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Rhetorical Analysis Of I Ve Been To The Mountaintop

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In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech about a promise land he was willing to fight for. Living in the 60’s there was racism and inequality among people of color. Dr. King describes the 60’s as a time that is in trouble but he sees great change coming where people will rise up and come together as one. An army of people coming together as one is always stronger than one single person fighting on their own. Dr. King’s purpose was to gain the interest of colored people in a non-violent fight to attain equal rights among all people. Victory of equality would be achieved by fighting peacefully no matter what came their way. Dr. King is successful in addressing people of color using ethos and pathos to gain their interest. Dr. King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” succeeds in establishing credibility with people of color by stating if sacrifices are willing to be made we will not give up until there is victory of the promise land. …show more content…

Equal rights of all people are stated in the constitution. All people have the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, and the right to protest. The intended audience is people of color who deserve to be treated equally. Dr. King’s purpose is to encourage people not to be selfish but to become one in a victory of equality. Referring to the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible, he states, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me? But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him" (King, 1968, para. 36)? The goal is to get people to think about what will happen to all the people who are suffering if they do nothing to fight for their rights rather than what will happen to them individually if they do. They must be willing to make sacrifices for their freedom. They can make more of a difference if they come together and fight as

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Through the use of his letter, he is able to tell the general public of why the stakes justify the actions he takes, and why it is important for the acceptance of his plan as more turmoil could be caused otherwise. Dr. King’s letter is an example of him taking action while knowing the stakes that if he fails, the whole Civil Rights movement could fail. It gives a clear understanding of the need to fight unjust laws through his statement that, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King). He continues by saying that everyone has a “legal…moral responsibility” to uphold just laws but that people also have the right to “disobey unjust laws” (King). This statement immediately gives pretense to his actions of fighting for freedom through protest.

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On April 3rd 1968 Former civil rights leader Martin Luther King jr. employs the appeal of ethos, pathos and logos effectively in his speech “I’ve been to the mountaintop”. to persuade the people to stand up for equality. Martin Luther king jr. use of pathos strengthens his ability to make an emotional connection with the audience because they must have went through the similar experience. “Thirteen Hundred of God’s children are suffering, sometimes are going hungry,going through dark and dreary nights”.

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When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold terrorized Columbine High School nearly twenty years ago, the shooting shocked the nation. However, as the media incorrectly reported- the attack on Columbine High School was not an intended school shooting, but rather an elaborate terror plot with the hopes of killing hundreds of people. It had been decades since terror of this magnitude had occurred on school grounds, and the first one that had occurred in the dawn of mass media. Never before had the media become so up close and personal with the victims, to the point where they were able to talk to the students while the shooting was happening. But with this new sense of power and responsibility to quickly inform the public and develop conclusions, danger

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“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” Fortunately, King’s and other people’s hope was completed but it wasn’t an easy task to do. During the time King was writing the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, the African-American Civil Rights Movement was proceeding. Men and Women were protesting for the equal rights of “colored people”, to overcome racial injustice in the USA and Martin Luther King Jr. was a major part of it. He was one of the main leaders of this movement; this

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Stand Up For What is Right From a young age, people are told to be kind to others, no matter what they look like. Some, white people, though believed that they were superior to the African Americans so they did not have to be kind to them. This is when the issue of inequality between different races arose and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took action. Dr. King was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 through 1968. He wrote the famous, “I Have a Dream” speech and the “Letter From Birmingham Jail”.

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In order to get rid of that tension, which in King’s case is to get equal rights by protesting, African Americans must be granted the rights given to all citizens. One last example of

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“Letter from Jail” On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight clergymen while he was incarcerated. Dr. King wrote this letter to address one of the biggest issues in Birmingham, Alabama and other areas within the United States. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discussed the great injustices that were happening during that time towards the black community. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the same equal rights as the white community, he also went into further details about the struggles that African Americans were going through for so many years, which he felt like it could change. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement.

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King takes a step back from civil rights to look at the big picture of moral rightness. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea.

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The 1960’s is different because the movement was led by Martin Luther King Jr and his colleagues, compared to the numerous leaders with different strategies and goals in the previous decades. Martin Luther King detailed in a prison cell in Birmingham, Alabama a goal of “Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bound” (Document B). With clear goals of creating a more open and equal society, this was easily communicated to fellow African Americans and people of all groups. Therefore, with this goal, people can hope and join in the movement making it a success during the 1960’s, compared to the unclear messages of previous decades. Furthermore, Martin Luther discusses the goal, to overcome their differences as exhibited by police and civil actions against African Americans in 1963 (Document C).

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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.

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“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”, is the name of the final speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, at Mason Temple on April, 3, 1968. The speech motivates listeners to fight against social injustice even at the darkest of times, and to push forward until the light can shine through even the darkest of areas. MLK uses imagery, simile, and antithesis to get his points across to the audience without having it obvious and bland. As well as to get the audience to pay more attention and pull them into what is stated.

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On April 3rd, 1968, Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech named “I 've Been to the Mountaintop”. Three days later, on April 6th, he was shot and killed. What lives long after his death is the message he spoke of during his movement for the achievement of equality for those of all races. He achieved in driving home his message by the use of his attitude(s) in his speeches, but most prevalently in his final speech. Dr. King’s overall attitude(s) to the importance of the sanitation workers’ strike, the direction of the civil rights movement, and the importance of equality are shown throughout his speech.

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