Rhetorical Analysis Of The American Dream

Political Speech

“The American Dream”, By Martin Luther King

The American Dream was a political speech that was made in 1963 on 28th August in the presence of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. by Martin Luther King. The speech that was made by Dr. King can be divided into six categories. In the first section comprises of the introduction part where he makes it clear on the issue of freedom. The second part he mentioned the hopes of black people which have not been realized yet it was given many years ago. On the third section, Martin shows how the blacks are still being discriminated and segregated at present. The fourth section he brings forth what can be done to avoid or to be changed to the then situation. The fifth section, Martin assures the people who are rejected that he wants to change their life. Finally, Luther concludes by saying equality for everyone can only be realized through hope and faith.
The Purpose of the speech that was made by Martin was meant to unite people who were living in America.

For example, Martin used imagery to give his speech successful such as “lonely island of poverty” and “vast ocean of material prosperity.” This image shows the distance that existed between the lives of the whites and those of the blacks. On the other hand, he mentioned that lonely island which is surrounded by an ocean indicates that majority are doing well in their lives. This is a clear indication that the white people are taking advantage of the blacks. The success of Martin speech can also attribute to the use of metaphor when he said the shadow of a great American. In this context, he meant that the person still dominates people head. This is because the shadow is something which exists if the sun does not go down. Martin Luther has managed to convey the purpose of his speech to the audience in a more constructive