Civil rights leader and reverend Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on the 28th of August in 1963. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King gives this speech in the midst of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where about 250,000 African American and white civil rights activists marched, making it the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage (“Civil Rights March on Washington”). In order to fight for civil and economic rights and guide his fellow activists in their actions, King utilizes an extended metaphor, many anaphoras, and analogies as aids along with his confident but urgent tone. King employs extended metaphor …show more content…
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was in office and gave his Civil Rights Address which transformed the issue from a legal matter to a morality. In 1963, there are constant protests for equality in cities like Birmingham, Alabama, where thousands of African American protesters were arrested, attacked by police dogs, and sprayed with the full force of a fire hose by police officers - the very same men they are supposed to trust to protect them are using brutal force to stop their peaceful protest for an end to segregation. So, yes, it would be correct to assume that times were tough and tensions were high for the American people. King uses this to his advantage by comparing a “sweltering summer” to the current tension over racial equality and the civil rights of the African American population. Applying the negative connotation of the word “sweltering” in order to make his audience understand that the events happening around them are negative and there needs to be change. This use of extended metaphor appears again later in the essay when King says, “I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state …show more content…
“We’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. . .Instead of honoring its sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’” (King Jr.). Here, King compares the idea of this “check” to the African Americans’ right to freedom, implying that they have been neglected from their rights as citizens of America, and that they are there in Washington to gain theses rights, or “cash” their “check”. However, King explains that this has previously been attempted, and, in short, had no success. He states that the check “has come back marked ‘insufficient funds,’” referring to after the civil war when the 15th Amendment was passed, guaranteeing the right to vote to all men, in contrast with the Black Codes that were soon put into motion in the Southern states that would limit the rights to people of color. With these mixed messages of being able to vote, but yet not being able to drink from the same water fountain as a white man African Americans basically received their check back marked “insufficient funds.” The function of the analogy here is to connect current events with past events to explain how it needs to be done correctly now in order to succeed, and King wants the people who support him - and those who do not - to re-cash their check and “demand the riches of freedom and the
In response to the clergyman's claim that his use of direct action was "untimely," King states, "We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights." As you can see, this statement is in direct relation to the clergyman's "untimely" notion, but one would do good to realize his underlying audience. The "we" in this statement refers to his "black brothers and sisters" taking an active role in the civil rights movement. So what this statement does in terms of pathos is to light the fire of inspiration under his black brothers and sisters and have them realize that 340 yea...
Recently you have received a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In Dr. King’s letter he illustrates the motives and reasoning for the extremist action of the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1960’s. In the course of Dr. King’s letter to you, he uses rhetorical questioning and logistical reasoning, imagery and metaphors, and many other rhetorical devices to broaden your perspectives. I am writing this analysis in hopes you might reconsider the current stance you have taken up regarding the issues at hand.
His emotional appeal not only caused sympathy among the audience for the colored people but also caused shame in the white ministers as well.... ... middle of paper ... ... This alludes to King doing the right thing, but having it is illegal, and doing the right thing and doing the legal thing do not always go hand in hand.
By using emotions, King is allowed to share his background of suffering to provide a better understanding for the
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.
With this intention in mind, he brings up the notion that unjust laws are meant to be broken if the person breaking them has accepted the consequences or if breaking the law is for the bettering of society. King believed that if you break a law that your conscience deemed unjust and accept the punishment in order to make people think about the injustice that the law set in place, you have the highest respect for the law. As stated in the prior paragraph, King refers to the voting system in the state of Alabama and how it is corrupt. The way laws are being voted upon make them unjust, and, therefore, set a baseline for them to be broken. Towards the end of the passage, King brings to light how the police officers were commended for their actions of keeping the protesters in “order and preventing violence”. The white community believed that all laws were just because they did not negatively affect their lives. The black community speaking out and protesting against laws they viewed as unjust were perceived as obscene by the white community. This point of view demonstrates Kings beliefs that unjust laws are breakable, because while the white community in Alabama saw such protests as obscene and unneeded, the rest of the country tuned in to watch everything unfold.
King continues to appeal to the emotion by individualizing the injustices suffered by many. He gives specifics of his young daughter crying and his son asking why white people treat him so poorly. These images work to evoke empathy for Kings cause and the civil rights movement.
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.
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.
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. 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 mythos. A myth has a deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for the audience.
A leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his powerful speech “I Have a Dream” to the United States of America. Where 200,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on the day of August 28, 1963, the March on Washington stood as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. King uses a sentimental and dramatic tone to speak for freedom, aiming to provoke a change in the hearts and minds of the people. His powerful rhetorical language strongly connects to the audience, as he hopes for them to carefully view a better sense of peace and racial equality, speaking with distress as well as displeasure towards the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African-Americans.
King uses three main methods: metaphor, repetition and allusion. To be more specific, Metaphor makes words down to earth; Repetition keeps people engaging; Allusion turns the speech trustworthy. As my point of view, these rhetoric devices operate into two purposes: First, to decorate
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. 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.