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The impact of Martin Luther King on the civil rights movement
Martin Luther King Jr.'s impact on the civil rights movement
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On August 28th, 1963, Dr.Martin Luther King Jr would address the American public with his notorious speech, "I have a Dream". Since then those three words " I have a dream ", has became one of the most recognizable quotes or lines in American history, though there was a lot more to King's speech than him just having a dream. Going beyond King's dream, King's speech featured the articulate utilization of rhetorical devices and literary terms, these said devices and terms were used to help exhibit the ongoing racial civil issues of the middle/late 1900s. These devices and terms crafted King's speech articulately, to help King shine light on the lack of African American's rights and equality during this time, while also making King's speech what it is today, a very inspirational and touching speech. To combat these racial and civil issues of the time, ironically enough King …show more content…
uses a more settle approach with the constant usage of ethos in his speech. Not only does King use said device to help share what the African American community has gone through, but it also helps him professionally demonstrate his speech, as compared to going on an all out explicit and un-professional demonstration. Looking more literally at King's usage of ethos, we look deeper into the quotation of the line "I have a dream", King goes on saying "that my four children will not be judged by the color of their skin". King doing something as simple as involving children (even his own to prove a more sentimental connection to said children), it brings in the innocence of children and since they are being affected by the matter of racism, it draws a much more emotional response, since children are of course tied to the whole idea of being innocent. The quote shows that there is a very obvious lack of equality of this time, since of course African American's were restricted in terms of civil and social matters. King also utilized pathos to help bring a sense of equality and unity in a time of strict segregation, as found here in the quote "I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” This quote provokes the whole ideal of "American pride" and essentially we are all American, which is a very smart choice in wording from King. Since he shares all of these problems faced by the African American Community but still ties in the simple fact that we are all American and all the same, to help fight for equality during this time. When King wasn't touching out hearts and sharing the brutal truths of racism and lack of equality during this time.
He was thoughtfully conducting his speech with an abscess of ethological appeal, after all he was Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. King's demonstration of his speech of course took place at the Lincoln Memorial, where for that purpose King uses an allusion to Lincoln (who of course ended slavery in America) which helped King even advocate and relate more to the American public. King alludes to Lincoln in his quote "Five scores a year ago, a great American in whose symbolic statue we stand, signed the emancipation proclamation". Not only is this an allusion from King to Lincoln, but its also a use of symbolism as Lincoln is of course a symbol of civil rights and is rightfully credited with ending slavery, the inclusion of Lincoln even ties back to the whole ideal of patriotism being found and utilized in King's speech. Whether you believe the quote was more of an allusion or symbol, the quote has a common goal of unifying Americans and fighting for a fair way of life for African
Americans. King's vast and skillful usage of rhetorical devices in his speech would prove to help lower racial tensions of his time. Of course to this day, racism is still very evident in our society, we can look back on King's masterpiece as a silver lining to such a dark time. Thanks to King's articulate usage of literary terms and devices and showcasing of courage during a dark time of civil dispute and racism in America.
Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, was well known for his nonviolent movement to bring justice and to an end to the segregation of the people in the United States back in the 1950s. With King being the leader of a peaceful protest, it failed to bring equally to the colored people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled as an “outsider” who was “hatred and violence” and that his actions were “unwise and untimely” from the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen (clergymen). In response, on the day of April 16, 1963, he wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to declare and defense his movement was not “unwise and untimely” at all. To analyze his points, King used the powerful literary devices of pathos- use of an emotional appeal.ethos-
Martin Luther King uses a lot of repetition in his speech. They are scattered throughout but very close. One of the repetitions in his speech is “I have a dream.” He uses this phrase to show what he sees in the future of America. One of the phrases he uses with it is: “I have a dream that one day this nation will and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” Another is “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their nature. I have a dream today.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 12) Two other repetitions he uses is “Let freedom ring” and “Free at last.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 16&17)
Dr. King first starts out all pumped up on a very light note. He is very optimistic about his speech in the very first line. However he bluntly addressed the issues of hardship, which African-Americans endured while America was beginning to become a stronger symbol of hope and freedom. He acknowledged the experience of wealth which his race became accustomed to, the ghetto poverty. He recognized the right of each color and pale man who contains the right to live, liberty, and the pursuit of true happiness. As bluntly as he began his speech, he boldly pointed out the Supreme Law of The Land- the Constitution - and quoted the Declaration of Independence as all.
