ipl-logo

Martin Luther King Jr I Have A Dream Rhetorical Analysis

1134 Words5 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Martin Luther King Jr., a social rights activist, in his persuasive “I Have a Dream” speech, made an attempt at a call for equality. King develops his argument through various examples of repetition and anaphora and then concludes his speech by using a hopeful tone as well as diction to advocate for changes to economic and racial injustices. He spoke in order to show his passion and belief that all people deserve to earn fair opportunities and a fair life. His audience were the civilians on a march for civil rights that showed up in support of him, however, his intended audience were the people of the United States that were unconcerned or uninterested with the issues.
King’s purpose throughout …show more content…

As King starts his paragraph, he uses anaphora to get his point across and state why now is the time for change. “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. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children,” (1). King starts each of his sentences with “Now is the time,” this is suggesting that now should be the time that things should change for the better. King is especially passionate about the change that needs to happen and he shows it in this quote by his choice of diction. “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day,” (2). With every sentence beginning with “With this faith,” it’s showing his audience what will come of the change. More specifically, it shows what positive outcomes change can lead to. King’s choices of anaphora …show more content…

In this quote, King shows his audience that he has the same dream as others and that’s why he is so adamant about why it needs to happen. “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream,” (2). King is telling his audience that even though there might not be change right now, he has hope that there will be. It shows his audience that his dream will never die, and even when change does happen, his dream will continue and progress. He is tremendously passionate about the way he speaks and what he speaks about and in this quote, he shows that by stating positive outcomes. “And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last ! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” (3). When everyone is able to come together without hatred or being seen as inferior to one another, they will be able to be free and heal all as one rather than alone or still in groups. By showing his audience a brighter side to the situation, he is

Show More
Related
697 Words | 3 Pages

“I must admit that I was initially disappointed in being so categorized” (Paragraph 23). King showed multiple times how disheartened he felt, which is something most people who have authority would say. He goes on and states several times how disappointed he was. “I have been disappointed with the church” (Paragraph 27). This indicates that the clergymen and white people with power, as well as the church, have failed him.

Read More
1028 Words | 5 Pages

Being an appeal to pathos, King uses descriptors to show the emotions he is having. King is saying enough is enough the South has been a state nothing getting done and it should change. He says he loves the South, but certain people have come in and “bogged down” the area with agendas that do not flesh well with the rest of the South. He is tired of speakers and talkers that do not follow up their speeches with action or even conversations. King just wants Southerners to start having conversations and working together to resolve issues instead of being told and forced to

Read More
1427 Words | 6 Pages

He can establish his character so the clergymen can see that he is doing these movements because he is also affected by the unjust treatment the colored community faces. King is also able to establish his character to other readers of his letter who may not be of color but may think like the clergymen do and find it hard to understand why they are doing this. This is where King’s experience helps others see that they can trust him and what he is saying because he has suffered along with

Read More
507 Words | 3 Pages

Not only does King appeal to the religious standing of the clergymen, but he also asserts that he himself acts out of a commitment to a higher law, the law of God, that should not only govern his actions, but that should also govern all people, including the clergymen. He states that he hopes that tomorrow will shine the “radiant stars of love and brotherhood” over the nation, meaning that the nation would accept that laws of God to love one another as brothers and sisters (para. 50). As a result from his shift in tone, Kings language also becomes softer and more positive. He creates a beautiful image of the the “dark clouds of racial prejudice” passing away along with the “fog of misunderstanding” and the coming of the “radiant stars of love and brotherhood” that will shine over the nation with their “scintillating beauty” (para. 50). With this, King concludes his letter with a hopeful image of the coming of peace and love among all people in the world.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Now, King talks about how they have been promised things, and promised new changes in laws but it just turns into another lie and let down of the African American community. “As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us.” (273 King). King uses this pathos in his letter to shown the men that the broken promise of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights promised another ‘broken promise’. He uses this to appeal to their emotions so they understand why he was upset and

Read More
536 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
510 Words | 3 Pages

King then made a speech and said “We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end”. What he meant by this was that they cannot give up and if they want change they have to stand up for it. King also believed in a promise land and his goal was to get to the promise land, but he

Read More
272 Words | 2 Pages

Another quote from his speech that establishes credibility is"For those who ask the question, 'Aren't you a civil rights leader?'" He states this to prove that as a civil right activist

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the text, King utilized the values of his audience to gain sympathy and later on support. His use of diction and syntax would align his mission to God’s, and show that he was in the right and the clergymen were in the wrong. In his letter, King effectively used an extended periodic sentence that consisted of more than 300 words. The sentence has an extreme appeal to pathos, with such vivid imagery

Read More
705 Words | 3 Pages

Mr. Linden’s Library I am Abigail Frindies and do I have a story for you! It all starts when I went to my local library and saw a book called Mr. Linden ’s Library. I checked it out and I was about to leave, but I heard, a librarian faintly say, “I tried to warn her about the book, but it was too late.”

Read More
946 Words | 4 Pages

Analysis: He first begins his speech with raising awareness and not shying away from the vulgar and disturbing actions of hatred that were allowed at the time. He does not shy away from using the word “death”, which for obvious reasons, has a negative connotation associated with it. He continues the speech by addressing the issues that the world is currently facing. He addresses 3 main issues of war, racial segregation and injustices and

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

He also states, “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” (King). By expressing how much he believes in the American dream and a new dawn, it reassures people that even though there is little progress at a time, King will always fight not only for himself, but his family, friends, and all those who are not held to the same respect. Along with calming someone, you can inspire others with your

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
1013 Words | 5 Pages

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.”

Read More

More about Martin Luther King Jr I Have A Dream Rhetorical Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document