Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Essay

672 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary devices in mlk i have a dream speech

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...

... middle of paper ...

...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.

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... does an exceptionally good job at making a connection between an African American citizen in favor of equality to people in favor of segregation. He is able to construct a common ground between his readers in many ways. King forces his readers to compare Hitler's genocide agenda to the suppression of African Americans in America. He is also able to connect with his audience on levels such as religion, law, and morality. His use of logic as a method to bypass racist feelings and ideas allows him to get his point across without his readers brushing off his letter as just another attempt for equality. Instead, he greatly influences his readers while they gain a significant amount of respect for his words and ideas.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream Speech” very powerfully on August 28, 1963, which would therefore change the lives of African Americans for the better, forever. King delivered the most heart touching speech America has ever heard, and it would change everyone 's lives forever. King uses various ways including ethos and pathos to support this.

    Read More

  • Martin luther king fgurtive language- Jeanluc fuentes

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    King met society with the civil rights movement and with his famous I have dream speech. King showed “the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation”. In the opening of King's speech he uses metaphors to compare the promises of freedom made in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the failure of these documents to procure the freedoms for all.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King made his famous “I Have a dream” speech on the Lincoln Memorial after the March on Washington. He delivered this speech to millions of people blacks and whites. This is one of the greatest speeches because it has many elements like pathos, logos, ethos, repetition, assonance, and consonance.

    Read More

  • I Have A Dream Speech Rhetorical Analysis

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King, Jr., attempts the near impossible–to convince a country run rampant with racism that African Americans are human beings, and that they deserve to be treated as such. His speech is powerful and effective; his message transcends time with his ability to stir the moral conscience of the country as a whole while still delivering hope to the African American people. Though Dr. King’s words are poetic and eloquent, they demand action within the hearts and minds of all listening. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will not rest until, “all of God’s children,” can sing together, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at

    Read More

  • Rehetoric in Maritn Luther King Jr.´s Speech

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    As King stood before the massive crowd of Americans, he urged the citizens of the United States to turn their hatred of colored people into a hatred of the true evil: racism. King continually states that the black people are being held back by the “chains of discrimination.” King uses this to make the audience feel that the black people are in great misfortune. King describes the white people as swimming in an “ocean of material prosperity” while the black people are stranded on a “lonely island of poverty.” Here, King magnificently uses the Declaration of Independence and implores the audiences’ emotions on all levels, wielding pathos as his Rhetorical weapon. Prejudices surrounded the nation and caused fear, anger, panic, rage, and many more intense emotions. All people who lived in this time period experienced these prejudices in one form or another. King takes the idea of these prejudices and describes a world without all of the hate and fear. He imagines an ideal world that all races, not just black people, would find more pleasant and peaceful. Moreover, King references how the United States has broken their promise to the men of color by refusing them the basic human rights granted in the foundational documents of the country: the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

    Read More

  • Logos In I Have A Dream Speech

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dr. King’s speech “I Have a Dream” is one of the most famous and important speeches ever given. On August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C Dr. King gave his speech to bring freedom to African Americans across the United States. The audience who Dr. King is talking to is the American People. To get the message out Dr. King uses logos, pathos, and ethos, by doing this he captivates an entire nation using just words.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis: of I Have a Dream

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pathos In I Have A Dream Speech

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous and powerful speech I Have a Dream, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The purpose of his speech was to fight for the civil rights, equality, and to stop the discrimination against African-American people. His use of imagery, repetition, and metaphor in his speech had created an impact with his audience. King used the three rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos and logos to help the audience understand the message of his speech.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Jr Obstacles Essay

    1583 Words  | 4 Pages

    Doctor Martin Luther King was born in January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia named after his father Martin Luther King Senior. During his adolescence Martin lived under racial segregations where Whites and African Americans were divided. To cope with

    Read More

  • I Have A Dream Ethos Pathos Logos

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of "I Have A Dream" Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Overall, Martin Luther King’s purpose of this speech was to unite African Americans and Caucasians to fight together for the same cause, equal rights for all people no matter the color of their skin. To successfully convey this purpose, King employed several tools of persuasion in his speech. He did indeed present an example of what could qualify as the "greatest demonstration" of arguments for true freedom for all Americans. He employed the techniques of ethos, pathos and logos with such skill that his audience likely was only aware of a single steering man towards a national unity.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his speech, he proclaimed a free and better nation of equality and that both races, the blacks and the whites, should join together to achieve common ground and to support each other instead of fighting against one another. King’s vision is that all people should be judged by their “personality and character and not by their color of skin”(‘I Have a Dream”). All points he made in his speech were so strong that lots of people were interested in his thoughts. He dreamed of a land where the blacks could vote and have a reason to vote and where every citizen would be treated the same and with the same justice. He felt that all Americans should be equal and that they should forget about injustice and segregation. He wanted America to know what the problems were and wanted to point out the way to resolve these problems.

    Read More

  • What Was The Purpose Of I Have A Dream Speech

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    I Have a Dream was a speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. This speech was delivered on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech was intended for the 250,000 civil rights supporters that attended. The speech addressed the topic of equality for the African Americans and the White people. The purpose of the speech was to address the issues of segregation and racism as a whole. King speaks about the issues of racism and segregation in America during the 1960’s. He encourages the use of non-violent protests and to fight for equality to help America solve the issue.

    Read More

More about Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Essay

Open Document