Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

Unjustified criminalization, racial segregation, and national bigotry created a breeding ground for the rise of many formal civil right movements fighting for the equality of all people marginalized under a strict social structure during the early 1950s and 60’s. While this era contained many influential activists, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reigns superior as one of the most notable civil rights advocates in recent history. Dr. King is renowned most for his peaceful and nonviolent protests in the civil rights movement, his most famous moment being his “I Have A Dream” speech. In this argumentative essay, I will pursue the argument that Dr. King uses the rhetorical strategy, Pathos, most effectively throughout his famous speech, due to his

emotional connections to his audience.
One of the most prevalent emotional connections between Dr. King and his audience is the sense of empowerment preached throughout the speech. By empowering his audience, it allows his audience to have the strength to persevere through the challenges set by the unfair social standards of that period of time.

Towards the beginning of Dr. King’s powerful speech, he exclaims, “Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.” (7) This quote is important to help set the overall tone for his speech. In this quote, Dr. King not only “awakens” his audience by claiming nineteen sixty-three is the beginning of a civil rights uprising, but then encourages his audience to stay and continue their fight against the unfair treatment of colored people. Dr. King also uses pathos by including children to aid in his protests. In his speech, Dr. King states, “We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating ‘for whites only’.” (14) This quote is an important example of the use of pathos in his speech, because it appeals to a more specific and influential portion of his audience. By using children as part of his argument, it evokes emotion from the parents in the audience, as they want the best for their children. By empowering

parents to make a change in order to create a better life for their children, it motivates parents and grandparents to make a change. Alongside his empowering words, Dr. King also uses metaphors to give reason as to why they should be resisting segregation and racism. The most powerful metaphor Dr. King uses in his speech is, “We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.” (5) This metaphor contained in the quote helps provide King’s audience with a sense of empowerment. By claiming that there are no “insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity,” Dr. King empowers and motivates the public to make a change. Money, as a metaphor, speaks to a wide following and can therefore be a relatable connection between anyone.