Logos And Ethos In Martin Luther King's Inaugural Speech

602 Words2 Pages

In Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech and in John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961, you can see that they both include ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos is when there is credibility or trustworthiness in what you are saying, like an author. Logos is when there is logic or reasoning in what you said or wrote, like a text. Pathos is when there is a type of emotional appeal in what you said or wrote, this going to the audience. In Martin Luther King’s speech, I have a dream, Ethos can be found when King talks about civil rights and the unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In a way he also uses Lincoln and his views on civil rights to give him credibility (King, 1963). In John F. Kennedy’s inaugural …show more content…

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be no judge by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.” King also uses a bible verse to put faith in people to not give up (King, 1963). John F. Kennedy gets emotional in his speech when using the words “we”, “discipline”, “proud”, and “our.” This giving the American citizens pride (Kennedy, 1961). Both King and Kennedy wanted people to feel faith and pride within themselves. When it came to ethos in both King and Kennedy’s speech, King was mainly talking about getting human rights, while Kennedy was talking about how to get human rights. For logos, King’s listeners understood what he was saying and meant in his metaphor, while Kennedy wanted people to start understanding what he was trying to say. Pathos for King was talking about the future and how he wanted it to be. Kennedy talked about pride and people coming together in that aspect. Both Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy’s speeches represented ethos, logos, and pathos. Each brought a good meaning to their speeches, both being well delivered. King and Kennedy caught the attention of their audience, it being a big key factor. Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy’s speeches will always be known as one of the best speeches ever delivered to the American public, all because it

Open Document