Katori Hall's play, The Mountaintop, illustrates the internal conflicts of Martin Luther King Jr. as he is forced to question his spirituality and legacy when coming face to face with his guardian angel. Throughout the play, Martin Luther King Jr., played by Bowman Wright, continues to demonstrate the following themes, such as perceived concepts of heroism versus the practical flaws of the every individual, morality, and the civil rights movement. While the play mainly revolves around the developing dream of Martin Luther King Jr, the course of actions displayed by Camae, the guardian angel, portrayed by actress Patrese D. McClain convey themes such as facing both the beauty within the darkness of reality, the providing further …show more content…
At the very beginning of the play, Martin Luther King Jr. is alone in his room on a rainy night, trying to write a speech that he's incapable of completing at the moment. While the course of events continues to head south for the severely horsed King, as he loses his toothbrush, is stuck with smelly shoes, and has a power outage, the creative artists at the People’s Light Theater portray a dark and dreary atmosphere for the story to start. Although subtle at first, the darkness becomes more notable once Camae, a big, bright ball of contrasting energy brings King the cup of coffee he had ordered, demonstrating the theme of balancing light and dark. As the play progresses, Dr. King examines his achievements, failures, and unfinished dreams such as not buying his daughter who he would never see again, a flower. Reminiscing about how happy the small little flower made his daughter, he became happy, yet at that moment, the stage became surrounded amongst dark colored lights as one soft white light projected onto a small grouping of flowers. King's memories suddenly had a bittersweet feeling to them as he realized he would never share that moment again with his daughter. The contrast between the coloring of the lights mixed with the at first happy story displayed the theme of balancing light and dark in …show more content…
McClain, who played the Camae, the angel. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr., Camae is not a representation of any human in reality, therefore the actor has less restraint to express their creative freedom and artistic capabilities in an attempt to create an individual from scratch with no prior information on them as cheat sheet of persuasion. With the character of Martin Luther King Jr. one can proceed to fill in the objectives and tactics in accordance with the research on him and the aspects of his life which one should be conducted immediately, but with a character like Camae, you do not get that opportunity. Instead, you get the script and the end results depend on whether you're capable of thoroughly analyzing the character, picking up on what the playwright intends, and creating a person from scratch. Also, Camae serves as a storytelling device, that allows the audience to witness a more personal side of Dr. King which the public eye has never viewed. Not only does she show this idolized man as just a human, but she also represents the baton he passes in the fight for equality as she expresses her own views on racism, poverty, and the civil rights movement. She is important by demonstrating that anyone can reach out and help resolve injustice and inequality, even a maid can be as kind as an
To depict the unfair daily lives of African Americans, Martin Luther King begins with an allegory, a boy and a girl representing faultless African Americans in the nation. The readers are able to visualize and smell the vermin-infested apartment houses and the “stench” of garbage in a place where African American kids live. The stench and vermin infested houses metaphorically portray our nation being infested with social injustice. Even the roofs of the houses are “patched-up” of bandages that were placed repeatedly in order to cover a damage. However, these roofs are not fixed completely since America has been pushing racial equality aside as seen in the Plessy v. Ferguson court case in which it ruled that African Americans were “separate but equal”. Ever since the introduction of African Americans into the nation for slavery purposes, the society
The children know of great black people and their ability to move forward but America has failed them. Another rhetorical strategy King uses is procatalepsis. He raises questions with seemingly obvious answers like “Had they shirked their duty as patriots, betrayed their country…Had they refused to defend their land against a foreign foe?” He forces his reader to answer these questions, ultimately leading to self-reflection. The powerful question “Why does misery constantly haunt the negro?” seems rather unexplainable; if it’s not justified it needs to be changed. King pushes for change by causing the reader to think critically. Throughout the passage, King challenges the reader rhetorically, defending the black race and pushing for
the main theme of the play. With out this scene in the play I don’t
As King stood before the massive crowd of Americans, he urged the citizens of the United States to turn their hatred of colored people into a hatred of the true evil: racism. King continually states that the black people are being held back by the “chains of discrimination.” King uses this to make the audience feel that the black people are in great misfortune. King describes the white people as swimming in an “ocean of material prosperity” while the black people are stranded on a “lonely island of poverty.” Here, King magnificently uses the Declaration of Independence and implores the audiences’ emotions on all levels, wielding pathos as his Rhetorical weapon. Prejudices surrounded the nation and caused fear, anger, panic, rage, and many more intense emotions. All people who lived in this time period experienced these prejudices in one form or another. King takes the idea of these prejudices and describes a world without all of the hate and fear. He imagines an ideal world that all races, not just black people, would find more pleasant and peaceful. Moreover, King references how the United States has broken their promise to the men of color by refusing them the basic human rights granted in the foundational documents of the country: the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. His speech, entitled “I Have a Dream” was given in front of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. Dr. King used his speech as a rally for people, blacks and whites alike, who desired equality and social justice, but there is so much more to it than what appears on the surface. Dr. King employs a number of stylistic techniques, all of which serving a purpose too subtle for the naked eye to pick up. Dr. King uses the stylistic techniques of word choice, metaphors, and repetition to fuel hope and bring about change.
