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"I Have a Dream" speech rhetorical analysis
"I Have a Dream" speech rhetorical analysis
Analysis on i have a dream speech
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King was logos because he used logic to support him and with that logic he was able to contradict the clergymen's arguments. The logos used in Dr. King’s letter fulfilled their purpose by stopping the clergymen right in their tracks. “Having aided in this community need, we felt that our direct action could be delayed no longer” (09) Here he talks about how him and the other protesters are accused of not being patient but they actually had postponed the non-violent protests for quite a while, waiting for any new changes but everything was still the same. This helped Dr. King convince the clergymen to support him because it contradicts the claim that the clergymen had made which clearly stated that Dr. King and his supporting protesters were not patient enough to wait and see if there were any new changes.
In King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” addressed to the Clergymen from Birmingham Prison, he uses the rhetorical appeal of ethos, pathos, and logos throughout the letter and language that invokes a sense to the clergymen's hypocrisy. Once he points out the gesture of hypocrisy, the argument for the protests becomes wide as he shifts the tone in the letter and starts to include a larger audience that would be known to agree with him directly. Richard P. Fulkerson, an Associate Professor of English and Coordinator of Composition in East Texas State University explains more clearly in one of his quarterly journal speeches that King's “letter was designed apparently as a refutative response to the clergymen.” Furthermore, Fulkerson states that
In the letter,” Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King responds to eight clergymen who harshly criticize his movement in Birmingham. He explains to them why he got involved in the segregational affairs of Birmingham, his non-violent direct action approach on segregation, and in general his beliefs on segregated America. As a person of a non-white race I commend Martin Luther King Jr. on his actions and bravery in the Civil Rights Movement. Due to his diligence, today I can say that I can enter whatever restaurant of my choice and go to school with children that are white or black. This letter allows me to see more than words on paper, but imagery of the struggle and pain of those who fight against unjust laws.
Early on in paragraph eleven, Martin Luther King is able to use logos
Martin Luther King wrote his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail," in response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight religious leaders of the South. The statement "A Call For Unity", implored Dr. King and his "outsiders" to obey the law and wait for integration to naturally come out of the courts. King responded with his Letter from Birmingham Jail, voicing his disappointment in the white clergy, who should be "among our strongest allies". This was the persuasive power of King’s writing, an epitome of the art of rhetoric. His letter used the three rhetorical appeals ethos, pathos, and logos, while also utilizing the literary device of kairos in an attempt to explain his actions and change the opinions of his audience.
Martin Luther King Junior was the leader of several peaceful protests against the segregation of African American people in the American South. In his Letter form a Birmingham Jail, King responds to the eight clergymen who published an open letter in the local newspaper entitled A call to Unity that ultimately criticized King’s antics directly. King’s powerful yet eloquent use of different literary techniques, especially Aristotle’s persuasive appeals of ethos, pathos and logos, clearly delivers a potent message to his audience. The persuasive appeal logos, according to Aristotle, appeals to a reader’s sense of reason.
Dr. Kings “I Have a Dream” speech shows powerful examples of logos and pathos. His effectiveness relies heavily on his usage of these two ways to explain the pain and suffering of segregation. By him capturing his true life’s reality through pity and credible sources allows him to become successful in attempting to end the racism crisis. King states that, “when our republic was writing the Declaration of Independence, they were making 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.” Logos is the prime example of King using this event of writing the Declaration of Independence.
An activist and leader in the civil rights movement Martin Luther King Jr, has given out many inspirational speeches with the use of rhetoric to put an end to racial segregation. MLK is known to be president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was called to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program in Birmingham. With the injustice happening, MLK participated in a march with no parade permit that lead him to an arrest. In jail on April 12,1963 he wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, an response to eight clergymen who published “A Call for Unity” in the newspaper. Not only does he write to the clergymen but also to the people as a whole calling for unity in peace.
6477043 In Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he discusses the reasoning behind his movement to end segregation using non-violent strategies that were often questioned by those around him. These non-violent actions often took him to places all across the southern United States where discrimination and segregation was rampant. In this letter, King used many literary strategies that helped him convey his ideas.
The purpose of Martin Luther King Jr.’s (MLK) words were to gain support from the white clergymen by tugging at their heartstrings, while knowing that at heart they were righteous men who understood the word of God like no other. While held captive in Birmingham County Jail, MLK was criticized for his actions, which were deemed “untimely” and “unwise.” Dr.King was a patient man who knew that reacting with anger would only upset the clergy further. So he sat down and wrote a letter to any man who would listen and explained why he was standing up for the oppressed. In Letters from a Birmingham Jail, Dr.King explained the hardships a black person faces everyday to a white man who will never experience the prejudice and heartbreak of racial discrimination.
In the dirt of the civil rights movements, people had one person they could always look to. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist, wrote both “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Both of these texts written by doctor king will forever be remembered. They do however have important roles. “I Have a Dream” is a prime example of pathos as where “Letter from Birmingham Jail” shows logos.
Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. Persuasion within writing is an important tool to be utilized in order to garner support for one’s position. During the 1960s, equality between different races was a very controversial issue which required a certain finesse when being discussed. Martin Luther King demonstrated precisely this sort of finesse when writing about the racial injustices faced by black Americans, as well as when refuting the criticisms he faced from white clergymen.
Upon being imprisoned for marching Dr Martin Luther King wrote a letter to the fellow clergymen of Birmingham, addressing his reasons as to why he committed his “crime”, This letter was widely known as “The Letter of Birmingham”. This letter was very influential and paramount to the cause of civil rights as it spurred up future events that would play essential roles in ending racial segregation in America. Throughout his whole letter, King used Ethos, logos, and pathos to firmly get his message across while adding rhetorical devices such as repetition, metaphors, and biblical references.
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.
The Civil Rights Movement was a big thing for the United states and we as Americans will always remember Martin Luther King Jr. for helping lead the people and inspire change and bring hope. The speech “ I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an important gathering of people at the Lincoln Memorial. A huge crowd gathered to listen to his powerful speech which helped to inspire change. Martin Luther King also wrote a letter to eight white clergymen named “Letter From Birmingham Jail” the letter was written in in his jail cell which he was in for marching and protests. In both of these texts Dr. King used pathos and logos to inspire change and reach out to the people during the civil rights movements.
