Martin Luther King Rhetorical Analysis

In paragraphs 12-14 King uses a combination of rhetorical strategies to argue the urgency for changing current segregation laws. Kings selective use of imagery, parallel structure, and metaphors helps bring out the emotions of the eight clergymen, making them feel sympathy and understand Martin Luther King Jr.s point of view.

The year is 1963, the date April 16th. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is sitting in his cell in Birmingham, Alabama writing what we know today as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In this 12 page letter, found in Writing Arguments a Rhetoric with Readings by John Ramage, John Bean, and June Johnson, Dr. King describes his outrage and disappointment with society and finally his want for society to recognize racial prejudice. In his letter, he uses Pathos, or emotional appeal, ethos, appeal to authority/reputation, and logos, appeal to logic, to help with his argument. Dr. King uses a lot of emotional appeal and diction when writing his argument so that he could appeal to his intended audience as best he could.

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister and a Civil Rights activist, became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is widely known for his speech that took place on 28 August 1963, “I Have a Dream.” This speech aimed toward the entire nation. King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice and for them all to stand up together for their rights. In this speech, King uses emotional and logical appeal to gain the audience's support. He applied many rhetorical devices to his speech to connect with the audience’s emotions, and to logically support his arguments.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history. Martin Luther King Jr. was a masterful speaker, who established a strong command of rhetorical strategies. By his eloquent use of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as his command of presentation skills and rhetorical devices, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free" (King 1). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on as an everlasting masterpiece.

Martin Luther King Junior is often known as the leader of African American civil rights in the United States. His infamous “I Have a Dream” speech brought a crowd of over two hundred and fifty thousand people to the steps and lake of the Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a protest in Birmingham, Alabama that focused on the unfair treatment and the segregation of African Americans. The court ruled that he was not allowed to hold protests. Therefore, he was arrested and placed in Birmingham Jail. While inside his solitary confinement cell, he wrote a letter and had it sent out through his lawyer. This letter was addressed to the clergymen of Birmingham but he knew that everybody would be reading it.

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.

In a period of time where few were willing to listen, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood proudly, gathered and held the attention of over 200,000 people. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was very effective and motivational for African Americans in 1963. Many factors affected Kings’ speech in a very positive manner; the great emotion behind the words, delivering the speech on the steps of the memorial of the President who defeated slavery. And not only was this message beautifully written for the hope of African Americans, but the underlying message for white people, revolution and peace. To stimulate emotion from both parties of his listeners, King used a selection of rhetorical devices such as allusions to historical

“But more basically,I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C.left their villages and carried their,”thus saint the lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns,and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world,so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.like Paul,I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.”

On April 28, 1963 over 200,00 Americans gathered at the Washington monument to protest cruelty that was being spread among our country. On that day, one of the most famous speeches of all American history was delivered. From that speech, America experienced a change that has brought us to where we are today. In the famous, “I have a dream” speech proclaimed by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., many types of rhetoric was utilized to try and stop the racial inequality that was occurring within our country at the time.

The most rhetorical appeal used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his letter is Pathos. Pathos is an element that brings out emotions of pity, sadness, and compassion. Dr. King uses this rhetorical appeal in his letter to convince the public about the injustice African Americans face. Dr. King also gave details of information about what is happening to blacks in the society, so the public can easily relate to. An example of pathos used in this letter is he states, “Injustice anywhere is a treat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects all indirectly’’.

On April 16 of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham” while sitting in a Birmingham jail in Alabama. During this time Alabama was a place where segregation was prevalent, and Dr. King had nonviolent protests to bring to light these issues. This letter by Dr. King was written as a reaction to Alabama clergyman who was against his nonviolent protests and directed at them. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King effectively uses the rhetorical strategy of pathos to achieve his purpose of justifying his cause for protest, a model that can be applied to the upcoming portfolio project. Rhetorical Strategy

On August 28th, 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke passionately for 17 minutes on his views about human equality for African Americans at one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in history. King played a major role in ending the segregation for African Americans. His rhetorical language left an impact on America. Through his use of appeals like ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical techniques. He influenced Americans to believe in the notion that all men are created equal.

Dr. King gave a demonstration concerning this agonizing, perplexing question by recalling an event that occurred immediately after Christ’s transfiguration. Therefore, as Jesus was coming down from the mountain, He found a small boy that was in wild convulsions. Continuously the disciples had tried desperately to cure the unhappy child, but the harder they labored to heal him the more they realized their own inadequacies and the pathetic limitations of their power. But just before they were about to give up in despair; Jesus appeared on the scene. Then after the father of the child told Jesus of the failure of the disciples, Jesus “rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him, and the child was cured that same hour.”

In Martin Luther King Junior’s speech, he talks about important issues of the time they we’re in regarding black freedom, and the freedom for all. By freedom, I believe he means he wants the world to understand that certain people should have limitations for what they can and cannot do solely based on the color of their skin. He wants people to know that everyone should be a free person and their skin color does not matter.

Dr. Martin Luther King is an emotional and powerful speaker. His " I Have A Dream" speech brings all of the emotion out of the people that was there with his powerful words; thus, this speech is an exibit of pathos. With pathos being the most dominant over ethos and logos, they’re all used in his speech. He uses pathos to talk demonstrate the inequality and non acceptance the African-American people faced. between pathos, ethos and logos, pathos stands out the most from the rest of them.