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Rhetorical Devices Used In I Have A Dream Speech

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Rhetorical Resources hidden in “I Have a Dream” Speech In making an analysis of the rhetorical resources of a work, the great majority of literature teachers use the classics. However, there are other texts that can be analyzed with the same relevance as the texts of Shakespeare. In this case, I mean the speech "I Have a Dream," which has different resources and techniques that can be considered in the literature program of schools. In this paper, first, I will start with an overview of address canonicity and the notion of literariness. Second, I will briefly explain about the main generic features that the text has. And as the last point, I will conclude with the theoretical support reflected in “I Have a Dream” speech. "I have a dream" is one of the most …show more content…

did not plan to offer a discourse that would be taken to films, books, and plays in the future. That is how Routman (2005) makes the classification of literary genres and among them "I Have a Dream" is framed in the literary speech or discourse which is a public address whose frequently element is that the script is written to be read orally or performance. There is a particular social theory that addresses “I Have a Dream” discourse. This is the Marxism which is a cultural theory that exemplifies a set of social, economic, and political ideas that its supporters believe will allow them to understand and modify their world. This theory is based on the principles that the value of man is based on the forced job or potential job; economy as a factor that determines the action of society; the struggle of social classes are the construct of its history; it is also taken into consideration the proletariat and the bourgeois, among others. Marxism is the sign of the struggle for a balance between the oppressed and the upper class to create a better world for

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This helps build the central idea because it is the main backbone for the central idea. One rhetorical device used is aullison, MLK make a reference to the Gettysburg Address by stating, “ Five score years ago,” (King 2). He also uses metaphors, one example of a metaphor he uses is,”... America has given

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech led to a transformation in American beliefs and culture with regard to civil rights. On August 28, 1963, King delivered his speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in hopes that the man known as the “Great Emancipator” would remind the public that African Americans were protesting to receive rights that they should have already been granted. Martin Luther King Jr. utilized a plethora of rhetorical devices in order to project an effective speech onto an audience immersed by his plea for equal rights. Dr. King envisioned a United States of America in which African Americans were not forced to endure unconstitutional trials and tribulations. As he stated in his speech, King dreamed of a nation where “…they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but on the content of their character.”

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One of the main reasons that this is referred to as a rhetoric is the fact that it was written by Martin Luther King in an intellectual and inventive way not just for the

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In “I Have A Dream”, Martin Luther King Jr. persuades people to treat black with the equal rights as whites have. Not to make blacks superior, but to their be peace among blacks and whites. I found this speech the most compelling because he made everyone believe that his dream could become reality. His dream was that black and whites living as equals, with no rivalries between them. Even though he was assassinated, people still continued trying to make his dream real, which was really inspiring for everyone.

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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.”

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a pivotal member in the Civil Rights movement and was an advocate for peaceful protest to gain equality. The March on Washington was held on August 28, 1963 and was a crucial event in the Civil Rights Movement in which King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. His speech displayed how one could protest peacefully, whilst, his audience, the American people, absorbed the message whole-heartedly due to his use of rhetorical devices. The purpose of King’s speech was to broadcast to the American people that they should protest peacefully instead of protesting with violence.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most important leaders of the civil rights movement. He graduated from a segregated high school at the age of fifteen and earned a bachelor degree at a segregated institution in Atlanta in 1948. King was known to be a strong civil rightist, and he was part of the committee known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. On August 28, 1963, King presented his well-known speech, “I Have a Dream,” during The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for Africans’ civil and economic rights. His “I Had a Dream” speech was known as the most influential speech that has tremendously impacted the United States forever by its powerful rhetorics and the emotional connection to the audience.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. was an extremely impactful activist during the Civil Rights Movement that gave over 2,500 speeches in his lifetime. Of these speeches, his most popular is his famous I Have a Dream speech that he gave on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. during the March on Washington. Even famous speakers like Martin Luther King, Jr. use persuasive techniques to appeal to the different sides of their audiences. In order to appeal to his predominately African American audience, Martin Luther King, Jr. makes reference to Abraham Lincoln and his granting freedom to slaves by signing the Emancipation Proclamation.

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“I Have A Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. argues for the rights of black people. He declares that white people need to remove the harsh treatments that restrict the black people from living a normal, first-class citizen lifestyle. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks in an authoritative tone that signifies that changes must be made to the black people, and he clearly speaks for every single black person that lives in the land of the free. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively justifies his argument that black people need to be treated like everyone else through ethos, pathos, and logos. First, Martin Luther King Jr. uses ethos to confirm that what he is saying is justified.

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More than 50 years ago, Martin Luther King held the memorable speech “I have a dream”. His impressive rhetoric demanded racial justice, which became a basis for subsequent generations of black Americans. His words have later been used to achieve a better understanding of the social and political upheaval at the time. The main point of the speech is that all people are created equal and although not the case in America at the time, Martin Luther King felt that it should be the case in the future. The audience of the speech is considered very general, however, the speech was held in Washington meaning it is possible that the speech was an attempt to engage law and policy makers who work in the nation’s capital.

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Uses of rhetorical devices in “I Have a Dream” Speech Have you ever wondered what Martin Luther King Jr. would say if he saw us now? He would say, “Good Job.” Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was given out on August 28, 1963, and was also meant for diverse men of race, religion and ethnic group to be the audience. Dr. King used metaphors, allusions, and repetition in his speech to try to better convey with the audience to try to make a difference.

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