...Renowned civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his notorious speech, “I Have a Dream”, in the midst of societal strife across the United States. Throughout his oration, King lances at the status quo, one where African Americans are degraded and demeaned to the sewers of American society; instead, he proposes a new country—a new way—where African Americans will fight until they obtain the rights they were originally promised. In superb recognition of his audience, King uses a litany of devices, from metaphors to anaphora, in order to develop rage within the audience—a unifying quality that would undoubtedly drive a movement facing gusty headwinds. Intending to concisely state the purpose of his speech, Martin Luther King utilizes...
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...and no other would stand up, Martin Luther said, ‘’We have no alternative but to protest. We come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice. ‘’ I believe, that he gave his people the strength and courage they needed to stand up for themselves. It is my belief that their civil rights, were so harsh and not fair at all. King continued organization’s until he believed they got what he and his people truly deserve. King applies the rhetorical devices throughout his speech. King creates ethos in several instances. Ethos is that appeal that creates trust, leadership, and authority. When king alludes to Lincoln, Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation,...
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...On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a moving speech on the racial injustices African Americans were facing. Protesters from all over the United States came to be a part of such a mighty demonstration, protesting racial inequality in front of President Lincoln’s memorial. Dr. King spoke powerfully to condemn the brutal injustices that African Americans were facing, and to urge protesters to unite in peace to fight for justice for all Americans. Dr. King explained that through the Emancipation Proclamation and the Declaration of Independence, all Americans should be given opportunity to strive toward “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. However, African Americans had been disadvantaged and not given such opportunity through racial inequality. Such inequalities resulted in poverty, insufficient public...
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...On August 28, 1963, in Washington DC Martin Luther KingJr.,gave one of his most famous speeches titled “I have a dream” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.King’s purpose for delivering this speech was to inspire people to unite as one.He wanted to end racial discrimination and lead a progression of civil rights for all human beings regardless of race or cultural background. He dreams one day that his children will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. He introduced his topic with three words “ I Have a Dream”, he unified the concept of where there was no social hatred,where people were treated equally, and where it wasn’t a crime to be a minority. The speech was split up into two sections, the...
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...civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. In 1963, King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech, in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The speech's location and date signify that even after years of the emancipation proclamation being pioneered the African Americans still face discrimination in their own country. The location aids King's mission of getting his message across, which is that all people deserve equal rights and he hopes to see all Americans united. To convey his message, King uses rhetorical devices such as diction, a rhetorical question, and repetition. In the beginning of his speech, King uses diction to stress his point that even after years of African Americans being set free from their positions of slaves, they still feel like they're chained up. King uses words such as "great", 'hope", and "joyous" to describe the emancipation proclamation. The emancipation proclamation was instigated by Abraham...
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...Throughout American history, racism has fractured this country in many aspects. The United States is notorious for a racist history towards people of color. Why has the African-American culture been handled differently for numerous years in the United States? Martin Luther King Jr. posed this very question in his “I Have A Dream” speech to the American people. In August of 1963, Dr. King delivered the speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His speech contained multiple rhetorical devices, including repetition, allusion, imagery, symbolism, and irony. Rhetorical devices are used in order to arouse an emotion, inspire to take action, and persuade a new point of view. This speech is celebrated as one of the most inspirational speeches in history, and it served as the turning point of the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout “I Have A Dream,” Dr. King emphasizes that segregation is erroneous by utilizing different literary elements....
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...At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of African Americans. King delivered a memorable speech called “I Have a Dream”. A speech about the Civil Rights Movement, and made America think more about what the Declaration of Independence establishes of what America should strictly follow, which is “All men are created equal” no matter what skin color ,nationality, and ethnicity. King dreamt about civil rights his whole life, now everyone in the United States is created equal not just men. The audience that this speech targeted was the United States, so they could realize how harsh America has gotten. White people during this time period should be ashamed of themselves of treating innocent people the way they did, only because of the distinct skin color. King encouraged America, and the world to make a change about being divergent. “I Have a Dream” speech changed the face of America forever....
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...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech exhibits rhetorical elements in which he uses repetition within his strong imagery, logical thoughts, and credible examples to support his argument that all men are created equal and should be treated as such. In the first paragraph of King’s speech, he immediately evokes Pathos in his audience. He refers to the beacon of light that has been “seared in the flames of withering injustice.” This image casts a feeling of hopelessness and despair. The metaphors invoke an initial feeling in his listeners and grab their attention. The second paragraph continues the strong use of imagery, but he also incorporates a repetition to help strengthen his message. His reference to “One hundred years later”...
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...Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” Likita M. Taylor ITT-Tech English 1320: Composition I November 12 2012 Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” These are the opening words of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech”, which he predicted will be the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement and the turning point in finally ending segregation. Time and time again, his speech is credited as being “one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history.”(Martin, 2010, 10 par 1). He was an astonishing, intelligent speaker who often relied on using strong rhetoric devices to get his message across. Through his articulate use of logos, pathos, and ethos, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free.” (Martin 2001 par3). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on to this day as a perpetual masterpiece. Before one can really understand the analysis of his speech, it is important to understand King’s arguments. His main point is that blacks are not free or equal according to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. He argues that African-Americans must claim their full rights and demand liberation from inequality and suppression. King's audience is not only Black Americans, but his message...