Racism and equality was a major problem that dominated America and is still a major issue today. During Martin Luther King Jr.’s time, these problems were at its’ highest peak. On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his revolutionary “I Have A Dream” speech in Lincoln Memorial Park. This speech demanded justice and equality for African Americans. King was one of many protesters who fought long and hard for equality and freedom to all Americans. His speech told the dreams of millions of Americans, demanding a free, equal, and just nation. In his speech, he stressed the idea of equality between colored and whites, and connected his pain with millions. Ethos, pathos, and metaphor are three of the elements that made Martin Luther
There he stands atop the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial, in the nations’ capital, at a podium, speaking to the world. The crowds faces full of hope. Ears opened wide and clear, for the Dr. is speaking today. He is speaking from the heart and telling the nation that he has a “DREAM.” Dr. King had a dream and as most people think that it is geared towards blacks and whites, it’s not. Dr. King wanted equality between everybody. He wanted freedom from racism and prejudice throughout the nation. He was very good in getting the emotional perspective of persuasion across to his audience. King was a very inspirational man; his words were so true and full of meaning. He spoke to everyone and got everybody involved. This is why people followed him and why I think this is the most persuasive piece we have read. He not only implies his wants but he carries along with him the wants and needs of every man or woman ever treated poorly because of the color of their skin or their beliefs. There is a certain unexplainable meaning and feeling when a man like King steps up in front of the world and says, “I have a Dream.”
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
Dr. King uses imagery in his writing that makes the audience visualize what he has seen. He knows that the white moderates have strong family values, so he reaches out to them by providing stories about children. There is one story about a little girl who has just seen an ad on television and when she asks her father if she can go, he has to look his daughter in the eye and tell her that ?Funtown is closed to colored children?(King 561). He then goes on to explain about how that forces that young child to grow up to feel inferior and to begin to hate because she has darker skin than the other children do. Then there is another story about the family taking a cross-country vacation and having to ??sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile?? because motels would not accept colored people (King 561). It ...
In conclusion, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare effectively uses the motifs of the seasons, the moon, and dreams to show that love, irrationality, and disobedience directly cause chaos. By calling to mind the seasons in unnatural order, describing the moon behaving strangely, and discussing the dualistic, irrational nature of dreams, Shakespeare effectively evokes a sense of chaos and disorder. Linking each of these motifs to the themes of love, irrationality, and disobedience allows Shakespeare to illustrate the disarray that is bound to result from any romance.
King used an appeal to pathos, in order to persuade his viewers to aid in the quest for equality. By using the power of human emotion, King established the connection needed to ...
... He feels as if we were there to live. He puts us in the setting of the time of, which the speech was given, as he brings the setting alive. He talks about the daybreak, long night, talks about the daytime and night being in the “sweltering heat” Following, Martin Luther King Jr. took part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. When the King family lived in Montgomery, the city had its own struggles.
With the whole United States watching Martin Luther King Jr. told the world about his dreams. Just as he would not rest until his voice was heard, African American literature would not stop either. Together they opened the American’s eye to the lives being lived by many African Americans for the first time. Many of these stories, poems, essays, and plays held common themes of having dreams, dreams with which could not be achieved due to the overbearing power of the White man, dreams just like that of Martin Luther King Jr. The theme of racism inhibiting the chance for African Americans to better themselves is common in American literature up until the late 1900’s. The poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, the essay “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, and the short story “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin all adhere to this theme. This theme is made clear in these works through the use of setting, characterization, and language.
Hamlet answers her question of why he takes exception to her by berating her for insinuating his character is lacking. In society today I see white and black. White representing happiness, goodness,...
Considered to be the greatest playwright to ever have lived, William Shakespeare’s works continue to fascinate and entrance audiences around the world. Imbued with imagery, his comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream is perhaps one of his more fantastic but none the less intricate plays. Presiding over the proceedings, the moon is the uniting feature of the play. With its multi-layered symbolism it is the thread that connects the different characters and weaves the tale together.