Analysis Of Why We Can T Wait By Martin Luther King

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Martin Luther King Essay Civil Rights Activist A. Philip Randolph once said, “Freedom is never given, it is won.” Martin Luther King’s introduction to Why We Can’t Wait tells a powerful story of two black children born into a broken country where they fight an uphill battle against discrimination. African Americans have technically been free for one hundred years but children are still being born in chains; they carry the burden of slavery in a country they helped build. King’s passage, along with many others, made a real impact against inequality and prejudice during the civil right’s movements. King accomplished such an effective essay using rhetorical strategies such as pathos, logos, ethos, parallelism and procatalepsis, to get his message across that the attitude of 1960’s America needed a change. King begins his essay strategically in the sentence “It is the beginning of the year of our Lord 1963” which is a religious as well as an ethical appeal. His essay …show more content…

The children know of great black people and their ability to move forward but America has failed them. Another rhetorical strategy King uses is procatalepsis. He raises questions with seemingly obvious answers like “Had they shirked their duty as patriots, betrayed their country…Had they refused to defend their land against a foreign foe?” He forces his reader to answer these questions, ultimately leading to self-reflection. The powerful question “Why does misery constantly haunt the negro?” seems rather unexplainable; if it’s not justified it needs to be changed. King pushes for change by causing the reader to think critically. Throughout the passage, King challenges the reader rhetorically, defending the black race and pushing for

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