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...RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 1 Rhetorical Analysis of “I Have Dream” Speech Alfonso Gonzalez Itt Technical Institute Instructor Deana Schoneberg EN 1320 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 2 The main point of Dr. Kings speech was that an injustice had been done to the black people. They were promised freedom from the emancipation proclamation and up to that point they still were not free. They were segregated and treated like second class citizens. Were they suppose to sit down and let white men at that time humiliate them, beat them, bomb their houses, and strip them of human dignity? No! Dr. King was preaching to all who listened, that now was the time to metaphorically cash this check, a check that will give them upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. But to do this, not with violence or retaliation, “we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.” (Carson, 1998, p225) This would be the way Dr. King would want to see his dream played out, with non -violence. Were all his efforts done in vain? On August 28, 1963, The March on Washington was organized by Bayard Rustin and led by union leader A. Philip Randolph. The backdrop ironically took place on the steps...
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...Written Assignment 4: Essay on Barack Obama’s speech at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial (2006) Even when a life ends, a soul can manage to live on with the people who it has left behind. This can appear through memorable deeds that a life can have managed to make before it passes. The above is what Barack Obama’s speech at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial from 2006 is about. Through the use of many of the same rhetorical instruments that Martin Luther King used before him, Obama establishes not only what Martin Luther King meant to America but also what he means to Obama on a personal level. In the following, I will make a rhetorical analysis and interpretation of the speech. The speech can be described as being an occasion speech which means that Obama’s aim is for him to entertain his audience at the memorial, by interpreting his vision of Martin Luther King Jr. The speaker is Barack Obama who is an African-American senator and soon-to-be presidential candidate in the United States. The audience for his speech is the participating to the national memorial, but primarily the speech is meant for the African-American inhabitants. He entertains his audience by reminding them of the great things that King has accomplished for the African-Americans in the United States of America: “I will tell them that because he did these things, they live today with the freedom God intended...
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...A Rhetorical Analysis of MLK Jr.’s “I have a dream” Speech Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, one hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which outstandingly furthered the civil rights movement. At that time, racial segregation, police brutality, and other forms of racial inequality were terribly prominent in America. The speech successfully focused the country’s attention at the need for racial equality “Now” (King, I Have a Dream). King gave the speech in order to motivate his followers to peacefully continue to demonstrate, protest, and boycott until they were fully granted the equality and privileges that any other citizen was allowed to have. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech is his most notable, and one of the most influential of Twentieth-Century-America because of his excellent rhetorical use of repetition and anaphora, contrasting metaphors, and appropriate quotations and allusions throughout the speech. Martin Luther King Jr. used a profuse amount of repetition and anaphora throughout his speech. A subtle form of repetition, the repetition of singular words, was mainly used to emphasize key themes in the speech and keep them in the minds of the audience. Such repeated key themes were “freedom”, “justice” and “injustice”, “America” and “American”, and plural nouns such as “we” and “our”. Since the preceding words were repeated so frequently...
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...Letter From Birmingham Jail Vs. “I Have a Dream Speech” The first way that a “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “ I have a Dream” differ are in their intended audience, as one is intended for a group of white clergymen while the other is intended to rally a large group. This difference in audience and how Dr. King chooses to appeal to each of his audiences causes for the choices in language and the purpose of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “I have a Dream” to differ. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is addressed to white clergymen, and the purpose of the letter is to defend the demonstrations that were taking place. As Dr. King is trying to defend the demonstrations to these white clergymen, his language choice is quite interesting. One brilliant way that he chooses to defend the demonstrations is by appealing to the white men through his choice of Anglo terms. For instance, in the letter, Dr. King writes, “Just as the prophets of the eighth century century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saint the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns…I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (King). This choice of wording makes Dr. King’s argument stronger since as these white men disagree with Dr. King and his form of peaceful protest, the white clergymen will not be able to argue back because he is using religious references that if the white men chose to argue against, it would make them look like hypocrites (Eubank). While...
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...Rhetorical Analysis Paper Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have a Dream According to Aristotle, there are three ways for a speaker to persuade his audience: ethos, logos, and pathos ("American rhetoric: Aristotle's rhetoric - selected moments," n.d.). Aristotle noted that a speech should “engage both the rational and non-rational elements of the listener's soul” (Wardy, 1996, p. 63). The speaker must have credibility with their audience and appear fair, open-minded, honest, and knowledgeable (ethos). He/she must also have logical appeal with strong, valid arguments based on facts and, perhaps, with personal experience and observations (logos). And, finally, the speaker must emotionally appeal to the audience and create a personal connection to draw and hold their attention (pathos). Of the three, Aristotle believed that ideally arguments should be made with reason, or logic, alone (McKay & McKay, 2010). However, it is often a speaker’s emotional appeal that creates the personal connection, as well as captivates and motivates the audience … and few have done that better than the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. If you say the words “I have a dream”, Americans from age 18 to 80 immediately think of Martin Luther King Jr. They may not know the words achieved notoriety from a speech given at an equal rights march on Washington, DC in August 1963. They may not know that 250,000 blacks gathered at the National Mall to demand "jobs and freedom" (Hampson, 2013). Additionally, they...
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...ITT-Technical University Rhetorical Analysis of Dr. Martin Luther Kings “I Have A Dream” (Revised) Introduction On August 28th 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the “I Have a Dream” speech which was addressed to not only the 200,000 white and black Americans but people all around the world. The “I Have A Dream” speech has been considered one of the most greatest and powerful speeches in history. Why was it given? Simply to rectify that all me were created equal despite their race or color. In this Analysis I will be explaining some literary terms he used as strategies in his speech, and also explain how Dr. King used two rhetorical patterns to help him support his argument, those two patters are Ethos, & Pathos. Strategies Dr. King used many literary terms in the “I Have a Dream” speech such as Alliteration, which is the repetition of sounds. For example he says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The “c” in those three words of that sentence gives it a repetitive rhythm feel which will make that important part of the speech catch and memorable. Also from that same sentence he used Anaphora, which describes the most famous part of the speech, where in this case is “I Have a Dream”. Although he used it many times just buy naming this speech “I Have a Dream” it will make...
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