“I Have a Dream” Rhetorical Analysis Fifty one years ago, on August 28, a mass of people gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to join Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in what would “go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation”(1), the March on Washington. It was that day that Dr. King bequeathed one of the most well-known speeches, his “I Have a Dream” speech. Which moved the whole nation, whites and blacks, into a state of greater hope as the marchers demanded equality and an end to the unjust treatment of African Americans. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech conveys repetition, allusion, and rich figurative language, calling on all Americans to rise and fight injustice, and …show more content…
Declaration of Independence in his address. King opens the speech with “Five score years ago,” echoing the Gettysburg Address, invoking the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and the power of the Emancipation Proclamation. He then goes on alluding to Psalms 30:5 from the Bible with “It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” King incorporates famous parables into his speech such as “Now is the time to lift out nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” which alludes to Matthew 7:24-27 from the Bible. He continues to allude to parables from the Bible such as Jeramiah 2:13 in saying “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom” (1), and Isaiah 40:4 “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted…” (2). King draws on the language of the Declaration of Independence throughout his speech also tying it with the Gettysburg Address. He first draws attention to the Declaration when stating “This note was a promise that all men…guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” King goes on again alluding to Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech by saying “hallowed spot” (1). Finally, King states “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.” “We cannot turn back,” making a reference to how the freedom given to the blacks by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment never actually granted them free (2). The Jim Crow laws, which lasted until 1965, dictated that the black American stay a second-class citizen. Evoking historic and literary references is a powerful speechwriting technique that King effectively executes through implicitly during his
Director Steven Spielberg and auther Markus Zusak, in their intriguing production, movie Saving Private Ryan and book The Book Thief, both taking place during World War II. However , in Saving Private Ryan Spielberg focus on a lot of complications that occur during war , but guilt was one difficulty that stood out to me. Zusak, on the other hand , showas that having courage during war can be a advantage and also an disadvantage depending on the situation. Both director and author grabed the audience attention with emotional and logical appeal.
The iconic speech “I have a Dream”, originally named “Normalcy, Never Again”, is dubbed to be one of the greatest speech of all time. It was expertly delivered by civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The speech was delivered during the March on Washington on the 28th of August, 1963. Dr King urgently called for the end of discrimination and racial prejudice between the Americans with different colour. He delivered his speech with finesse, inspiring and persuading his audience through the use of written, audio codes and body language. The written techniques Dr King utilized were repetition and metaphor and in addition, audio codes, which were volume and pace.
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...
The recurrence of the same word or phrase creates a powerful and distinct tone that King used in the delivery of his speech. Anaphora is used frequently throughout his speech to emphasize his points. Near the beginning of his speech, he said, “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. One hundred years later…” King continuously used the words “one hundred years later” to highlight the duration of their battle. Despite previous efforts in improving the nation, King stressed how little progress has been made in the past century. In addition, Epistrophe is present as well. “With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” His consistent use of the word “together” accentuates the purpose of his dream, to break the walls of segregation and unite with all people of colour and
The author of the “I Have A Dream” speech is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King, known for his work in Civil Rights during the 1960s. In this informative speech, Dr. King inspires individuals to have a change in both white and black citizens during the Civil RIghts era in the United States. Moreover, the premise of the speech is that both sides of the discussion must accept change in a non-violent yet effective way. He spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination of black citizens that was occurring in our nation. As he opened, “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,” he explained what he was there to do for all citizens. He is
In the beginning of his speech Martin Luther heralds back almost one hundred years by linking the importance of the march to the Emancipation Proclamation(King 3). By doing this King puts the issue of equality into a timeline by showing that while it has been a hundred years since African Americans had been given freedom it also shows that while freedom has been granted to them there has still been very little that has happened to give the African race a better life. Not much further in his speech King say, “ This note was a promise that all men-yes, black men as well as white men-would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” (King 3) Again by taking an important article from America’s past King says that when the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution they meant for all Americans to be equal. Midway through the speech King pleads with his people to never resort to violence in the face of adversity that is handed to them by their oppressors, because King has came to realize through his own trials that the “their( referring to the white man)destiny is tied up with our destiny.”(King 3) As King’s speech progresses he tells the masses that until they have their rights be equal to those who rights are unbounded that they must not stop until they have achieved their goal. By being able to use
A rhetoric analysis can be defined as the breakdown of components used to make a persuasive argument or judgment on a particular subject or topic. The ability to make a conclusion or decision on a given thought or idea in a moment of seconds is a result of rhetorical analysis. “Because media rhetoric surrounds us, it is important to understand how rhetoric works. If we refuse to stop and think about how and why it persuades us, we can become mindless consumers who buy into arguments about what makes us value ourselves and what makes us happy”. In Carroll’s essay “Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis”, she discusses the nature of rhetorical analysis, how it affects our everyday lives and explains the role context plays.
