Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

The “I Have a Dream” speech was written by Martin Luther King Jr. It was written in a period of severe racism and segregation (1963). The speech was given at the Lincon Memorial which holds significance. The section that showcases rhetorical devices and DIDLS the best is paragraph 2 to 5. As mentioned beforehand the speech was given at the Lincon Memorial which evokes his memory. These passages bring up his speech the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence. Referencing these texts drives Dr. King's point that it’s been too long and too little change. In the speech, I have a Dream Martin Luther King Jr repeatedly uses allusion, analogy, and repetition to support his idea that there hasn’t been enough progress. The first example

King references the Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation is to show how much time it’s been since it’s been signed. This document states how all men should be equal. The documents held the promise of equality, yet 100 years later and there's still racism. Dr. King cleverly reminds his audience of this to highlight how long it’s been without much change. One example of an analogy in this speech is when Dr. King talks about checks and banks. He compares two things to exhibit the injustice people of color have received from America. “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the Bank of Justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice” (King 5). The reason why Dr. King mentions checks and banks is that he compares The United States to a bank and the idea of equality to a check from the bank. The bank doesn't allow the check to be cashed but MLK believes the check “will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” The last rhetorical device is