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What Are The Rhetorical Strategies Used In I Have A Dream Speech

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Rhetorical strategies used in “I Have a Dream” In the Pathos Genre, You use emotional words to get an emotional response from your audience. “I Have a Dream” is a prime example of this. ”I say to you today my friends that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream” and “we can never be satisfied as long as our children are robbed of their dignity by signs stating for whites only” However, Pathos isn’t the only rhetorical strategy used in this amazing speech.

Analogies compare two things to make an argument. King uses this rhetorical device many times in his speech to let people understand further how oppressed the black community was at the time and in some ways still are. Some quotes that King uses to voice this are, “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.” and “So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon the demand of freedom and the security of justice”. …show more content…

King uses this rhetorical device when bringing up points in his speech. A few examples of King using this device are, “Now is the time to make real promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlight path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift 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 god’s children” and “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nations into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. with this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one

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Their use of repetition with these phrases is to influence people to start speaking out about injustices happening around the world and to stop being silent. They both show a tone of passion and confidence in their speeches because they both really care about the cause they are trying to fight for, and want to be a voice for the victims. They both talk about wanting equality for everyone, not just the people they're fighting for. King wants “all of god's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,” to “join hands and sing the words of the old negro spiritual.”

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Another piece of Dr’s speech that supports pathos rather than logos, is when he says “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning…”. This rhetorical device called repetition, supports Dr. King’s main idea that people of color like himself, should be treated equally and all blacks would

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King wants the audience to remember that segregation is not okay and that in order for things to be different something “ can and will be changed.” King uses repetition to make his audience comprehend and listen to what he has to say. King instructs the audience to “go back” to the states and “go back” to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, as an example to spark their memory of our history and encourage them to take action. King also uses phrases such as “we can never be satisfied” and “we refuse to believe '' to show how America has wronged its people and must keep its promises in order for trust to be established. King repeated the phrase “now is the time” to show what he thinks America should be built on.

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Dr. King uses all sorts of figurative language in his writing. He uses a form of persuasion known as logos and pathos. Logos is the appeal to logic, and pathos is the appeal to emotion. Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” took place during the March on Washington

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King uses the rhetorical device of anology which argues against charges the

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They were much more likely to want things to change when they heard him describe the situation this way. Another rhetorical device used by King was anaphoras. An anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the start of several clauses to create emphasis. King’s best use of this begins in the very title of his speech. He declared to his audience, “I have a dream that one day… sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

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When he does this he shows his wisdom and knowledge of the past. He mentions that Jefferson said “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." and how his people have not received the same god-given rights that the white folk have. A big part of what King talks about is justice, and he uses past court cases in order to show people how he backs up his

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King’s persuasive prowess in the speech is how he used logical and sensible arguments. A great example is when he states that their children are “stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity” by segregation laws and policies (King). He is alluding to the fact that African American children feel singled out and embarrassed by the fact that they are segregated from the white children. Most parents would never want their children to suffer through that kind of embarrassment, and yet African Americans experience it daily. A second example of King using logic and reasoning is when he states, “But one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free.

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employs allusion to emphasize the historical progression of racism. For example, King illustrates,”... In whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (King 48). The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves of America, making it an important moment in history. King uses this allusion to show that eventually discrimination will no longer be an issue of our future.

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King also uses metaphors to compare the stability of the two sides, being racial injustice and brotherhood, to help the audience and the opposing sides to see his point and see why he is correct. As he states in paragraph four, the quick sand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” Dr. King uses things that everyone knows about, quick sand and rocks, to demonstrate how injustice is a trap and very unstable whereas brotherhood is solid, stable, and safe. Similar to using quick sand and rock, he utilizes darkness and light to also compare discrimination and segregation. In paragraph four Dr. King says, “rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”

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He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans. King skillfully evokes an emotional response from all races with the use of religion: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” By doing this he finds a common ground that brings black and whites closer with a common belief in God they share, as well as the mention of

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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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On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called “I have a dream.” This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. He displays a great amount of pathos, logos, and ethos in his speech. Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audience’s emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. He shows logos by giving a sense of hope to the people that better things will come in time.

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Martin Luther King 's uses various literary devices such as metaphors, personification, similes, and imagery in his speech so that his audience would be able to better understand and visual what he is saying. An example of a metaphor in King 's speech is when he compares the deprivation of African American rights with "a bad check that has come back from the bank of injustice marked with insufficient funds". He states that we must cash a check that will give us the riches of freedom and security of justice. This metaphor is referring to the freedom and rights that African American 's deserve and are promised but are not given. An example of personification in his speech is "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

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Throughout his speech he implies a lot of metaphors to make his speech effective and influencing. For example, King constantly describes the Negroes as being “crippled” by the “manacles of segregation”, “Storms of Persecution,” and “chains of discrimination.” Through these metaphors King indicates the crises the Negroes face. A few of King’s strongest metaphors are his references to prejudice: “the quick sands of racial injustice”, the “heat of oppression”, “the dark and desolate valleys of segregation”, and the “chains of discrimination.” King also indicates the unbearable inequality by creating an image: “the sweltering summer of the negro’s discontent.”

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