One of the most famous persuasive speeches of the 20th century was Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. His soaring rhetoric demanding equality and justice in an integrated society became an idol for the black community and is as familiar to younger generations of Americans as the Declaration of Independence. This speech made our country stop and listen as King gave them a voice to remember in front of the Lincoln Memorial in the August of 1963. As one of the most famous Civil Rights leaders of all time, King had a persuasive magic about him while delivering this speech. His speech was not effective solely due to the words written on the paper, however, but also because of the rhetorical faculties devolved hundreds of years before …show more content…
He then dives in and tells his audience that even though 100 years ago the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, they are still “sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” These powerful words are not said with any sense of fear or lingering hesitation but with a rhythmic confidence in what he was proclaiming. He then goes on in clarifying that “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’." His use of loud metaphors and patriotic diction also adds to his persuasive and authoritative statements. He expands on the “check” metaphor and claims, “that [he] refuses to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” King emphasizes that they have come to collect the freedom and security of justice that they deserve and are entitled to. He inserts the demand of urgency by using repetition of the short but aggressive word “now.” King goes on in stressing that “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation …show more content…
Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech inspired a generation of black people to never give up and instilled a bitter sense of guilt in thousands of white Americans who were ashamed of their actions. Even hearing this speech in today’s society gives many people goose bumps as it continues to promote people against racial segregation of any kind along with endorsing social colorblindness. King’s effective structure along with his usage of George Campbell’s rhetorical faculties intended to help connect with the audience by helping to: inform and argue his reasons against racial inequality, provide aesthetic delight from the location and of the description of a new society, to affect the feelings of his audience by emphasizing on patriotic words and holistic intentions, and urging action from his listener by warning them not to let this treatment continue one more day. This speech effectively serves as a masterpiece of rhetoric as it persuaded hundreds of thousands of people to support the blacks instead of treating them
King proceeds to the latter part of his speech by declaring the need for peaceful resistance. His analogies of man “carving highways of death in the stratosphere” (3) and how non peaceful defiance will contribute to “a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation” (3) soundly depicts his ideals of how African Americans should reach true freedom and equality only through pacifism. He mandates this passiveness in order to bring about change insightfully because his goal is not to wage war against their oppressors but to defeat the evil sentiment held by the nation. King’s remarkable aptitude and brilliant intuition in his dialogue enables the reader to appreciate and concede to his ideals.
Martin Luther King Junior’s “I have a dream speech” is an important and famous speech in history, and even still a today a wonderful speech. What makes kings speech so grate? It’s his knowledge of figurative language. By using figurative language, he made people know how bad segregation was. King’s use of figurative language makes excellent examples on the effective use of metaphors.
He starts of his speech by showing how the Emancipation of Proclamation was supposed to free them but didn’t. King says, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation of Proclamation.” He then shows how the African Americans feel after this whole time of when they supposedly had their freedom. Dr. King shares, “One hundred years later, the Negro still languishes in th...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important voices of America, who used non-violent methods to fight for freedom and equality for all in his nation. On August 28th, 1969, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., King delivered his most iconic speech “I Have a Dream.” In this speech, repetition, ethos, pathos, and logos are used to persuade the audience about the importance of the Civil Rights Movement. To create the greatest demonstration for freedom, he used these literary devices to “dramatize a shameful condition” (“I Have a Dream”). Although his life was taken away, his legacy continues to live on today.
During the 1960s inequality was a major problem in the United States. One advocate for making things right was Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King organized many marches, sit-ins, and boycotting events. But one of Dr. King’s greatest and memorable works has to be the “I Have a Dream” speech. During this speech Dr. King was conveying a message of freedom for all, to 250,000 civil right followers and many more people listening to the radio broadcast. To spread his message Dr. King uses rhetorical appeals like logos to appeal to the reason of his audience, ethos by his examples of practicing what he preached, and his metaphorical language and repetition.
Speeches are a method of persuading people to do something. For Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, their speeches were to bring equality for the people of color. However, their approaches are different. Consequently, the effects may be different. An example of their contrasting differences is a speech from each, King’s “I Have a Dream” and X’s “The Black Revolution”. Their speeches used pathos, a central metaphor, and a warning, but was presented differently.
In King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he uses rhetorical strategies to capture his audience and to keep their attention as well. One style that Dr. King used when he delivered his speech was Ethos, which is establishing his own credibility to
Alleged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his “I Have A Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Dr. King said “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Meaning there shall be equality between one another. Dr. King grew up around pastors in a Baptist Church, so when he gave his speeches he sounded like a preacher. He was a well-educated person who graduated from Boston University and received his Doctorate degree. Plus he was a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race. Being a strong worker and having knowledge of civil rights made him more of a confident and convincing speaker. Therefore, In Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, he pointed out to African Americans, that in the near future the African Americans would have equal rights and liberty like all the other Caucasians have. In this speech I have found Dr. King using logos, ethos, and pathos to get his attention across about equality and to make his speech sound more effective. Out of the three rhetorical appeals I have found that Dr. King used ethos the most predominately followed by the second most effective, pathos, and how King is a convincing speaker to his audience.
Thought the 1950s and 1960s, the tension between those who agreed and disagreed with segregation and discrimination of African Americans increased. The African American community was sick and tired of just being pushed around, so they began to stand up for themselves. Many people didn’t warm up to this idea, but, due to the many inspiring speeches given throughout the movement by Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and others, they started to involve themselves in the movement. Two of those speeches were “Message to the Grassroots” by Malcolm X and “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King. Even though both people had very different view on how this movement should have been like, they used similar rhetorical techniques in there speeches as a way to
It is evident that Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential speakers of the Civil Rights Movement. What sets King aside from other speakers of his generation was his use of rhetorical devices laced within his speeches. In his famous speech “I Have a Dream...”, Martin Luther King Jr. uses allusions, anaphora and, pathos to inform the attendees of his speech about the segregation and discrimination expressed towards African Americans as well as, persuade both blacks and whites to fight for equality. Martin Luther King Jr. begins his speech with the use of an allusion.
King uses the metaphor “to cash a check” (American Rhetoric: King.) to show that “America has given the Negro people a bad check.” (American Rhetoric: King.) This creates a picture in the audience’s minds that America hasn’t treated African Americans the way they should be treated, which King thinks they should be created equal, like the whites. On the other hand, whites think that African Americans are “insufficient funds” (American Rhetoric: King.) White people believe that African Americans shouldn’t be treated equally because the color of their skin is the contrast of white. King sticks with checks and banking metaphor, but transitions to not only African Americans, but society in general. A bank is bigger than a check, so King moves onto a “bank of justice,” (American Rhetoric: King.) the ‘bank’ represents society, and of course justice, meaning fairness and freedom. King states “the bank of justice is bankrupt,” (American Rhetoric: King.) The ‘bankrupt’ part, means that society has nothing to give for African Americans freedom. Metaphors represent a powerful and an imaginative way to appeal to his
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most notable speeches in American history, at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King started off his famous “I Have a Dream” speech by stating the impact it would have on America’s civil rights movement: “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation” (King 1). With knowledge of rhetoric and persuasion, King had a substantial impact on the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos appeals enable King to persuade the audience to achieve equality.
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 comprehension 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.
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than two score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to all under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.
King begins his speech by referencing important historical documents such as the Constitution of the United States and the Emancipation Proclamation. This is emphasized when he states, ”Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation...But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free”. Which shows how even though the Emancipation Proclamation freed the African Americans from slavery, they still are not free because of segregation. He then transitions to the injustice and suffering that the African Americans face. He makes this