Oedipus The King Rhetorical Devices

In this life, many hope for peace, but not many try to achieve it. According to Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, there are many ways to achieve this, but the best possible course of action would be through nonviolent direct action, which includes but is not limited to: peaceful protest, sit-ins and civil disobedience. In King’s letter, he proclaims his reasoning behind nonviolent direct action, including: the concept that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (par. 4), extremism can be used positively (par. 22), and the fact that “oppressed people will not stay oppressed forever” (par. 24). King uses literary devices including ethos, logos, and pathos to prove and reaffirm that which he is trying to convey.

Henry to deliver because he was speaking to a group of people who were opposed

By using allusion to historical leaders and documents, he reminds the audience of the past and strengthens his argument the time for change was long overdue. Repeating the phrases “I have a dream”, “Now is the time”, “Let freedom ring” and “Free at last”, King used anaphora and repetition to bring the speech to a great climax and leave the audience completely energized. King also used parallelism to unify the movement’s effort into one group of equal parts by urging the audience to “Go back to” Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, as well as “the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities”. He also used parallelism to send a message of unification to all parts of the country by repeating the phrase “Let freedom ring” combined with names of many of our country’s mountain ranges, just as in the song “America” by Samuel Francis Smith (My Country! ‘Tis of Thee). Perhaps it was King’s use of metaphors that made the speech draw in the audience. He described the circumstances of racism and inequality with phrases descriptive of slavery including “flames of withering injustice”, “chains of discrimination” which connected the audience to their past while inspiring them to change their future.

Powerful movements require powerful leadership. During the 1960s a push for civil rights developed, and African Americans took various positions. Two strong leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X approached the Civil Rights Movement using different methods. Their speeches reflect the disposition of their tactics. In his speech, “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King, Jr. focuses on applying his non-violent philosophy. On the contrary, Malcolm X projects himself in an aggressive tone reflecting the attitudes of Black Nationalists in “Ballot or the Bullet.” These speakers demonstrate their objectives and tone through their use of diction and syntax.

Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. are seen as national heroes for the significant message they represent, liberty and unity. Throughout history, minorities have been oppressed and courageous men like Lincoln and King worked hard to liberate them. President Lincoln ended the Civil War and Dr. King was an activist in the Civil Rights movement. Both the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement lead to unity and freedom. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address’ addresses the theme of freedom by having a nation where independence reigns by abolishing slavery. Conversely, in King’s I Have a Dream Speech, the theme of freedom is addressed by ending segregation and discrimination in America. Lincoln’s theme of unity is ending the war to unify the nation to improve it. Similarly, King’s theme of unity is ending the division of races in the nation and working together towards a better future.

The fight for civil rights and freedom is a reoccurring subject that has appeared throughout American history. Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” were written over one hundred years apart. Although they are set in different time periods, they discuss the rights the American people should have, while also criticizing the people with superior power in the government. Thoreau’s aggressive writing style and King’s peaceful, calm style help to deliver their messages. Not only their writing style but also their emotional appeals, tone, and other rhetorical strategies help to give their audience a sense of the social issues they are disagreeing strongly with.

In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.

Persuasive writing is most effective when all three rhetorical appeals, Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, come together to form an indisputable argument. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X are two of the most influential figures of the past few decades; similarly, their work is summarized as some of the most persuasive and controversial of all time. The audience of both of their pieces, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” include oppressed African Americans and the white oppressors themselves. Each man takes full advantage of the three rhetorical appeals to influence their audiences to support their radical theories about racial inequality in the 1960’s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the most effective because of its hopeful emotions, irrefutable facts and, of course, the respected author.

On April 16th, Martin Luther Kind Jr., Minister and Civil Rights Leader, his letter entitled “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, angers and informs that civil disobedience is not just. He supports this claim by first saying that we will obtain our rights because of heritage and god, then protesting and breaking the law is the correct thing to do, and finally, everyday heroic people are disobedient to find justice. Through King’s use of tone, rhetorical appeal, and rhetorical analysis, he effectively persuades the people of America, to bring justice to this society and to stop the violence.

We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.

After reading and analyzing Dr.Kings “Remaining Awake during a Revolution” commencement speech that he presented at Oberlin College during his graduation ceremony; he wanted the people to have a good visual on what he was explaining and talking about. King wanted to inform the people about what was going; so he used allusions, statics, and logos.

The audience feels pity for Oedipus because of his final requests before he is exiled. Aristotle uses another key component in Oedipus Rex, he uses pity, especially from the audience. When Oedipus asks the new king Creon before he is exiled he asks four requests from him. Oedipus begs Creon to bury “the woman inside, bury her as you see fit” (Fagles.1584-5.246). The audience feels pity for Oedipus when he has to beg Creon to bury his wife/mother. Oedipus says “I command you-I beg you” to Creon, when Oedipus starts to talk to Creon here as if he is still king (Fagles.1583.246). Oedipus’s second request to king Creon is take care of his daughters. The audience feels pity for Oedipus because Creon has to permit Oedipus to see his daughters. Oedipus

The strength of a speech does not come from the strength of a person’s voice, but the strength comes from the passion of the speaker towards the subject. The film Selma directed by Ana DuVernay, portrays the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s struggle to achieve voting rights in the south for African Americans. In the film, two speeches that King spoke caught my attention, they are “Give Us the Vote” and “Who Murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson?”. After analyzing both speeches, I have found that both are very similar as they both are relatable by directing his speeches towards his audience emotions, how he persuades his audience to fight for their rights through protest, and how he is able to express his own beliefs in his speeches to further support his argument favoring voting rights.

Shakespeare once said, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are also merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.” During the Civil Rights movement, unity was an essential theme of fighting racism; and was equivocally important, during the period, when Shakespeare was living. However, throughout King’s speeches, he utilizes rhetorical devices to convince the American people into joining his non-violent fight against racism and illustrating that unity is the solution to embodying the American Dream and instilling hope and freedom.

Though the names Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau hold ample credibility in themselves, though each in diverse respects, in their speeches regarding the issues of civil disobedience they use similar tactics under Ethos in which rather than list all they have accomplished, they form credibility by showing their relation to the cause and their place among the people.This is most effective over listing their credentials and points of power as each of their causes are in defend of and a movement of the people, of ordinary citizens who are fighting to be heard who are fighting against those with the power. King refers to his people by many names in his speech: negros, clergymen, friends, brothers which is the most notable name listed. King addresses his