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MLK Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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Emma Winkler Mrs. Coleman English I 3 April 2024 MLK Rhetorical Analysis Essay On August 28, 1963, Martin Kuther King. Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered a speech that is commonly known across America called “I Have a Dream.” He delivered his speech in front of over 250,000 people of all races and backgrounds in hopes he could gather citizens who are willing to help make a stand and fight for equality and end segregation. He wanted to share his dream that his children “will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” King utilizes repetition, anaphora, and allusion to help emphasize the importance of his speech. Firstly, the King of the. Jr. utilizes the repetition throughout his speech to gain the attention of the audience; he utilizes the words “freedom,” “justice,” and “equality.” King utilizes these to emphasize that his speech is about his dream to have freedom and equality amongst all races, religions, backgrounds, etc, and how he dreams of having a free and equal …show more content…

King repeating these words helps show his/nation’s goal for justice and equality and what we should be working towards as a nation. Secondly, King uses the repetition of the anaphora “Now is the time.” to help emphasize that now is the time to take action and make these goals happen. This phrase helps King emphasize that now is the time to take a stand together and make something happen. It shows that instead of waiting for change to occur naturally, now is the time to make it happen. King doesn’t want to wait another hundred years for the change to happen, he wants change to happen now because he doesn’t want his kids to suffer the same mistreatment he and other black citizens had to experience. Thirdly, King uses allusion to the Bible and the founding fathers of America and the goals of the founding

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The Emancipation Proclamation signed by the same great American serves as a fundament for the freedom of all colored citizens of the United States. That is why Mr. King intentionally refers to the significance of this document. He also references the Declaration of Independence to evoke authority into his speech. King also quotes the “unalienable rights” for “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. He is stating that the American government has neglected

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King uses repetition in his writings to give it more power and rhyme. Mr. King uses repetition in his I have a dream speech because it creates a sense of power that emphasizes the main points as well as lets the speech flow smoothly. He uses the repetition of the phrase “One hundred years later,” to enhance that one hundred years later the Negroes are still fighting for civil and legal rights. On page 262, paragraph 5, he repeats “we refuse to believe,” trying to get the point across that the fighters for justice don’t believe that they cannot give them what they are asking for. He also uses the repetition of “we can never be satisfied” to show that they won’t be satisfied until they get what they’re asking for such as racial equality, rights to vote, and desegregation.

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Their use of repetition with these phrases is to influence people to start speaking out about injustices happening around the world and to stop being silent. They both show a tone of passion and confidence in their speeches because they both really care about the cause they are trying to fight for, and want to be a voice for the victims. They both talk about wanting equality for everyone, not just the people they're fighting for. King wants “all of god's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,” to “join hands and sing the words of the old negro spiritual.”

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King wants the audience to remember that segregation is not okay and that in order for things to be different something “ can and will be changed.” King uses repetition to make his audience comprehend and listen to what he has to say. King instructs the audience to “go back” to the states and “go back” to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, as an example to spark their memory of our history and encourage them to take action. King also uses phrases such as “we can never be satisfied” and “we refuse to believe '' to show how America has wronged its people and must keep its promises in order for trust to be established. King repeated the phrase “now is the time” to show what he thinks America should be built on.

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King compels his audience to either compromise between their indifference and their patriotism for the nation or to conflict with the values and morals that they live by. He makes a straightforward connection to how ending segregation will be for the benefit of the country by indicating that if they do not solve the problems segregation brings as soon as possible, then the United States will eventually be caught and surpassed by countries that are supposedly far behind them. King also introduces the thought that the people accusing his actions of being untimely are not highly knowledgeable or fully aware of the severity of what they are fighting for. Through this, the audience easily comprehends that he is not just acting upon his personal goals, rather he is acting upon what he feels will be for the betterment of the nation. On top of this, the audience can also understand or infer that segregation may be worse than previously imagined.

