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Rhetorical Techniques Used In Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.

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Remember the eminent speech, “I have a dream.” The very same speech which Martin Luther King Jr. gave at the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC as an inspiration to give the people who were understanding of the situation that was going on in the African American community. Martin Luther uses the rhetorical techniques to capture the attention of the people to be able to state that no one should be judge by the color of their skin, but by their moral character and personality. One of the rhetorical devices which Luther elaborates the most on is parallelism. “We will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together… (Luther 26).” He says this to justify his reasoning of the community sticking through this conflict they have been fighting against for one hundred years together. Another hint of parallelism is when Martin said, “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. (Luther 4).” This insinuates that the government had not been equally fair to those who were born …show more content…

“Let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire…from the mighty mountains of New York…from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania…from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado…from the curvaceous slope of California. (Luther 31).” What Martin Luther is trying to imply in this phrase is that all the African Americans in any parts of the United States should be granted their freedom in this country. Another intimate would be when Luther said, “Free at last! Free at last! (Luther 33).” He emphasizes this phrase like a symbol of encouragement for those African Americans including Martin Luther himself were fighting against the government for their freedom, rights, liberty, and the pursuit of

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1072 Words | 5 Pages

On April 16th, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King, wrote a letter to the Clergymen. He was sitting in jail and wrote about the injustice his people are facing and how he wants this to change. He talks about how being treated like this just because they are black is wrong. Dr. Martin Luther wants his point to be heard, and he wants to fight as much as he can. People say what he was doing was "unwise and unjust."

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631 Words | 3 Pages

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” This is an example of parallelism because this rhetoric device allowed his speech to flow and for the audience to understand easier. Dr. King repeats the same phrases or ideas to prove a point that if there is inequality in one area, then it is a threat that justice won’t be accomplished. We as citizens are all connected in some way and if something happens to one person, it affects all citizens as a whole in

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291 Words | 2 Pages

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and congressman Robert Kennedy tried to inspire people who listened to or read their speeches or letters to stand against segregation worldwide by using powerful words that had meaning behind them. In Dr. King's “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he states, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” This quote inspires many people who read his letter by providing very powerful words which allow the reader to feel strongly about the stand for freedom. Another way Dr. King used strong words to inspire people is by stating in his “I Have a Dream” speech, “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of

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749 Words | 3 Pages

The United States of America was not always as free as it claimed to be. For instance, black people were once subject to segregation and discrimination. As the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to respond to his fellow clergymen and their statements that criticized the demonstrations that put him in the jail cell he was writing from. All in all, King’s letter sheds light on the struggles against racial inequality through the persuasive styles of ethos, pathos, and logos. Judging from his letter from Birmingham jail, it is obvious that Martin Luther King Jr. is living in a time of racial inequality and discrimination.

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203 Words | 1 Pages

Martin Luther King had been arrested for participating in an anti-segregation march that he didn’t have a parade permit for. He wrote a letter from Birmingham Jail claiming that it was his duty to fight for justice. There was a need for Civil Rights Movement right away because as Martin Luther King stated “We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our God-given and constitutional rights”. African Americans have been waiting for far too long to gain civil rights and “...still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee”. In this letter Martin Luther King also addresses his reasoning for following certain laws and breaking others.

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925 Words | 4 Pages

In the text “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, King utilizes metaphors, an appeal to pathos, faulty logic, loaded language, repetition, and antithesis to inspire the audience to support King’s effort of eradicating racial segregation. One way that King inspires his audience to support his

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706 Words | 3 Pages

What Martin Luther King meant by that was that if you are willing to fight against the people that were being racist and harming native Americans instead of just staying back and just watching people die or get really hurt. I feel that was Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to inspire his people through the darkest

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1115 Words | 5 Pages

The book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee involves the adventures of Scout and Jem and the plenty of lessons they learned throughout. In the beginning of the story, Scout, just a mere 6 years old, was getting ready for her first day of school. On the first day she had such a wide variety of knowledge that she frazzled the teacher. Despite their knowledge, throughout the story Scout and Jem learn a heap of lessons that the world can also apply to their own lives. While there are countless differences between the time period of To Kill A Mockingbird and today, there are also numerous similarities.

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Dr. King utilizes parallelism to let the audience understand and comprehend what the issue at hand is. Dr. King states “Let freedom ring from the snow-caped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let

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This statement meant that he wanted to challenge America to rise above all the hate and become brothers with one another, that "now is the time to life our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children." But it wasn't only Martin Luther King that wanted this. Robert Kennedy had the same vision. In his speech he exclaims, "But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or to go beyond these rather difficult times."

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882 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr, an African American and Civil Rights Activist in the 1960s, fights to end segregation in his speech "I Have a Dream." He argues that African Americans lack basic rights and change must occur, he achieves this by his use of rhetorical techniques. He supports his claim by declaring that blacks lack basic civil rights that were guaranteed under the constitution, he then talks about the issues blacks face, he goes on to say change is needed, finally he concludes his speech arguing how everyone deserves freedom and must stay faithful that change will occur. Martin Luther King Jr’s purpose is to make segregation cease to exist and to have black and white be seen equally, in order to achieve this purpose he uses loaded words

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574 Words | 3 Pages

is agreeing that both white and African American people should have the same rights(and other races); he communicates this idea through similes and connotation. ”This note will promise that all men,yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “Unalienable Rights” of “Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (King, 1) This quote has a connection from the constitution and him saying we should pursue that from the constitution and follow the rules of it. Martin used a simile to compare two different types of people at the time to have the same equality. ”There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.

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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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213 Words | 1 Pages

Both lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speech are similar in that they both express the concept of freedom to achieve their purpose. However, they each have different ideas about freedom, and about what they want their audience to do. Both influential speeches rely heavily on rhetorical devices to convey their purpose. In King’s speech, the use of sensory and visceral language is abundant, creating an emotional and powerful atmosphere. “Manacles of discrimination,” “Lonely island of poverty” and “Chains of discrimination” paint a bleak picture of life as a minority in America, and contrasts phrases such as “Bright day of justice” and “Sacred obligation” which symbolize freedom.

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874 Words | 4 Pages

His speech can be divided into two parts, his call to action of the situation african Americans were living in. How some Americans are blinded to stitution “ refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt”. ( Luther) That there is no better time than now to improve this racial

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