Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

983 Words2 Pages

As Dr. King stood on the step of the capital building in D.C before his followers, he used every rhetorical strategy to get his message across. African-Americans were on the verge of losing hope for their freedom. Dr. King knew it was up to him to be the voice of the people and to reassure his fellow Americans that freedom is the only option. His purpose of his speech was to assure every African-American that they were on the verge of justice. Dr. King used ethos and pathos to the African-Americans hooked and proceeded to use logos for the white-Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was effective in his “I Have a Dream” speech because he used his emotional appeal to let America know that what was going on was unconstitutional and inhuman. Dr. …show more content…

King’s most effective ploy is his “I Have a Dream” Spiel. King uses the pathos appeal by telling his fellow Americans the possibilities that lie in an equal world. It gives the people something to look forward to, not only for them, but their children as well. The enthusiasm he used and the references he made pumped the crowd up and made them ready for the worst possible outcomes. His credibility gave him the power because anything King said was like gold to the people. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.” This was a shot at the public and government officials, with those words he was challenging the people of power. When you look at America were supposed to be the greatest country and also the land of the free. He negated those thoughts and brought a challenge to our leaders through his rhetorical genius. King gave the people the most sensational sentence to persuade and give hope to his fellow people. He said, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) With those words, he single handedly gave the people the hope. To picture yourself being able to say that after all the cruel treatment is what lit the fuse of everyone around him. The words he used gave people a starting point of …show more content…

Also, when giving this speech, Dr. King’s voice was used in such a way that provided safety and sureness to its listeners. White-Americans would otherwise think of this as useless, thinking that the African-Americans wouldn’t be able to come together and fight this. King’s speech thoroughly negated that notion. The White-Americans also believed it would let them turn to violence, which is exactly what they wanted so they could hurt them back or have them go to jail. King’s words offered to the people that violence wasn’t the answer but to simply protest peacefully. He said, “Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) What needed to be done according to King, was that if you put your heart into this issue good things will come. King used all the hate and turned it into fuel, in which motored his mouth to words of wisdom and without it, it’s quite possible those days could still be a reality. Any time there were violent acts against African-Americans, King simply told his followers to let it go and your time will eventually

Open Document