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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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This quote shows King’s direct response to the clergymen telling him and his fellow protesters that they need to delay their civil rights movement because it just isn’t the best time. He warns the ministers that if this movement is put off for too long, there will be a time when violent protests and riots will break out because there is a drastic need for change in a broken society such as the one that was present at the

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Finally, King made repetition all through his speech to clearly boost his ideas as he repeat the phrase “I have a dream” (king1) he is able to plainly outline his ideas and create an effective coherence among his audience. By way of constant repetition, King aims to emphasize his point in the readers mind. King stress on specific phrases by repeating them at the beginning of sentences. For example King said “let freedom ring from the stone of Mountain of Georgia” (6). King has repeated” let freedom ring” phrases at the beginning of many sentences, which set the pattern, and further reputation of this phrase underscore the pattern and increase the rhetorical effect of his speech.

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With this repetitive device, King attempts to convince those that may stand opposed to him. For instance, King repeatedly begins a string of statements with the fragment, “One hundred years later” followed by a description of the current life of an African American (King 3). By emphasising the time that had passed, King asks his audience to consider the little progress that had occurred in that time. He recognizes the surplus of racial discrimination present in the current time and invites the audience to unveil the horrible truth. Not only do these horrendous injustices exist, but they have for over one hundred years.

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He states, "Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. " because it really etches into the audience what he is saying constantly repeating the word now to enforce his point that he wants changes done to the inequalities of justice

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The language utilised in the speech was that a normal, everyday person was capable of understanding. King was a very well educated man, and his lack of enormous words shows his solidarity with his audience members and his unwillingness to isolate any of them. One of the most effective uses of persuasive language in Kings speech is the use of repetition, it emphasises the crude meaning of racism and helps the audiences mind associate ‘I have a dream’ with King. His voice is inspirational, progressive, thoughtful and determined. Powerful evocative language is used to draw emotional connection ‘now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to sunlit path of racial justice’.

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King begins the trend of repetition in his speech by first stating: “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (625-625). Subsequent to this statement, King repeats “One hundred years later” (625-626) in the beginning of his sentences. He utilizes this anaphora to make highlight his statement about how African Americans, after so many years, still are burdened with the “manacles of segregation” (626) and are subject to heartbreaking discrimination due to their race. At one point in the text, King affirms: “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice” (626). In this statement and the sentences juxtaposed to this one, the word “Now” is repeated.

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Addie Yarrow Mrs. Sanson AP Language and Composition 3 February 2023 MLK Rhetorical Analysis In “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King’s famous civil rights speech, he employs varied figurative language in order to urge his audience to advocate for social reform, specifically through nonviolent measures. Most notably, King incorporates anaphora and metaphor frequently in his speech, both of which effectively emphasize and suggest the importance of his point. Anaphora, or the repetition of words or phrases found in the beginning of a clause, is perhaps one of King’s most successful rhetorical additions in “I Have a Dream.” Multiple phrases are repeated as such, from variations of “We can never be satisfied…”, “I have a dream…”, and “Let freedom

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The main idea of his speech is that all people were created equal and, although this is no longer the case nowadays, King felt it must be the case for the future. He argued peacefully, yet passionately and powerfully. In preparation for the speech, he studied the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence and he alludes to all three in his address. The intensity of King’s speech is built through parallelism, metaphors, bold statements and rhythmic repetitions:

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He incorporated a lot of biblical allusions to insist the audience that his speech is in accordance to the Bible, as King writes that he has a dream that one day, “every valley shall be exalted,” every hill and mountain “made low,” all rough places will be “plain” and crooked places “straight” and that the “glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” (Isaiah 40:4-5). On another occasion he paraphrased one of biblical statement “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5 ) in his words as “It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity “cite .King’s allusions to past events help to create unite both races and inspire them to tackle this problem collectively as both colors experienced American history in some form or another. King not only references the Biblical allusions which emotionally appeal to people but also mentions legal statements like declaration of independence and Emancipation proclamation by mentioning “Five score years …” to refer to Abraham Lincoln’s address and “promissory note” to direct their attention towards their legal rights as mentioned in the constitution.

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