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.
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.
Martin Luther King's use of alluding to other historic documents, which also deal with equality issues, helped his speech reach the listener. These allusions were probably geared more towards the white listeners than it was towards the black because it provided textual evidence from past documents which stated that all men were created equal and all people should have the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. King also makes a few allusions to the Bible; "Let us not seek to satisfy thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred," is the first allusion to the Bible in his speech.
Dr. King uses ethos, logos, and pathos effectively throughout his letter to address a large audience. He intertwines the three rhetorical strategies seamlessly to support his argument. Although Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has his critics in the clergy who argue against his civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, he effectively uses all three types of rhetorical strategies to effective persuade his critics by explaining why his actions are just and timely in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
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.
“I Have A Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. is a commonly known historical speech expresses the power of rhetoric and the influence it can have on the audience. I will be analyzing this speech as a rhetorical criticism. Explaining the historical aspect of the speech, the perspectives in which rhetoric is used and an analysis of the rhetorical aspects in the speech will be done throughout this analysis helping provide you with greater details. The historical aspect of the speech will show the importance of why this speech took place and affect of the background leading up to speeches influence on the audience. The perspective/methodology will look at the action used as the descriptive approach that was used to develop my analysis. Looking at the rhetorical techniques found throughout the speech, you can see the associations with the seven elements of descriptive analysis.
In the speech, “There Comes a Time When the People Get Tired,” by Martin Luther King Jr., King’s goal is to persuade. King wants to persuade that African American’s want and deserve their rights, but if they have to protest to receive them. He believes that the protest have to be peaceful and prove a point. King is effective in his persuasion because he uses pathos, figurative language, loaded language and more.
Dr. Martin Lutheran King Jr. gave a speech at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967. His speech focused on the importance of embracing who you are as an individual person. He said, “Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you’re nobody”. This quote not only important to everyone, but it is extremely important for people of color. This speech was given at a high school that was predominately full of teenager who are African American, thus during the 1960’s discrimination was a significant problem in America. Dr. King’s reference to not allowing anybody to make you feel less than you are is significant because people of color were continually facing racism and
In 28th August, 1963 Martin Luther King delivered a historical speech- “I have a dream” in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Through this speech, Martin Luther King aimed to end racism in the United States of America and the world in a peaceful way. Today, his speech is considered as one of the most powerful speeches in history because of the way he used his ethos and appealed to pathos and logos of his audience.
On the 4th of April, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a compelling speech on the disastrous outcomes of America’s war with Vietnam with broader implications on racial divides. He had long since preached on ending segregation to heal the rigid racial dichotomy which was pervasive throughout American culture for many years ever since 1865 when slavery was abolished. The speech came near the end of an illustrious career spanning multiple states where he successfully lead peaceful revolts against the socially unfair Jim Crow laws. Years after the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, King still had social issues he wished to eradicate, notably those concerning human rights violations such as the Vietnam War. The destruction from the war began
Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, I Have a Dream, speech was given in Washington D.C. in 1963 at the feel of the Abraham Lincoln’s memorial. Thought this speech King voices how he feels about the amount of equality that the Negros were receiving in the United Stated. Although Dr. King has many different ways to grab the attention of his audience today through his speech, the best ones are his used of forensic, ceremonial, and deliberative occasions, his use of rhetorical appeals, and his use of colloquial second-person.
Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as an icon. He was a Baptist minister and involved with the movement of civil rights. In his “ I Have A Dream” speech, he doesn’t introduce his dream until midway through his speech. Martin Luther King Jr. used various methods to his hypotonic language in the “ I Have A Dream” speech. ; He shared his dream in the middle of his speech, in order to reassure the attention of millions of people.