Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Rhetorical Devices

In the year of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. towered over two hundred thousand people of all ages, genders, and races at the nation’s capital. Throughout his speech, Dr. King used a variety of rhetorical devices like ethos, pathos, and logos to move society. After tiring protests, Dr. King was able to notify the nation of the wrong and unjust treatment of its citizens. He gave this inspiring speech not only to African Americans, but also to all Americans in order to promote the idea of equality. The famous, “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. was able to persuade America to change its horrendous ways and come together to make life better for all with the use of rhetorical devices. At the time, Dr. King was a civil right activist. One of the key characteristics of Martin Luther King Jr. was his bravery, which he reflected in his speech. During the time of his speech, there was a major separation between Black and White people. This prompted Dr. king to create his inspirational speech full of rhetorical devices to end the problems between different races.

King uses the rhetorical device pathos to influence people in an emotional way. He begins using the rhetorical device in the beginning, when he introduces his claim, “This momentus decree is a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice” (King par 2). The way Dr. King used the rhetorical device pathos delivered a strong feeling about the things he was speaking at the moment. He continues saying, “ One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of the segregation and the chains of discrimination” (King par 2). He explains in this quote that after the Blacks have been freed from poverty, they still do not have the freedom they