One of the many stylistic techniques Dr. King employs to end segregation and bring about equality is word choice. At the beginning of the speech, Dr. King says, “Five score years ago.” Those words are extremely effective at making his audience of African Americans and the millions watching at home think of one of the most famous Americans to have ever lived, Abraham Lincoln. At a time in America’s history when racial injustices are beginning to become too much to bear, Dr. King had to find a suitable figurehead for his movement that all Americans could believe in and trust. It was Dr. King’s intention to have his audience think about Lincoln, as it was Lincoln who freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, and that affects every African American in the country. Dr. King also intends that the phrase “Five score years ago,” bring up thoughts of Lincoln because Lincoln held the country together through great turmoil during the Civil War. If Lincoln could stop the violence of a civil war in only one term of presidency, Dr. King wanted to show that he and anyone willing to join him could also stop the violence against Afri...
Martin Luther King did not know that his “I Have a Dream” speech would still be iconic 50 years later. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. He was facing the problem of racial injustice for himself and everyone like him. He needed to create a speech that everyone could and would understand, could learn from, and could draw inspiration from. He had to address blacks and whites, he had to say things that everyone could relate to and he had speak in a way that he get the
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)
On the day of his “I Have a Dream” speech, King stood upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial located in the heart of our nation’s capital. This location was essential to King’s success because it was a symbol of our nation’s historic efforts to abolish the enslavement of African-Americans; an act which was made possible due to the valiant efforts of Abraham Lincoln. As the preponderance of the speech began, King made reference to the former president in what Peter Paris said was a “Declaration proclaimed to America on behalf of all African people”. King stated, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice” (I Have a Dream 2). Through these words, he was able to mimic the tone and style of Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address while also evoking remembrance of the nation’s harsh past. The signing of one such bill, the Emancipation Proclamation, was the first time in history that African-Americans were able to progress in the social order. King tied this into his argument by introducing the concept that other laws could be enacted in order to allow the African-American population to continue
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.
On August 28, 1963 more than 250,000 civil-rights supporters attended the March on Washington. Addressing the protesters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Profoundly, he proclaimed for a free nation of equality where all race would join together in the effort to achieve common ground. King stated his yearning for all colors to unite and be judged by character, not by race. African Americans would not be satisfied until their desire for freedom from persecution, bitterness, and hatred prevailed. Not only were the points in his speech powerful, but also the delivery he gave was so persuading and real that it changed the hearts of many people across America. By using four artificial proofs, mythos, logos, ethos, and pathos, Martin Luther King was able to open the eyes of people who were blinded by the color of skin.
Malcolm X once said, “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” (X, Prospects for Freedom in 1965, chapter 12) Various African American leaders have rallied up protesters and have recited speeches, like Malcolm X’s “Prospects for Freedom”; yet, none seem to compare to King’s “I Have a Dream.” The speech has been heard all around the world, and is by far one of the most well known. Accordingly, “I Have a Dream,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most enthralling; moreover, he persuades America that inequality should have never existed, and everyone should have freedom adorning them, that was earned peacefully. This idea is exhibited by the speech’s distinguished evidences: the African
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