A Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech

Subsequently, King exercises the strategy of pathos, the emotion appeal. In his statement, "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God\'s children". The great use of imagery with the contrast of light vs. dark here definitely draws audience’s attention. Moreover, by making references to the government as a "Bank of Justice" that gave African Americans a "bad check," King describes the situation of the African American people. He proclaims that the "Bank" is not bankrupt and that it was time to "cash the check". These metaphors are easy to understand and are something that the audience can relate to.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than forty years ago, Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech demanded racial justice towards the mistreated black community of America. The theme of the speech was that all humans were created equal and that this should be the case for the future of America. King's words proved to touch the hearts of millions of people and gave the nation a vocabulary to express what was happening to the black Americans. This did not happen by chance. Martin Luther King's speech was carefully constructed so it would have the most appropriate diction to propose his facts and ideas. His speech involved multiple different literary techniques which were very

In 1963, minister and rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech in front of Lincoln memorial to bring awareness to the unfairness of injustice for black people. King's speech was an effort to try and mandate the coming together of the black and white race and finally have the equality between us all be put into force for a free nation. As the speech left King’s mouth and entered 250,000 citizens ears, it left them to think about what point he was trying to make because he uses pathos, logos, and ethos.

Within Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he addresses eight white clergymen who fill his desk with disagreements and criticism of his acts of attempting to abolish segregation. To give a better understanding to his audience he correlates his speech with religion, signifying himself to be similar to the Apostle Paul, while speaking up about the injustice being done in Birmingham. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks strongly about being unable to stand back and watch the disputes in Birmingham unravel. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,” famously said by Martin Luther King Jr. bonds his idea during this speech that we are all affected by any type of injustice, small or large. Martin Luther King Jr. uses metaphors as a light of logic, first person point of view to add ethics with trustworthiness, and a tone of passion for the emotional aspect while addressing the clergymen.

Referring to “vaults of opportunity… riches of freedom and the security of justice”, Martin Luther King Jr. intelligently and metaphorically expresses how valuable equality is for African American citizens (King Jr. 2). After speaking out about injustice and lies, his discourse changes as it comes to an end. King Jr. focuses more on the unification of the nation instead of focusing only on African Americans. He faithfully believes the nation can “transform…. Into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood” (King Jr. 5). Highly contrasting from his first metaphors, the audience is provided a sense of peace and faith. Martin Luther King Jr. used many metaphors to mold the hearts of the audience and persuade them to believe in the civil rights movement.

Pathos is used to obtain the feelings of sympathy or pity, and Martin Luther King Jr. uses it to his advantage by pointing out many examples of the harsh treatment towards the black

This speech was delivered in Washington by MLK. MLK wants the American people to treat blacks equally and not judge them by their skin color but by their character. He thinks this will bring America together. His philosophy makes more sense because his goal is to gain equal rights in a peaceful way which is why he says “I Have a Dream”, it also shows that he’s hoping that this will happen as a result of peaceful protests.

Martin Luther King Jr uses repetition, concrete diction, and tone in his speech to distinguish between the ways someone acts, gets treated based on the colour of their skin and the ways that they feel. In his speech, King says “I have a dream” and “let freedom ring” a lot to show repetition. He also uses concrete detail when explaining how the blacks no longer want to be disrespected or be under their discriminating rules. King’s final way of expressing himself is through tone, he changes his tone when saying what him and his people want. The purpose of this speech is for people of all colours to understand that King tried to spread a message that he wanted a better community without racial discrimination and rights for black people.

Martin Luther King Jr uses rhetorical questions in his speech in order to symbolize what

To begin, Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American rights activist and an impressive preacher. One day during a peaceful protest, he was arrested and sent to the Birmingham Jail. In jail, he wrote a detailed, metaphoric letter to the clergy men, speaking about the recent racism problems and how to fix it. He wrote page after page of issues, using several examples and many iconic phrases from history. Martin Luther King Jr. was not an uneducated fool, as many seen him. He knew that if he used ethos, pathos, and logos, he would get many people on his side, consisting his notable character known by the church, his ability to evoke sympathy, and his logical way to present this problem.

One of the things he says to appeal to their emotions are, “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 character.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 12) He also says, “When will we be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 9)

This means that his intentions as doing this is to fight for all people’s freedom, to be united all together like there is no difference and there can only be judgment off the person’s character. As is says in his speech “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 by the content of their character” (King). It also says “Right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” (King). Another quote that relates to this is where he said “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together” (King).

The iconic words of Martin Luther King Jr. are known by every American, and can still hold true today. Kings speech expresses heavily that no man, woman, or child is above any other human being. King repeatedly says that we need to look past a person’s skin color and judge their character; rather than race. Kings speech talks about ways to understand and cooperate without violence. If we would live by the ideals of king’s speech we would no longer have pointless violence and arguments.

By analyzing his identity and angle vision, also the genre of this piece and Martin Luther King’s purpose. Martin Luther King’s identity is that simply of a man who wants to stand up for what is right. He wants all men to be created equal. His identity is arguably the one of the most influential Civil Rights Movement leaders. This piece is one of the most well-known pieces of American history. It is open to the people, once as a speech and now as a written piece. Which makes it a public genre. Martin Luther King’s purpose and his dream is clearly stated, “… that all men are created equal”. He makes that very clear what he hopes the outcome to be someday. The rhetorical context highlights the main point of who Martin Luther King is and what he wants to

King is extremely emotive in his speech, and uses incredibly descriptive and poetic phrasing to demonstrate the eloquence of his argument. His use of words like "Now" and "today" imply a great need for immediate action regarding civil rights; the fact that he is so well-spoken is intentionally utilized in the speech to lend credence to his words. Given the stereotype at the time that blacks were unintelligent and uneducated, King 's responsibility to show the capabilities of black rhetoric was great. King, as a religious man, brings spirituality into the speech itself, but not in a self-aggrandizing way; he merely states that racial justice should be done as it is according to God 's will.