The Rhetoric of Pathos in the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have a dream," says Dr. Samuel Proctor, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Rutgers University. "All the little children--you hear everywhere you go: 'I have a dream.' All the little children repeating that speech. It's become like the 'Star Spangled Banner' or the 'Pledge of Allegiance.' It's entered our culture." And so it has: "I have a dream" has become one of the most memorable phrases of the twentieth century. Of all the many speeches delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on that hot, steamy day of August 28, 1963, no other remarks have had such an impact as those of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His words reflected then, and continue to do so now, the deep sense of pathos in the plight of African-Americans throughout the United States, a socio-economic and political context rooted in injustices orchestrated by unfair, discriminatory practices that were designed to intimidate and dominate the nation's African-Americans behind a veneer of social and political platitudes accepted as givens by others in the same society. Those easy assumptions Dr. King challenged in his reflections on the African-American's experience to that time.
What set apart his remarks from all the others that day, however, were elements of style--an oratorical style--that Dr. King had honed in speech after speech for years. He was, in fact, a much practiced orator. A comparison of almost any set of his remarks reveals the key to the dramatic sense of pathos that still accent his works for readers today.
The distinguishing features of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s style which so personalize his works are his rich allusions, figures of speech, and parallelism. These th...
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...uinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust (293).
In the name of eternal and natural law, Dr. King joined in the long train of reformers, dating in the American and Western tradition to Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience, to the Continental Congress's "Declaration of Independence," and John Locke's apostrophe to democracy, his "Essay on Civil Government." Dr. King's words still urge us all to sharpen our sensitivity to universal law that makes each of us "free at last."
Works Cited
King, Martin Luther, Jr. "I Have a Dream." A Testament of Hope. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1986. 217-220.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham City Jail." A Testament of Hope. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1986. 289-302.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is a skilled rhetor and his use of semicolons and long sentences is perfectly crafted to make the reader feel as if they are personally witnessing the horrors taking place against the Negroes. The semicolons continue the thoughts, linking them to each other and showing that their plight is never-ending. A part of the continuous sentence that is extremely touching is the following:
Lischer, Richard The Preacher King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the word that moved America Oxford University Press: 1995. Print
Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, was well known for his nonviolent movement to bring justice and to an end to the segregation of the people in the United States back in the 1950s. With King being the leader of a peaceful protest, it failed to bring equally to the colored people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled as an “outsider” who was “hatred and violence” and that his actions were “unwise and untimely” from the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen (clergymen). In response, on the day of April 16, 1963, he wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to declare and defense his movement was not “unwise and untimely” at all. To analyze his points, King used the powerful literary devices of pathos- use of an emotional appeal.ethos-
Thomas Jefferson, an educated, well respected career man, served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and president of the United States. The Revolutionary era, during the 1770's, proved to be one of America's most victorious times. Despite the casualties the American colonies suffered, they proved to be stronger than their ruling land, Britain, and won the right to be a free land, becoming the United States of America. Living through this difficult turning point in history inspired Jefferson to write "The Declaration of Independence." Once again, nearly two hundred years later, America faced yet another turning point in history. Watching America struggle through racial integration in the 1960's, King was outraged by how Blacks were being treated, not only by citizens, but by law enforcement. Police brutality became increasingly prevalent, especially in the South, during riots and protests. As a revered clergyman, civil rights leader, and Nobel Prize winner, King's writings sprung from a passion to help America become the land Jefferson, among many people, had promised it to be. ...
In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.
Martin Luther King Jr. uses many rhetorical devices to make his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” a masterpiece. He uses ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to the Clergymen in a credible and trustworthy manner, appealing to the logic and reasoning behind his arguments, and to appeal the Clergymen's emotions. King uses other rhetorical devices that support his appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos that add effects to the letter. Other devices he uses include: allusions, parallelism, illness and health contrast, irony, imagery, anaphora, and personification. He creates a complex writing that respectfully, but critically corrects the Clergymen's statements from their letter to King entitled “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen”.
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
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 while he was imprisoned in the Birmingham Jail for being involved in nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter is directed at eight white clergymen from Alabama who were very cynical and critical towards African Americans in one of their statements. Throughout the letter, King maintains an understanding yet persistent tone by arguing the points of the clergymen and providing answers to any counterarguments they may have. In the letter, King outlines the goals of his movement and says that he will fight racial inequality wherever it may be. Dr. King uses the appeal three main rhetorical devices – ethos, logos, and pathos – in order to firmly, yet politely, argue the clergymen on the injustices spoken of in their statement.
In 1963, Martin Luther King wrote a response to clergymen who criticized his actions while he was stuck in the Birmingham city jail. This letter, titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, was written on the side of a newspaper and secretly taken out of jail by King’s lawyer. The goal of this letter was to address and confront concerns that were brought up in the clergymen’s letter titled, “A Call for Unity”. In “A Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King asserts a strong emotional appeal on the clergymen who oppose his actions by placing guilt on them when he inserts Biblical references periodically throughout his letter.
King, Martin L. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]." Letter to Fellow Clergymen. 16
... and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" are very different in terms of literary technique and approach, the two works bear some uncanny similarities that yield some surprising likenesses in many aspects. The comparisons and contrasts drawn here highlight the most significant of those features with respect to the works of two men who are both revered for the virtues they espoused during their lifetimes.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor, activist, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Mr. King was a man of honor and respect even in the troubling situations of serving jail time. People who were supposed to support him questioned his actions, Dr. King still stood by what he believed in. In Birmingham, Alabama Dr. King hoped that the white religious leaders will come to his aid but instead found reluctance and opposition. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. refutes his critics claims through the use of passionate tones, metaphors, and allusions.
King uses in his speech is Pathos, which is the appeal to someone 's emotions or beliefs. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. presented a strong feeling towards African-American people about how they were treated as equal individuals “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (King par. 3). Another example of pathos that Dr. King used was when he uses vocabulary and phrases, such as “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream” (King par. 12). He uses the appeal of emotion, especially the word of choice and diction to let his audience’s know what he would like to see in the
proved to be extremely helpful in aiding my understanding of King’s speech. Although not any one of the books were all-encompassing, they provided vital information that made my research more efficient. In my opinion, The Dream, by Drew D. Hansen, proved to be the strongest of the compositions because it provided information that was overlooked in my other selections. This work detailed the events before, during, and after his “I Have a Dream” speech. At the same time, it also dove into the important aspects of his philosophies which later became the driving force of his March on Washington. Moreover, this book provided graphics that compared the written notes of King’s sermons and speeches to the dialogue that was actually given. Correspondingly, it used the same technique to explain and organize his metaphorical references. In contrast, I found that “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.” was the weakest of the three books. Since this book sheds light on King’s entire life, the “I Have a Dream” portion was somewhat short and undetailed compared to the other selections. Also, due to the lack of a third person analysis, it seemed one dimensional and monotonous. As a result of these issues, I was less interested in quoting the material and more concerned with obtaining an understanding of King’s thought
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 understanding 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. Throughout King’s speech, he uses the rhetorical mode, pathos, to give the audience an ambience of strong emotions such as sympathy.