Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister, activist, and leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.He was married to Coretta Scott King with whom he had four kids. Martin Luther King jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Before he died, he had high hopes for this country and it’s sad he didn’t get to see how he impacted the U.S. In his “I Have a Dream” speech he uses rhetoric in many different ways to get the audience to agree with him and believe what he believes. In King’s speech, he uses more pathos than anything else. In the beginning of “I Have a Dream”, he says “the Negro still lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” he is making a connection by saying emotional words such as “lonely” or “vast”. HE is basically saying that black people are all by themselves because of their color. Later on he say s”Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells.” Which here he is talking to people who have been in jail which can be emotional. When he makes it personal by saying “We can never be satisfied as long as or children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by a sign saying “For Whites Only”, he makes it about family. He is trying to get the white peoples to realize that things are hard for black people. There are …show more content…
many different types of ways to connect with the audience. Martin Luther King Jr.
is very good at persuading his audience in many different ways. He uses logos in the fourth paragraph when he says “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.” By stating what the note is guaranteeing, it is for a fact that’s what it says. He does this again by saying “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which had come back marked ‘insufficient funds, And so we have came to cash this check.” The listener understands and relates to getting bad checks while the white get good
checks. King made many good points by using ethos. He says “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.” He Points out that he finds that the Lincoln Memorial is a fitting place for the situation. He explains it as holy. He also mentions “ When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as wll as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of Lfe, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ It is obvious today that America has promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.” By saying this, it proves that our Founding Fathers wanted everyone to be equal. They wanted people to be looked at the same and be able to have the same opportunities. I think many things are to be learned from Martin Luther King Jr. He was a great man who wanted the same things for everyone. More people should strive to be like him because he was such a great man or good character and faith. He didn’t let anyone else’s opinion waver his. He permanently changed the U.S. There are many other great people who have done amazing things for this country such as Rosa Parks, Abe Lincoln, and many others. We should learn to accept everyone as they are like these people did.
Martin Luther King Jr was a activist that was known for his famous speech “I had a dream”, he changed the lives for many people and helped changed the future. The world renowned Baptist minister and social activist had a massive impact on the American civil rights movement from the mid 1950’s until his assassination in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr was born on the 15th of January, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, known as Michael Luther King Jr and was than assassinated on the 4th of April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States and has still left a footprint on many people
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most widely known civil rights activist of the 1960s. Although he most famous for his I Have a Dream speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote several more influential speeches for the Civil Rights Movement – an American movement that sought to extend equal rights to all U.S. citizens. During his lifetime, he was known for practicing nonviolence in the hopes to obtain social and economic equality of all African Americans. While this equality exists amongst the races today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not get to see the fulfillment of his dream. On April 4, 1968, he was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King, Jr., uses pathos to make his speech appeal emotionally to his audience. He uses painful imagery such as, “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (King). By metaphorically linking slavery with segregation, King hopes to show that though the physical “manacles” are no longer present, the emotional and social bondage is still very real and very painful for an entire segment of America’s population. Dr. King knew that it was important for his listeners not only to sympathize, but also to empathize with the African American people. As a father himself King knew that it is more difficult to harbor ill will towards a child, so perhaps that is why he includes, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of
Logos appeals to the logic of the audience. Dr. uses a lot of metaphors in his speech, when Dr. King says, “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds”.” (King, 1963). He is basically saying that America is not holding true to the constitution, because all men are supposed to be equal. African Americans are not equal and are still suffering. They marched to Washington to cash their checks so they would be treated as an equal. Another metaphor used is when king says, “Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children” (king, 1963). This just says that it is time for all people to have the same opportunities. The final example of logos is when Dr. King uses what is happening in Mississippi. He states, “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of justice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice”. (king, 1963). King is comparing oppression and injustice to sweltering heat, justice and freedom to an oasis. By using logos, he was able to use metaphors to make the speech easier to understand. The black audience was able to relate and the white audience was able to better understand what was
Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was an excellent speaker and activist during the civil rights movement throughout 1954-1968. The civil rights movement was a time of racial injustice and unfair treatment towards people of different races. During that time many African Americans boycotted and protested against the unfair treatment in America at that point in time. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of these people who protested to create a difference in the community. The goal of these marches and protests that he led were to change the feelings of the government and the people’s feelings about racial injustice. However, Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 because he stood up for what was right. He was though able to do many
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 understanding 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. Throughout King’s speech, he uses the rhetorical mode, pathos, to give the audience an ambience of strong emotions such as sympathy.
