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Rhetorical analysis of martin luther king's i have a dream speech
Rhetorical analysis of martin luther king's i have a dream speech
Rhetorical analysis of martin luther king's i have a dream speech
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During the shaping years of this country, there were many social classes that faced immense persecution and mistreatment. In two of these groups specifically, leaders rose that aided in the freeing of these minorities from their oppression. One of these leaders is Martin Luther King Jr., who in his speech entitled “I Have a Dream”, addresses all colored Americans and expresses his views on the treatment of African Americans all around the country. The other leader is Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who in her two addresses “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” and “Solitude of Self”, challenges men and women alike to help end the injustices committed against women. Although both King and Stanton are working towards a very similar cause, they …show more content…
One main similarity is the use of popular, well known documents or addresses in all of the aforementioned speeches. Stanton bases her entire “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” speech on the Declaration of Independence, and has it follow the structure of this document almost exactly. In her speech “Solitude of Self”, Stanton even goes on to quote from the bible when she quotes from the book of Matthew “My God! My God! why hast thou forsaken me?” (King James Bible, Matt. 27:46). King mentions many documents and addresses in his “I Have a Dream” speech, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address. These are all mentioned in an effort to increase the sense of devotion in their followers. King and Stanton are both trying to cause a change of major national law, which causes them to use past documents that state and define the purpose of government, as well as other scripts that state higher law that must be followed by all people. This is done to try and convince the people that will truly cause the change, such as Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court. It obviously was also effective as in both of these cases the laws and amendments were made that completed these causes end goals. This tactic is not the only one that King and Stanton had on common, …show more content…
These examples helped those listening that perhaps weren’t part of the minorities King and Stanton were addressing see what these groups were faced with. King does this in his speech when he discusses the trials many African Americans were facing at the time, including police brutality and unlawful detention. These tribulations were extremely prevalent at the time of King 's address throughout all of America. Stanton also does this mainly in her “Declarations of Sentiments and Resolutions” speech. She stresses many examples of how women were being treated unfairly. For example she says things such as, “Having deprived her of this first right as a citizen the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her of all sides” (Stanton 1). These and many more examples help all those looking in from the outside to see the struggle that these people have had to battle against for a majority of their
The similarity between Susan B. Anthony speech and Martin Luther King Juniors “I Have a Dream” speech is that they are fighting for the equality of America. Susan B. Anthony is fighting for women being able to vote like everyone else. Martin Luther King is fighting for the equality of African Americans. Both just want to see America as an equal place instead of discrimination against others based on race or gender. Even though their message has similarities the way they delivered them was different.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were two pivotal figures who fought for what they believed in. Stanton’s speech “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech shook the grounds at which they spoke on. Both alike, MLK and Elizabeth Stanton were activists who were hard-working, passionate for what they believed in and were never going to give up.
America is well known for many things, and one of the main qualities is the idea and practice of freedom and liberty. When thinking of the United States, one would probably say “Land of the free, Home of the brave.” America is a place where citizens have rights, can have happiness, and are free to live the life they choose. Although America is so free now, have citizens always had the rights that they have today? The founding fathers of the United States of America made the way to freedom when the Declaration of Independence was written, but even though it was written down, not all citizens had freedom. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote The Declaration of Sentiments, she used The Declaration of Independence as a guide. Freedom was still freedom, of course, but Stanton used it for a purpose that was different from how the founding fathers used it. When Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, she not only included the way Americans believe in freedom and liberty, she also included the way the beliefs can change and be interpreted in different ways.
“To deny political equality is to rob the ostracised of all self-respect.” - Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
For example, when king says, “In our nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.”(King 266) He is mentioning the story of the tea party to relate his “civil disobedience” that the clergymen believe he is causing in their city. He also uses a personal anecdote when he is speaking about how a law can be just but if it is applied wrong it becomes unjust. He gives this example to speak about it, “For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First- Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.”(King 266) King is showing that it is his right as an american citizen to go to any city in the United States and lead a peaceful protest. He uses a final anecdote when he says, “Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America’s destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages: they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation— and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop.”(King 272) King is mentioning these well known pieces of America’s history to show that his right to go to Birmingham should be obvious because the oppressed have been there just as long as the
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an important element of the Women’s Rights Movement, but not many people know of her significance or contributions because she has been overshadowed by her long time associate and friend, Susan B. Anthony. However, I feel that she was a woman of great importance who was the driving force behind the 1848 Convention, played a leadership role in the women’s rights movement for the next fifty years, and in the words of Henry Thomas, “She was the architect and author of the movement’s most important strategies ad documents.”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton There have been many great feminists throughout history, who have changed and shaped society, all who have worked toward one goal, to empower women all over the world. One of these women, Elizabeth Stanton who fought for women’s suffrage was able to shape the way a nation perceived and fought for the rights of their people, allowing the women of today to benefit from her accomplishments on a substantial scale. Elizabeth Stanton was born on the 12th of November 1815, in Johnstown New York. She was fortunate enough to enjoy a privileged life and grew up among the wealthy. The daughter of Daniel Cady, a prominent judge and Margaret Livingstone, she was the eighth of eleven children.
