Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

Many great speakers have influenced and motivated people to support their causes with eloquent speeches. Speakers utilize the audience's emotions of empathy and pride for their country to garner their support and inspire them, showing the importance of building a good rapport and connecting with their audiences. To narrate their points, the speakers use emotions to connect with the audience. Speakers need to have a close connection with their audience. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, he used several rhetorical devices, pathos being the strongest. He told the audience that they shouldn’t “be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity” (King). He wants the audience to connect

This creates a sense of unity among his audience. This idea of unity connects the audience and allows them to sympathize with the people who faced racial injustice. King uses this idea to remind the audience of its importance and what it could mean for the future of the nation. Michelle Obama uses a similar tactic in her speech on International Women’s Day. She urges the people listening to remember that the entire world is “in this together… [and] they each have the spark of something extraordinary inside of them just like [their] daughters – and [their] sons – and their fate is very much [current generations] responsibility" (Obama). She reminds them that it is their “daughter – and [their] sons" that could have been suffering and their children are the future that can and will continue to make positive changes in the world. As such, Obama urges the people to take responsibility for future generations and to remember that

Such speakers often use words and phrases that evoke strong emotions and patriotism. This can be effective in swaying the opinion of the audience toward the speaker's point of view. In his address to the nation on 9/11, George W. Bush uses this approach to help the United States come together as a country. He believes that the terrorist attacks “cannot dent the steel of American resolve...because we're [America is] the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world” (Bush). By referring to the nation as a "beacon for freedom and opportunity," he evokes a sense of pride and patriotism in the audience. In the face of these attacks, people came together as a country and supported one another. Lincoln uses the nation’s comradery to say that America “shall have a new birth of freedom” (Lincoln). America as a nation takes a strong sense of pride in its freedom. Because Lincoln stated that the United States would have a “new birth of freedom”, he solidified the support of the people through their patriotism. This sense of patriotism and solidarity serves as a reminder that despite adversity, the people of the United States are brought together in their mission for freedom and justice. This idea not only serves as a source of hope and strength but also inspires individuals to act in a way that upholds the values of the nation. Through