Mlk Ethos Pathos Logos

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most widely known civil rights activist of the 1960s. Although he most famous for his I Have a Dream speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote several more influential speeches for the Civil Rights Movement – an American movement that sought to extend equal rights to all U.S. citizens. During his lifetime, he was known for practicing nonviolence in the hopes to obtain social and economic equality of all African Americans. While this equality exists amongst the races today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not get to see the fulfillment of his dream. On April 4, 1968, he was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.

On the eve of his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered

Martin Luther King Jr.’s command of rhetoric had a way of making phrases like “Good morning” feel as refreshing as a sweet tea on a hot Memphis day. His speech included all of Aristotle’s persuasive appeals – logos, or logic, pathos which is an emotional appeal, and ethos which refers to the credibility of the speaker. A simple example of an appeal to logos is “something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our world” (King). Primarily, the good Doctor appealed to pathos and ethos when he stated: “Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealing with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we’ve got to keep the attention on that” (King). Another powerful example of pathos is his use of the parable of the Good Samaritan. In his speech, he says “That’s the question before you tonight. Not, if I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job? Not, If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor? The question is, if I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them? That’s the question”

The first reason is exigence, or a problem that arises that a speaker needs to address persuasively. In the case of Dr. King, this particular situation was the enduring Civil Rights Movement and the rampant racism causing it in the United States. His need to reveal his vision of equality was his way of combating this problem. The next reason pertains to the audience, and Dr. King’s audience was massive. The audience ranged from those who were directly affected by the struggle – the sanitation workers of Memphis, to those who co-labored – other African Americans, and to those who could affect change – people with the right to vote and change laws within the country . The final reason involves the constraints, or the simultaneous events and other exigencies that affect the rhetorical situation. In this situation, the constraints could be the reality of the death threats against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellow activists. The death of these leaders could potentially stifle the movement. For these reasons, I believe that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is successful in his intended purpose. Although he did not personally witness the triumph of Civil Rights Movement due to his ironic assassination (ironic considering he talks about the longevity of life on the eve of this assassination) =, Dr. Martin Luther King’s use of rhetoric in his I Have a Dream and I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speeches