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The three speakers, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President Clinton, and President Bush all use allusions, but who used the method most effectively? These three well known speakers delivered speeches arguing to end racial inequality. On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. delivered the “I have a dream” speech. Later on, in 1993 President Clinton delivered the “Remarks to the Convocation of the Church of God in Christ” speech. Also, On July 10, 2000, President Bush delivered the speech “Ending Racial Inequality.” Allusions are used among these three speakers, but was used more effectively by Martin Luther King Jr. In my opinion, Martin Luther King Jr. does a terrific job referencing to the old negro spiritual, President Lincoln, and the architects of the republic. Martin L. King Jr. uses allusions to inform his audience with issues they may already know. “Five score years ago”, Dr. King alludes to Abraham Lincoln’s speech that was supposed to give freedom to all slaves. Also he credits to the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty. We are free at last!" This illustrates what everyone will be able to say one day when segregation ends. …show more content…
Secondly, Clinton uses allusions by alluding to Martin Luther King Jr and many more.
He uses allusions to refer to an object and to back up his argument. On Line 1-2 he says, “Martin Luther King were to reappear by my side today and give us a report card on the last 25 years, what would he say? Clinton also refers to god by saying, “…to the Father in heaven” Clinton uses allusions well, but not as effectively as Martin Luther King
Jr. Finally, President Bush uses allusion as well. He alludes to many very known leaders and old documents. “separate but equal,” is implying to the law that was passed because of the case, Plessy vs. Ferguson. “As W. E. B. Du Bois said a century ago, ...” President Bush is referencing to the African-American historian. President bush usage of allusions advanced his argument about end racial inequality. In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. use allusions more effectively, even though the other two speakers used allusions as well in each of their speeches. Martin Luther King used allusions the most effectively based on the evidence and reason provided. Many will argue that Dr. King didn’t use allusions more effectively than President Clinton and President Bush, which is not true. Martin Luther King Jr.’s argument about ending racial injustice, is very strong because he uses allusions as a way keep his audience engrossed in his speech, “I have a Dream.”
The letter from Birmingham jail by Dr. Marin Luther King was written as a response of King to nine criticisms made against the Southern Christian leaders and King’s participation in demonstration in Birmingham. King handled many rhetorical devices to convince his opponents such as the white clergymen with his rights to protest, create tension for direct action and to achieve the racial justice. The devices fluctuate between Logos, Pathos and Ethos in a clever way to appeal to his audience and criticize them at the same time. King provided logical supports such as biblical figures, historical and philosophical references. In addition, he used verities of metaphors, allergy and poetic language. In my essay, I will point out some of the rhetorical devices and
Dr. King’s speech starts off with a very strong and well calculated use of logos. He starts his speech with a historical background of African Americans situations in America. He enlightens the audience that 100 years earlier Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which gave all the slaves their freedom. Then after that statement he says that 100 years later African Americans are still not free. Yes, they are no longer sl...
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.
The speaker is Martin Luther King Jr, an African American who had to deal with all the cruelty and unequalness that blacks were getting. The occasion is to get equal rights for everyone in America, no matter their race or gender. The audience that Martin was connecting to was people with authority that would change the conditions of their lives and hardships, but was also to everyone that would listen and would try to make a difference. The purpose for King writing this speech was to get equal rights and show people that everyone is the same. The subject of the speech is the rights of african americans and how they are the same as whites. The tone Martin has is determined and destined to get the outcome the way he wants it to
...King, Jr. also used allusions from credible sources, such as the philosophers Socrates, the reformer Martin Luther, and Abraham Lincoln to emphasize how his view point is widespread. He also included Jewish Rabbi Martin Buber and Catholic St. Thomas Aquinas to show how members of his audiences’ faiths have even supported his viewpoint.
Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical appeal of Logos to provide a sense of logic and reason within his letter. When he is accused of resorting to demonstrations rather than attempting negotiations King provides his four step plan to a successful nonviolent campaign, listing direct action as the final step and negotiations as the second. This point peacefully refutes the clergymen’s accusations and does not provoke a new argument. King also uses facts to prove a point such as, “There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than and city in the nation.” (King, ¶-5) This quotation validates King’s reasoning to be in Birmingham for demonstrations and not just negotiation.
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...
In his speech he also uses many assonances and consonances. They are most occurring and mostly found at the end. One of them is “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 17) Others are “molehill of Mississippi”, “Lookout Mountain”, “curvaceous peaks of California”, and “Rockies of Colorado.” They all have the poetic feeling to them. (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 16)
Dr. King uses many allusions in the “I Have a Dream” speech to demonstrate the similarities in both cultures and periods of time as he begins his speech in paragraph 2 with an allusion to the Gettysburg Address. An allusion is a literary device that is used to reference person, place, thing or idea of historical,
Martin Luther King's use of alluding to other historic documents, which also deal with equality issues, helped his speech reach the listener. These allusions were probably geared more towards the white listeners than it was towards the black because it provided textual evidence from past documents which stated that all men were created equal and all people should have the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. King also makes a few allusions to the Bible; "Let us not seek to satisfy thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred," is the first allusion to the Bible in his speech.
Dr. King uses ethos, logos, and pathos effectively throughout his letter to address a large audience. He intertwines the three rhetorical strategies seamlessly to support his argument. Although Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has his critics in the clergy who argue against his civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, he effectively uses all three types of rhetorical strategies to effective persuade his critics by explaining why his actions are just and timely in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Martin Luther King, Jr was an exceptional orator who knew how to persuade an audience into adopting his own beliefs and changing their perspectives through the way he weaved language techniques into his speeches. To add further impact, he delivered his message in a dominant, strong, emotional way in order to show that the African-American society were not afraid to fight against the unjustly treatment they endured for so long and that they weren’t taking no for an answer in regards to civil rights.
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.
In his speech, King uses different types of rhetorical guidelines. He uses them to show his points in a better and easier way to understand .At the beginning he successfully uses a mythos. A mythos has a deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for the audience. In mentioning the Emancipation Proclamation he shows that our ancestors signed a contract, in which all human beings are created equal, and therefore should be treated in the same way as others. He also visualizes his ideas with visual examples, which everybody can understand. “America has given the black population a bad check, which has come back marked insufficient funds”( I Have a Dream)
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