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Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr

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The Persona of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King was very influential in both his writings and speeches. King created a reputation for himself that will continue to live on throughout American history. He was inspirational to the point in which he has a holiday devoted to him, he has landmarks in many cities named in his honor, his name is one that every American has heard and knows at least a little bit about. Dr. King is responsible for many great works such as, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “American Dream”. Throughout his work, King has influenced countless people to stop wherever they might find themselves and evaluate their way of living. King’s words are able to open people's eyes to a new way of life. King took advantage of the rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, and pathos in order to articulate his message in such a way that would always leave the reader feeling something instead of just thinking. …show more content…

King utilized the rhetorical device, pathos, beautifully in his famous work, Letter from Birmingham Jail. He used pathos to help the audience feel what he felt. The words that King uses, helps his audience think about how they would feel if they were put in a similar position to his. One way King was able to make the audience feel a personal connection to him was by saying, “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim…” This strategic use of pathos helps create a feeling of empathy among his audience in regards to King’s writings. King’s use of pathos helped his writing be more credible and less irrational than he looked to an outside perspective. When King was able to get his audience to evaluate his situations, it helped them realize the motives behind his

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In Martin Luther King’s famed “I Have A Dream” address, and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” King makes use of bothe logos and pathos in his writing. It is because of these that his writings have risen to such prominence and stirred so many to action. But while he used both logos, the use of reasoning, and pathos, the use of emotions and charged language, a careful analysis shows that they are not equal. For King has a talent for dramatic, poignant resounding language, one which he uses to full effect and is much more powerful than logos. To demonstrate, take this passage “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of it’s creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

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Martin Luther King used logos and repetition to persuade and explain his side of the story to his “fellow clergymen”. When MLK said, “There have been more unsolved bombings of negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this nation. These are the hard, brutal and unbelievable facts.” (Page 7 paragraph 1). This persuades the reader by stating facts about what is happening in Birmingham that you cannot disagree with.

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504 Words | 3 Pages

He evokes emotion on his audience by discussing the trials and injustice African Americans have endured. In his letter he uses examples like “when you have seen hate-filled policeman curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters.” and “when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and gathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim” to make his audience envision and feel what many negroes felt while watching their families put up with this mistreatment. King provides imagery to make the audience see what it would be like to be an African American in the united

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563 Words | 3 Pages

In these texts, King effectively persuades his audiences using pathos and logos. In Martin Luther King Jr. – “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he captures both pathos and logos. Dr. King

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Compelling Craft The craft of using words to create a mood or an atmosphere takes great skill to make an audience understand and feel the cause a writer is fighting for. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist from the 1950’s to the 1960’s, wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail. In his letter he made a compelling argument to a group of clergymen, who questioned his quest. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his compelling argument using pathos, ethos, and Kairos by utilizing personal experiences, expressing a moral obligation to help, and his timely involvement for direct action.

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For as long as we have lived, our nation has developed an ideology that we were created to seek revenge and retaliate to those who have wronged us. Although, the act of revenge is not the solution to our problems, we still desire to inflict torment on each and every individual that we feel deserves it. However, this is not the only problem that we face today, America is a multicultural place where people believe in different practices and become prejudice to the diverse religions. In the book, “Strength to Love” written by Martin Luther King Jr., the American religious experience is in the strength to forgive and love one another. As a whole we must be open-minded and accept the differences in cultures we are exposed to with a tough mind and a tender heart.

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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

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Martin Luther King Jr., a minister and social activist, led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He was an advocate for equality between all races and a civil and economic rights Activist. Because of his leadership, bravery and sacrifice to make the world a better place, Martin Luther King was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. His incredible public speaking skills and ability to properly get his message across can clearly be scene throughout the speech. Tone: Dr. King delivered his speech at the university of Oslo in Oslo Norway in front of a large group of people.

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How Martin Luther King Jr uses pathos in his speech Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the speech I have a dream it’s about having freedom because back in the day they didn’t have a lot of freedom people judged by the color of their skin and he was trying to speak for many people of both ethnicities and religion. He wants everyone to have the same freedom and to be able to do things together and not have to different bathrooms, schools, water fountains etc. Martin Luther King Junior’s most persuasive appeal is pathos because he shows the audience his passion for wanting the best for everyone and the future of his people, he shows hope because he wants the future for everyone to improve and he shows confidence because he knows a lot about this topic and he has been in a lot of situations like this before. One way Martin Luther King Jr. uses his emotions to persuade people to trust him is through his passion.

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595 Words | 3 Pages

In addition, King`s use of humour and personal anecdotes helped engage his audience and make his message

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433 Words | 2 Pages

On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy gave his remarks on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Robert’s goal was to inform people on Martin Luther King’s journey and to strengthen people’s attitudes on the whole situation. Robert’s main points throughout the speech were how the country as a whole should move forward, why the states should not resort to violence but unity instead, and he also addressed that the country needed unity, love, and compassion.

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803 Words | 4 Pages

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and letters, there are many powerful examples of the use of pathos. Firstly, from his speech “I Have a Dream”, MLK preaches: “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” (King, 261). This piece of evidence displays that

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1848 Words | 8 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.

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961 Words | 4 Pages

used both logos and pathos in his speech and in his letter. He used pathos to appeal to the people 's emotions and logos to appeal to logic,to evidence and to support reasoning. He used pathos to show how unfair and unjust it was and how cruel they are treated. King used logos to show how long it has been that they have silently took this unjust treatment and how it is ruining society and tarnishing the people. In conclusion, King showed how using both pathos and logos can inspire change and shows that sometimes the pen is mightier than the

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1111 Words | 5 Pages

To achieve this, he used rhetorical strategies such as appeal to pathos and repetition. His passionate tone flowed through these strategies, increasing their persuasive power on the people and encouraging them to follow/listen to his message on racial injustice. While pathos elicits an emotional response from the audience to make them more accepting of King’s ideas, repetition structures the speech and emphasizes key ideas for the audience to take away from listening. These two techniques played a crucial role in furthering his purpose and in provoking a powerful response from the audience that made this speech memorable and awe-inspiring. To this day, King’s speech remains one of the most famous and influential speeches in

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