In Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, “I Have a Dream,” Dr. King addresses the nation in the March on Washington during one of America’s most fragile and dark times. King carries on his shoulders the responsibility of bringing a broken nation back together. He attempts to appeal to his audience of several thousand people through his use of logos, ethos, and pathos. King understands the importance of his opportunity; he needs to capture the attention and grab the heartstrings of his massive audience of people from all walks of life. Dr. King begins his speech with the use of ethos in order to gain credibility with his audience. He does so initially by making the audience associate him with Abraham Lincoln: a powerful, and respected United Martin Luther King, Jr., uses pathos to make his speech appeal emotionally to his audience. He uses painful imagery such as, “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (King). By metaphorically linking slavery with segregation, King hopes to show that though the physical “manacles” are no longer present, the emotional and social bondage is still very real and very painful for an entire segment of America’s population. Dr. King knew that it was important for his listeners not only to sympathize, but also to empathize with the African American people. As a father himself King knew that it is more difficult to harbor ill will towards a child, so perhaps that is why he includes, “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 the content of Martin Luther King, Jr., attempts the near impossible–to convince a country run rampant with racism that African Americans are human beings, and that they deserve to be treated as such. His speech is powerful and effective; his message transcends time with his ability to stir the moral conscience of the country as a whole while still delivering hope to the African American people. Though Dr. King’s words are poetic and eloquent, they demand action within the hearts and minds of all listening. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will not rest until, “all of God’s children,” can sing together, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at
During the 1960s inequality was a major problem in the United States. One advocate for making things right was Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King organized many marches, sit-ins, and boycotting events. But one of Dr. King’s greatest and memorable works has to be the “I Have a Dream” speech. During this speech Dr. King was conveying a message of freedom for all, to 250,000 civil right followers and many more people listening to the radio broadcast. To spread his message Dr. King uses rhetorical appeals like logos to appeal to the reason of his audience, ethos by his examples of practicing what he preached, and his metaphorical language and repetition.
The goal of the ethos appeal is to emphasize credibility. He addresses the letter with “My Dear Fellow Clergymen”; although this is a simple statement, he is essentially putting himself on the same “level” as them. By connecting with them, he is more likely to persuade. In his second paragraph, King establishes his trustworthiness by saying “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King, 1963). A president is someone who is typically trusted and has everyone’s best interest at heart, so by presenting his status as a president, the audience is likely to respect him. He furthers his credentials by comparing himself to Apostle Paul and referring to Socrates; one can apply he is educated by referring to these two. Not only is this implying his education, but rather alluding to many valued figures in
The speaker is Martin Luther King Jr, an African American who had to deal with all the cruelty and unequalness that blacks were getting. The occasion is to get equal rights for everyone in America, no matter their race or gender. The audience that Martin was connecting to was people with authority that would change the conditions of their lives and hardships, but was also to everyone that would listen and would try to make a difference. The purpose for King writing this speech was to get equal rights and show people that everyone is the same. The subject of the speech is the rights of african americans and how they are the same as whites. The tone Martin has is determined and destined to get the outcome the way he wants it to
Whenever Martin Luther King Junior, began to speak, he held everybody’s attention. This was the case in 1963 during the pinnacle of the Civil Rights Movement when Martin gave his career defining speech “I Have a Dream”. Over a quarter million people attended the protest, and the crowd varied in color as well as cause. A crowd of this size would certainly frighten most people; but Martin was not the type of man to be phased easily. Martin grew up on the racist streets of Atlanta, Georgia and faced much adversity in his life. Not even thirty-five Martin would give a speech that would shake an embroiled nation to its core. Martin Luther King Junior gave a speech to beautifully wove together the three appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos into one
Dr. King is an emotional, inspiring and strong speaker. His " I Have A Dream" speech tugs a deep root war of emotions in every American’s heart; therefore, this speech is the perfect display of pathos. Even though pathos overwhelm logo and ethos, they also very much present in his speech.
Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is a valuable and memorable piece of rhetoric. King’s speech includes different types of claim such as fact, value, and policy. The structure of the speech is well-planned. The speech is supported with all three persuasive appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. For example, Dr. King describes that “...the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chins of discrimination...the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land” (King). This creates pathos or an emotional appeal on the audience,...
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than two score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to all under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.
uses ethos to deliver his message to encourage his audience his fight for their rights because they are not alone. He uses ethos to gain the audience’s truth prove his knowledge and credibility. He references famous Americans such as the Founding Fathers and Abe Lincoln. “Five years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.) He referenced a President who many respected at the time for fighting for them and granting them their freedom. “When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men-yes, black men as well as white men-would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” (King) Everyone is entitled to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Our Founding Fathers said it themselves. This showed King’s audience that all they had to do was fight for what is already theirs,
On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous and powerful speech I Have a Dream, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The purpose of his speech was to fight for the civil rights, equality, and to stop the discrimination against African-American people. His use of imagery, repetition, and metaphor in his speech had created an impact with his audience. King used the three rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos and logos to help the audience understand the message of his speech.
King peacefully pleads for racial tolerance and the end of segregation by appealing to the better side of white Americans. His attempt to persuade America about the justice of his cause, and to gain support for the civil rights movement was emotionally moving. He spoke to all races, but his rhetoric was patriotic, and culturally similar to, and focused on African-Americans. He was able to make practical use of a history many Americans are proud of. The use of repetition reinforced his words making it simpler and more straightforward to follow. His speech remains powerful because it is still relevant today, like economic injustices and stereotyping. This reading can be applied to remedying current issues of stereotyping, racism, and discrimination by changing white racial resentment and eliminating racial
A little over 50 years ago, black people were segregated from white people in the United States. Many people of both races were unhappy and in disgust with this treatment of the African Americans. One man stood up to write a moving, groundbreaking, powerful speech about how black men deserve everything white men do, according to the founding documents. Martin Luther King Jr. tells his audience of 250,000 that they need to take immediate action against this injustice against mankind. This speech was “I Have a Dream”. The speech leaves a meaningful imprint on its audience through the way King uses strong diction and urgent organization. He paints a picture in the reader and listener’s mind through his use of figures of speech.
Ethos or ethical appeal is used to help the audience know that the speaker is being fair, knowledgeable, considerate and trustworthy with his words. “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” (King 852) King shows how this moment will change the way African Americans were treated in the past and how he hopes for today’s generation will change how people see them. He wants them to trust in his words, to know that he is knowledgeable about the long suffering their ancestors had to go through. In another part of his speech, Kings says “But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” (King 853) King is appealing to his audience that though wrongful doing has been done to them, they need to be the better person by not stooping to the level of injustice they had previously had to endure. He wants them to be considerate of others even if consideration was not shown to them in the
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important voices of America, who used non-violent methods to fight for freedom and equality for all in his nation. On August 28th, 1969, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., King delivered his most iconic speech “I Have a Dream.” In this speech, repetition, ethos, pathos, and logos are used to persuade the audience about the importance of the Civil Rights Movement. To create the greatest demonstration for freedom, he used these literary devices to “dramatize a shameful condition” (“I Have a Dream”). Although his life was taken away, his legacy continues to live on today.
In Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, King makes use of an innumerable amount of rhetorical devices that augment the overall understanding and flow of the speech. King makes the audience feel an immense amount of emotion due to the outstanding use of pathos in his speech. King also generates a vast use of rhetorical devices including allusion, anaphora, and antithesis. The way that King conducted his speech adds to the comprehension and gives the effect that he wants to rise above the injustices of racism and segregation that so many people are subjected to on a daily basis.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most notable speeches in American history, at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King started off his famous “I Have a Dream” speech by stating the impact it would have on America’s civil rights movement: “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” (King 1). With knowledge of rhetoric and persuasion, King had a substantial impact on the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos appeals enable King to persuade the audience to achieve equality.