Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Essay

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The main purpose of a persuasive text is to convince the readers to agree with or support the individual’s point of view. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an emotional and politically influential speech “I Have a Dream…” that includes many persuasive techniques.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. King, both a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist, had an important influence on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s. Through his involvement, he played a critical role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of that nation.
On August 28, 1963, King gave an emotional and political speech for freedom “I Have a Dream...” He used symbolism, metaphorical imagery, repetition, emotive and controlled language and other powerful techniques to create an impact on the audience.
King’s speech begins with a very strong use of language that creates a logical and emotional appeal on his audience. His logical appeal is created when stating that the Emancipation Proclamation gave “hope to millions of Negro slaves who had seared in the flames of withering injustice.” Throughout his opening sentences he creates an emotional appeal by his emotive language; he describes that it has been one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation but still “the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”
King uses symbolism and metaphorical references to convince his audience that there must be equality for all races. A clear example of this is shown when King is comparing the “sacred obligation” that has been given to the Negros as a “bad check, a check which has come back marked i...

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...the most significant moment in this speech occurs towards the conclusion. When King is demonstrating “his dream” he uses repetition of “let freedom ring” combined with influential diction to create his final emotional appeal.
King’s persuasive strategies demonstrate ethos, pathos, and logos to help the audience understand Martin Luther King Jr’s message and purpose.“I have a dream…” had the power to move millions of people and to get them to fight for their freedom. With the use of persuasive techniques Martin Luther King Jr achieved this with this one speech. This speech demonstrates the diction, symbolism, and metaphorical language needed to create an emotional, logical, and credible appeal that influenced the nation positively. The efforts King had in fact changed America and the world for the better. His vision has ensured that African-Americans have a voice.

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