King uses in his speech is Pathos, which is the appeal to someone 's emotions or beliefs. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. presented a strong feeling towards African-American people about how they were treated as equal individuals “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” (King par. 3). Another example of pathos that Dr. King used was when he uses vocabulary and phrases, such as “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream” (King par. 12). He uses the appeal of emotion, especially the word of choice and diction to let his audience’s know what he would like to see in the
With this statement, he clearly shows that the peace and justice in the United States is not limited only to the white population, but also belongs to the black population.... ... middle of paper ... ... He also uses the powerful words “Free at last” in order to show the importance of the situation of the black population.
The diction leads blacks to abandon the past, the anaphora instills in their minds a memorable cause, and the metaphors lastly fabricate the necessary movement toward freedom and equality through vivid imagery. Such a remarkable speech outshines others of the movement, for its triumph is contributed not only to its zealous vocalization but also to its well-written text. A catalyst for the racial revolution of the era, King’s speech is continued to be used as inspiration in resolving modern complications. The man who declared, “I have a dream,” is thus memorialized for having envisioned righteousness to become part of the American
Dr. King used logos again by, repetitively saying, “We can never be satisfied” at the beginning of each sentence in one paragraph of the speech. (King) He list things that African Americans at the time are not allowed to do. He tells the people that they must fight for these reasons. These statements are very helpful
In the speech “the ballot or the bullet,” Malcom uses logos stating “If they draft you, they send you to Korea and make you face 800 million Chinese. If you can be brave over there, you can be brave right here. These odds aren't as great as those odds. And if you fight here, you will at least know what you're fighting for." This like an eye opener to the audience persuading them to fight for freedom. Malcolm also states: "We're not even as far up as we were in 1954. We're behind where we were in 1954. There's more segregation now than there was in 1954. There's more racial animosity, more racial hatred, more racial violence today in 1964, than there was in 1954. Where is the progress?" This tells the audience it is time for a change because what we have been doing is obviously not working. He says all of this in hopes that people will take the initiative and fight back for what they want.” If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us and make us violent abroad in defense of her.” The use of logos here is explaining to his audience why violence
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important voices of the American civil rights movement, which worked for equal rights for all. He was famous for using nonviolent resistance to overcome racism and injustice. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born Michael King in 1929 in Atlanta,Georgia. He was named after his father, who was a Baptist minister. When Michael King, Sr. took over his relative's church, he changed his name to Martin Luther, after a prominent German religious leader. Thereafter, he changed his son’s name to martin as well.. His mother, Alberta Williams King, was an accomplished organist and choir leader. Michael, who was born second of his parents’ three children, had an elder sister called Willie Christine King and a younger
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential leader of the American Civil Rights Movement as he fought for the freedom of African Americans. King’s most influential speech is his “I Have a Dream” given on August 28, 1963.1 King himself was a man whom thousands of people admired. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an expressive tone in his speeches by using powerful imagery to his audience, reminding them of the challenges facing them and defeating racism. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired others to take action, lead by example, as shown in his speeches and promoted non-violence as a method for change. To begin with, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929.2 His father, Martin Luther King Sr., who was a pastor, and his mother Alberta, who was a schoolteacher, raised both King and his two siblings.3 King was very religious because the three generations of men, starting with his great-grandfather, were all preachers.
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 argument when he proclaims, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream”.
The speech is based on having a dream, that one day the world will be a better place for African Americans and they will be respected and treated equally. The speech is powerful to a wider audience because it uses specific language features to express in detail his values and beliefs on the civil rights movements. King articulates to the African Americans that they should be able to live freely, within a place of limited discrimination and be who they are and not be treated disrespectfully. He mentions that they are isolated from the world around them, and that they are beaten for the colour of their skin. The speech portrays a powerful message, aimed at the racial and injustice time that all African Americans had to go through.