closest to her. After her only brother died she tried to please her father by
Thoreau’s piece was written prior to the civil war, and was in response to the Mexican-American war and slavery in some territories. It was intended for US citizens; more specifically, those who are unhappy with the way the United States government is ran. Thoreau spent a night in jail for his belief when he refused to pay a poll tax, which is a main point in his piece. Similarly, King’s piece was written during the civil rights movement in response to him being incarcerated for ‘parading without a permit’, and countless other racially based incidents. After being arrested, King read a newspaper article, by 7 priests and 2 rabbis, that asked African Americans to stop their protests, so he wrote back to them stating his point of view. Both pieces of work are highly regarded to this
... questioning the virtue of vapid judgment, and the merit and efficaciousness of abeyance. This paper has specifically examined his reaction to accusations of civil disobedience, extremism, and admonitions favoring quietism, and the impact his retaliations had on the goal of equality in America. While misrepresentation turns out to be the opposition’s most formidable tool, history, logic and rhetoric serve as King’s strongest allies, allowing him to turn the tenuous arguments of his critics into a formidable bulwark. The letter’s greatest impact on the audience is King’s disambiguation of fact and myth. The fact that his letter was widely publicized proved invaluable to the cause as well. But beyond this, King’s rhetoric allows no room for opposition, only for defense, leaving those in disharmony with his words on the side of immorality, injustice, and villainy.
King’s role in the civil rights movement cannot be underestimated. Known as one of the most influential writers and orators of the 20th century, in his Letter from Birmingham jail King used his aptitude as a persuasive writer to address the criticisms posed by the clergymen. There are several persuasive devices in rhetoric that classify a speaker’s appeal to their audience: the use of emotional appeals, appeals to authority and appeals to logic as well the all important call to action that mobilizes a social movement. King adeptly utilizes these strategies to justify his role and methods fighting long-standing prejudices against blacks in Americ...
The tears and complaints of the women who came to my father for legal advice touched my heart and drew my attention to the injustice and cruelty of the laws. I could not understand why my father could not alleviate the sufferings of these women (Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Excerpts from her Autobiography)”. So she grew up hearing these women and hear them coming to try and do something about their rights, so this inspired her to do something to create change. Stanton’s father was against women having rights and what all she had partaken in until 1854 when she was preparing her first speech to the New York Legislator. She went in his office and read him the speech as part of practice and when she looked up he was crying because he had finally realized what it meant to her and how awful it really was that women didn’t have rights. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the most influential women during the women’s suffragist movement. She spoke to crowds of thousands of people and influential people in the government about how women should have equal rights; she even helped create the National Women’s Suffrage Association, along with the help of Susan B.
Although Thoreau and King both correspondingly address these topics of morality and justice throughout their essays, their essays are in no way similar in writing styles, tones, and/or goals. King speaks to his readers about the injustice that is being served to African Americans specifically. He uses an emotional appeal as he pleads his readers to take action to end segregation. This emotional appeal combined with his optimism for freedom sets him and his writing different from that of Thoreau’s. Thoreau’s essay on the other hand, is largely critical of the unfair American Government. Unlike King, Thoreau worriedly speaks to his readers in a distressed, aggravated tone as he reprimands them for following unjust laws. Thoreau’s essay is also different from King’s because he presents more than one goal. Not only does he describe the government’s unfair laws, but he also teaches his readers how and why to revolt, and tells them to bring an end to the ongoing M...
Speeches are a method of persuading people to do something. For Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, their speeches were to bring equality for the people of color. However, their approaches are different. Consequently, the effects may be different. An example of their contrasting differences is a speech from each, King’s “I Have a Dream” and X’s “The Black Revolution”. Their speeches used pathos, a central metaphor, and a warning, but was presented differently.
Throughout King’s speech, he uses the rhetorical mode, pathos, to give the audience an ambience of strong emotions such as sympathy. For example, whites had sympathy for African Americans and parents had sympathy for their children. The way that King tells his speech takes the focus off of race and reestablishes it on the aspiration of a world without racism. “…by making his audience no longer hate Negroes and instead hate racism and wish for a new, better world…” (L., Anson). Dr. King made the audience sympathize with African Americans, helping the audience realize that racist people and bias ideas caused the true dilemma of discrimination. Through making the audience realize this, he also gave them hope for a world reborn without racism, without segregation, without discrimination, and without hate. King wanted his children to live in a world without judgment of race, but with the consideration of personality, for nobody should not endure judgment because of the way that they look. He spoke of his own children, which introduced a reinforced emotional attachment to the audience; this gave many parents a scenario to relate to because no parent wants ...