Rhetorical Analysis Of Mlk Speech

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When most people hear the name Martin Luther King Jr., they automatically think of his famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” A major reason his speech is so popular and well-liked is because of how influential it was. In this persuasive speech, Martin Luther King Jr. passionately expressed his thoughts about equality to the public in order to unite everyone through equal rights. Due to the strong points he made, his rhetorical context, his use of appeals, and the tone he used, this speech became one of the most persuasive and effective speeches ever conducted. During the time this great speech was delivered, segregation had clearly been a major issue. By that time the Emancipation Proclamation, Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, …show more content…

made many strong points in his speech. He talked about how the Emancipation Proclamation and the Declaration of Independence were supposed to slow the segregation of blacks and whites, yet 100 years later, they were still having major segregation. King then went on to discuss equality. He strongly pointed towards the fact that he wanted equal rights for everyone in this country, no matter what color your skin was. He stated that everyone is brothers in this country, so everybody should act that way instead of separating people solely based on their skin color. MLK then goes on to share his dreams. King stated that he has a dream that all states will be a place of freedom and justice. Also, he expressed that he has a dream that his children will be able to play with others while not being judged by their skin color. Furthermore, King said that he has a dream that all little boys and girls will be able to hold hands in harmony as brothers and sisters rather than enemies. Finally, MLK strongly states that he has a dream that everyone will be able to do everything together in freedom without …show more content…

used stylistic tools as well. He used logic, emotion, and credibility in order to better persuade. MLK used logos when he described the Emancipation Proclamation and the Declaration of Independence in order to prove that slavery was, in fact, supposed to be terminated by that point in history. Logos were also used when he explained this different levels of segregation between some states like Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi. His ethos are that a black male during that time of segregation and he is using his personal experience knowledge as well as his knowledge of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Declaration of Independence. King used pathos when he talked about how everyone should not being alone, unlike how they were at the time, and when he called white people positive names, like brothers, instead of more pessimistic names. He also repeated the statement that he had a dream multiple times in order to emphasize and make it more of an emotional point. MLK also had a claim, reasons, and evidence to back it up. His claim was that our country was supposed to be segregation free, but black are still constantly separated from whites, but he has a dream that this country can be fixed and everyone can have equal rights, no matter what color your skin is. His reasoning is that although segregation should be near nonexistent by that time, it wasn’t and Martin Luther King Jr. wants to finally put an end to it. He has evidence from his personal

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