in the first few lines where he calls the Emancipation Proclamation a “great beacon light of hope”.

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The extensive use of metaphor’s in this speech made his auidence vividly comprehend his thought provoking message. One example of metaphor’s used by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior is when he clearly stated “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.” In order

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Dr. King was a Baptist minister that was extremely involved in trying to end racial discrimination. Dr. King’s speech is known as “a masterpiece of rhetoric” by scholars. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech makes good use of the rhetorical triangle. The rhetorical triangle is composed of ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is convincing the audience that the author

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Martin Luther King 's uses various literary devices such as metaphors, personification, similes, and imagery in his speech so that his audience would be able to better understand and visual what he is saying. An example of a metaphor in King 's speech is when he compares the deprivation of African American rights with "a bad check that has come back from the bank of injustice marked with insufficient funds". He states that we must cash a check that will give us the riches of freedom and security of justice. This metaphor is referring to the freedom and rights that African American 's deserve and are promised but are not given. An example of personification in his speech is "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

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