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Rhetorical devices beyond vietnam a time to break silence
Rhetorical analysis essay on beyond vietnam
"Beyond Vietnam — A Time to Break Silence" rhetorical essay
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John Kerry once said, “I saw courage both in the Vietnam war and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service.” The Vietnam War was not supported by everyone, and with the large peace movement in the 1960’s, the war was protested across the United States. Boys from all over the country were sent to Vietnam to fight in a foreign land, likely to die. “Beyond Vietnam- A Time to Break Silence” by Martin Luther King Jr. uses a plethora of rhetorical devices, such as well known allusions and rhetorical questions that emphasize the importance and meaning his speech possesses.
One literary device Martin Luther King Jr. uses in his speech is allusions, adding to the importance on how awful the Vietnam War was corrupting the United States. King says “the One” (King)
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and “Jesus Christ” (King) referring to God and to the Bible; it was no secret that he was a priest and used God to show how the war was not what God had intended. As he did this, the people were inspired to have the thought that the American people were able to trust King’s opinion because he is a man of the church. Another allusion King makes is a reference to racism. He uses the word “shackles” (King) and “slaves” (King) to relate to the people listening. African Americans were not treated the same and to make them believe what he is saying is the truth, King has to relate to their person struggles they face. By acknowledging their struggles, his audience believe his word was true. Rhetorical questions were also an influential portion of literary devices Martin Luther King Jr.
used. He asks a a multitude of questions right after one another, one question being “Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the One who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them?” (King). He says “they” (King) in reference to everyone, the capitalist and communist, the black and the white, the old and the young. The “One” (King) is God, and he uses God to show that God loves everyone, even the ones who were against him, and he did die for his opposers. This question makes you think about why we would be fighting our enemies over an opinion, when we should love everyone instead. King then goes on and asks, “What then can I say to the Vietcong or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful Minister of this One?” (King). The “One,” (King) again, is God. Castro and Mao were leaders of a communistic government in Cuba and China at the time, and Vietcong was the communistic state of Vietnam. This statement makes anyone listening ponder what the answer could be; the Bible says to love everyone, but its near impossible to love anyone who doesn't deserve
it. Martin Luther King’s speech is more persuasive over the image given. The picture does not show the appropriate solemn emotion for the march and does not include the other side’s thoughts. The march was about stopping war and how much the idea of the war was disliked, yet, there are people smiling. The people smiling are taking away from the heart of the matter. The emotion in the march comes across as fun and exciting, when it should be stern and solemn. The March also does not show what the people for the war thought. The sign says “Children are not born to burn” (“Protesting the US Involvement”) and many people believed that their destiny and path in life was already in place. The image does not convey the emotion correctly, unlike the speech, which does. The Vietnam war impacted our history and destroyed many family homes and lives. If the war had not not been fought, many people would still have living relatives or even more family to love. Instead, the United States deployed over nine million boy soldiers, barley growing hair on their face. By using rhetorical questions and allusions that his audience could relate to, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke against the Vietnam War and made an impact in protesting it.
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”.
In the beginning of his Beyond Vietnam speech, King recalled that “there were experiments, hopes, and new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of society gone mad on war” (6). By using such descriptive language that appeals to one of our five senses, sight, King was able to help the American people paint an image of the jubilant road that the United States was presumptively heading and then crushed, when it became involved with the Vietnam War. Furthermore, King adds that sending US troops to fight the war was not only devastating the hopes of the poor at home, but it is equivalent as “sending their sons their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population” (15). King’s usage of various descriptors provided insightful imagery, which allows his audience to picture as if they were the ones who actually sent their own loved ones to war. Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of appealing to the feeling of pity, anger, and sadness to strengthen and refine his
On the fourth of April in 1967, Michael King Jr, also known as Martin Luther King Jr, spoke to the American public in the speech titled Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break Silence. Throughout this speech, King addressed a conflict that occurred during the late 1960’s which was extremely controversial; the Vietnam War. In the speech King detailed his position on the war and particularly discussed why he was against fighting in Vietnam. King utilized many rhetorical devices in order to explain the reasons why he was against this armed conflict. The rhetorical devices that are utilized the most in the speech is specifically logos and anecdotes. Through the use of rhetorical devices, King thrived in convincing his audience into believing that entering the war was a tragic mistake. In the speech, King used many anecdotes and logos to strengthen the persuasiveness of his argument in order to lead the audience into believing the reasons of why the war was negative.
The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues in American history. It is no secret that the American public was not in favor of this war, which is why the government’s decision to keep the US involved for over ten years created such a disconnect between America’s people and their government. In the third verse the Temptations sing, “People all over the world are shouting 'End the war.'” The Temptations bravely attack the government, addressing their continuation of a war no one wants. Although The Temptations avoid explicitly naming the war, or the government as the guilty party, it is evident that this is a criticism, or at least an acknowledgement of a predicament America found itself in.
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.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
In 1971, John Kerry stood in front of the Senate and spoke about his experiences in Vietnam as a soldier. There would be many that would agree with his position, some that would disagree and ultimately some that had no strong opinion at all. John Kerry knew that although he was speaking to the senate he was also speaking to the American people and through his intentional way of speaking he used this to his advantage. In John Kerry’s speech, strongly opposing the Vietnam War, Kerry successfully uses his persona as one who experienced the war head on, to reveal the lack of morality in Vietnam and paint the war as barbaric acts with no true purpose behind them.
This reader’s rating for this book is average. It is a very well written book but it may not appeal to some people. If the reader was familiar with the war then this would be a wonderful book to read. This reader thought it was interesting but not as enthralling as it should be. The book was mainly made out of quotes or dialogue from the men in the war. This was a very different way of writing but it was interesting. Many of the veterans had interesting stories to tell and how it felt like to be in the war. Overall it was a book to consider if you’re into war stories.
King uses numerous biblical allusions to resonate with his clergymen audience and to make them realize that they were condemning a righteous movement. The vivid language in metaphors captures emotion and expands understanding. Mr. King was able to do anything to end the injustice in Birmingham and his commitment was shown in his tone.
When the Vietnam War was heating up, he tried his very best to keep his words very straightforward and honest. He used pathos in his speech through the usage of the phrases, “a celebration of freedom,” and, “forge against these enemies.” By using these phrases, instead of making the war a task for the people, he made it out as saving the country for the people and for their kids. It wasn’t just a "go and fight," but more of a "go, win, and when you come back enjoy what you have accomplished. " Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country.”
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.
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.
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.
Although John Steinbeck and Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote on essentially different topics, they both employed similar methods to implant themselves into their readers’ brains. Each author took advantage of repetition’s ability to hammer an idea into the human conscious. Steinbeck repeated the beginning of his sentences, and emphasized his subject: the American population. MLK Jr. repeated entire sentences and phrases, instead emphasizing his points. Additionally the tone used by each of the authors affected how the audience received those points. Ultimately by manipulating repetition, and tone, they were able to realize their individual purposes in very much the same way.
King’s role in the civil rights movement cannot be underestimated. Known as one of the most influential writers and orators of the 20th century, in his Letter from Birmingham jail King used his aptitude as a persuasive writer to address the criticisms posed by the clergymen. There are several persuasive devices in rhetoric that classify a speaker’s appeal to their audience: the use of emotional appeals, appeals to authority and appeals to logic as well the all important call to action that mobilizes a social movement. King adeptly utilizes these strategies to justify his role and methods fighting long-standing prejudices against blacks in Americ...