I Have A Dream Rhetorical Essay

The speech “I have a dream” written and delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King on the 28th of August 1963 uses the persuasive devices of repetition and metaphors, the audio codes of volume and expression as well as the body language code of gesture to convey the need for equal rights for minorities.

During the 1960s, racism and discrimination were an enormous issue in the United States. To highlight problems with African Americans Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the greatest speeches in modern history when he spoke the words “I Have a Dream” on August 28, 1963. King began his speech by saying, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of our nation” (King). He emphasized on the racial injustice and his dream for unifying society to bring equilibrium back. Throughout the speech, he used a very sophisticated voice and kept the audience engaged while carefully choosing the language and structure of his speech. Using keywords like “we,” “our,” “dream,” “justice,” “freedom” on his speech, King highlighted the importance of the theme.

African American Baptist minister and activist, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “I Have a Dream” speech, addresses racism against Negros and demands equal rights and freedoms. King’s purpose is to motivate his audience to join him in fighting for what they deserve. He shifts from an urgent, demanding tone at the beginning of the speech to a more hopeful and patriotic tone towards the end. Throughout the speech, Dr. King appeals to the audience’s desire to better their futures by utilizing figurative language, such as similes and metaphors, and rhetorical devices such as repetition and parallelism.

King continues by addressing the fact that African Americans have not experienced the same rights that were promised to all people in the Declaration of Independence. He accomplishes this task by employing a metaphor where he compares “the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King para. 4) to a check. When colored people have tried to cash this check, it comes back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ King proceeds by announcing that the occasion for this speech is to finally cash this check, so colored people are able to enjoy the same freedoms that so many have previously been enjoying. This metaphor allows African Americans to see that they have been missing out, which could lead to the desire to experience the rights that were inaccessible to them for so many years. In order to enjoy the “rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” (King para. 4) African Americans must work incessantly to demand change in the country.

In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech, he argues that America needs to stop being a place of injustice and start practicing equality. He helps to convey the point through his use of drastic diction for the duration of the speech. King wants to address the issue of inequality in America and provide the people of the country with a solution. The speech is trying to change the behavior of the population and change the policies it has now. Since the issue is caused by the Americans, he must find a way to appeal to the entire United States as a single audience. He does this by informing everyone of the issue, and telling them how they should go about fixing it. The timing of his speech is important because the U.S. was facing a period of mass discrimination. King’s goal is to voice, through his use of drastic diction and anaphoras, the idea that America has a problem that it needs to be fixed immediately.

Anna Farish Dr. Pamela Hopkins COMM 1001 Response Papers 2 Breaking Down the Speech The “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King is recognized as one of the best speeches ever given. With the use of alliteration, allusion, and imagery captivates the audience while clearly displaying Aristotle’s teachings. The speech was a call to all people to live together in peace and harmony, but it was also a literary masterpiece.

By appealing to his listeners’ morals it further urges and enacts his audience feel empowered by his words to change the circumstance in which they reside in; a community that does not enforce the qualifications of equality. King’s impactful diction also contributes to this revolt within his listeners’ mind by emphasizing how they nation has led “shameful condition[s]” with the treatment of their own citizens.

“I have a dream,” perhaps some of the most widely known words that will always be remembered in our nation’s history. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. not only had a way with his powerful words, but also with the way that he carried himself in a professional and highly educated manner. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used several rhetorical devices in his, “I have a dream speech,” but none more powerful than the point he was trying to convey to the African American community and to the nation that was listening. He would not stop until African Americans had justice, real freedom, and rights. His “I have a dream speech” took place at the

Particularly, King’s repetition was used multiple times throughout the speech, but the most memorable part of the speech’s repetition, that gives the speech its name, was used when King used the phrases, “I have a dream” and “I have a dream today” multiple times from paragraph 13 to 20 in the speech. The recurrence of the expressions noted show what the Civil Rights movement was and what kept

In summer of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to show his opinions on the injustices in the United States. King spoke about many issues throughout his speech. One of his most memorable points is, “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 their character” (King 2). When saying this, King is calling out the fact that people did not care how others acted; they only cared about the color of their skin. King also touched on the subject of mistreatment by saying, “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges” (1). He makes a strong point of why people should not just accept the injustice and fight for their freedom. Although this speech was presented in 1963, these issues still arise in modern times.

Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was a historical moment for America. In this speech, he addressed the issue of racism in the past and present times, as well as his dreams for the future. To experts, it one of the most impressive literary and rhetorical speeches in history. Dr. King was an extremely prominent leader in American History. Not only was he persistent in fighting for his beliefs, but he was determined to make those dreams a reality. His persistence is what made him iconic. Not to mention, Martin Luther King Jr’s beliefs influenced his generation and future generations to come. The public speaker was a prominent, powerful leader in the civil rights movement

Martin Luther King Jr. has been and is still a symbolic figure in the Civil Rights Movement that changed America forever. During this time in history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most famous speech of all time, ‘I Have A Dream’. It was this speech that made Martin Luther King such a vital and important figure in Civil Rights history in the US. Using repetition, tone, and theme, Dr. Martin Luther King executed the message at hand; that all people are created equal Speaking from the very steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a monument erected in honor of the President who abolished slavery in 1864 and signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. King addressed the American people. His demand for justice and equality for African-Americans

King’s speech had a serious impact on all types of people as it brought out the disturbing truth of the matter as well as hope in the audience. Also, this speech was heard during the March on Washington, one of the most notorious marches in history. The way African Americans were treated was expressed with overwhelming sorrow and was described with words of aspiration in attempts to achieve equality for the future of America. The actions done by MLK painted a picture that activists saw with a new clearer vision into racial equality. The purpose of the “I Have A Dream” speech encourages the audience to keep their faith and stay hopeful during the times of discrimination. With his goal to overcome the present society, Martin represents this idea when challenging people to take a stand against prejudice

Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, “I Have a Dream…” follows an order of past, present, and future. After greeting the audience, King first summarizes previous accomplishments taken place in the last 100 years in America. He mentions the signing of The Emancipation Proclamation, Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence as revolutionary historical events that provide the foundation for racial equality. While King gives credit to these significant events, he also advocates the audience towards a sense of urgency. King then addresses the current political and racial disturbances. He urges “his people” to protest with dignity and avoid physical violence. He acknowledges the many sacrifices and hardships experienced by members of the audience in the struggle towards equality. He encourages Americans to keep working and to return to their homes with hope. King then transitions to his dream for the future. He dreams of unity, freedom, and equality for all, regardless of race, nationality, or religion. King proclaimed the idea that all men are equal and that the U.S. cannot function or develop if we are not working as a unit. The speech also includes how

In the history of the United States, we have experienced many periods of revolutions and changes. If we were to select the best speeches ever given in history, the possibilities would be endless. But, between the very bests we would have to give an honorable mention to the famous speech made by Dr. Martin Luther King “I have a dream“. To honor another great man who believed in freedom and liberty, on August 1963, he masterfully delivered the speech. Similarly to any other highly intelligent public speaker, Dr. King encouraged world peace and equality. In the overview of the speech, he demanded racial justice and an integrated society became a mantra for the black community and is as familiar to subsequent generations of Americans as the US Declaration of Independence. His key message would be unnoticed because his words proved to be a deep and meaningful to the accordance of the social and political upheaval of the time. The enticing point in the speech is that all people are created equal and, although not the case in America at the time, King wanted to teach us that it must be the case for the future.