Martin Luther King Speech Analysis

Throughout the world, many speeches are delivered that convey an essential message to the minds of the audience. Similarly, a revolutionary man delivered a speech to embolden and assert the audience in dissidence against the intolerable discrimination as well as the segregation of African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent figure in the history of Civil Rights, recited his famous speech, “I Have A Dream.” He stood for the ideas of social equality. Throughout his speech, he used extensive rhetorical strategies that made it effective for the audience.

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation… But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free...the Negro is sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chain of discrimination,“ (King 261). During the civil rights movement Martin Luther King, Jr. had a speech about how they were treated and does not have much right like others, even they were supposed to be free long ago. During the 1960s, the group of people was treated poorly than another group of people. People who are treated unwantedly wanted a right, freedom, and change in society. Like what Martin Luther King told his audiences they were supposed to have the same

In the most paramount time of racism in America, there a voice that enacted a call for change. Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister and social activist who spent countless years, fighting for a civil rights. It was on the date of August 28th, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln memorial is where King made his leap of faith and spoke out on the injustice of African Americans. His dream for African Americans to be equal, appealed to the emotions of his audience. The desire to live a civil life and not be oppressed was felt by many. Martin Luther King delivered a speech that would immensely make an impact on the country.

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.

On the day of August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the world’s most famous speech on the front steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The speech was lively announced on a bright sunny day in front of a heavy crowd, which is said to of had 250,000 mixed racial people standing before the podium. The crowd went wild while he spoke about his future motives to change the way America treats African Americans. The speech was given to persuade a change in America, by ending segregation and giving equal rights to the African American race. Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister, and a social activist. He led the civil rights movement from the mid-1950’s to his heavy-hearted death, when he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. Although he was never around to see the beautiful work he had accomplished, his speech and motive helped in creating the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Dr. King performed a motivational speech by using Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, which influenced Americans to believe the idea that all men were created equal.

Life was difficult for African Americans before the passage of civil rights laws recognizing equal rights. They were constantly insulted with comments of racism. The photograph of a lunch counter protest from the article “Miss. honors 50th anniversary of its Woolworth’s sit in” in the USA Today shows three protesters being abused by an angry mob. From the photograph we can conclude racism was a big thing blacks had to deal with every day.

“I have a dream’ a great man once said, a man who knew no limits, a great man who would not let oppression and racism get in his way, a great man who would never fight with tooth and nail but instead...would fight with words. This great man that I speak of is Martin Luther king jr.Dr.king’s “I have a dream” speech was at the Lincoln memorial, the audience was the people who came to listen to his speech.Dr.King’s letter was for the eight white clergymen who criticized him for his speech by calling it "unwise and untimely". Dr.King was a man who knew no bounds, he used logos and pathos to draw people in to do the right thing, he taught people not to fight with fists but with voice for equality. And paper shall compare Dr. King's greatest speech/letter on there use of logos and pathos.

According to Martin Luther King,”The time is always right to do what is right” This shows Martin Luther’s fairness and well tuned logic. So I found that,”I Have a Dream” to be the more compelling speech for many reasons. His central idea of having the rights brought by the founding fathers come to fulfillment is very inspiring. His main ideas ,on the other hand, use rhetorical devices such as figures of speech and imagery to support his central idea well. He also uses allusions and ethos to help his argument.

One hundred years after the abolishment of slavery, under a luminous summer sun, a large crowd assembles in between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The activists hustle and bustle around, murmuring in anticipation and unaware of the exquisite masterpiece they are about to perceive. Soon though, a preacher by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. is introduced and steps to the podium. The crowd is overwhelmed by thunderous applause that is instantly silenced once he speaks the first words of a speech that is to be remembered for the rest of history. “I am happy,” (King 1) King starts and he has a splendid reason to be; after all, he inspired millions to justly defend their basic human rights. His adroit use of rhetoric such as

First and foremost, Dr. King begins his speech by making it clear that he and the oppressed are American citizens and should be treated as such. By this statement alone, he questions the integrity of the American government and its loyal citizens. As through slavery and segregation, the Christian foundation of which America was built on has been discarded. What the founding fathers fought for and wrote in the Constitution mostly applied to white Americans. In a way, one can say that the minorities were fatherless because they did not look upon as American citizens. They were treated as the unwanted children of America and the Rosa Park bus incident which is the reason of his speech, portraits that perfectly.

During the 20th century, the oppression and segregation of black individuals in the United States was very common and people. “The Southern states kept African Americans separated from whites in almost all facets of life. In some cases, the disparities were appalling.” (David)This was clearly an infringement of human rights some of the founding founders of the United States. This was due to the fact that most of the African American citizens in the United States had ancestral roots that were mostly slaves and as a result, they were considered not fit to share the same privileges as the White Citizens. With this uprising, it was common to see formulation of protest groups and Human right activist who stood up to fight for the justice and equality

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most influential speeches in American history. America was in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement, and Martin Luther King Jr desperately wanted to mend the deep tear in our country. King stood on the Lincoln memorial, and impacted the nation with his words. King spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that was taking place in the United States at that time. In his first statement King wrote, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” King was determined to unite as one, and cure our country of racial injustice through this speech, and

Historic social activist, humanitarian, and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., prepared a speech, “I Have a Dream”, to advocate his beliefs on what was occurring during the Civil Rights Movement. King’s purpose is to change the beliefs of the American people who are part of the civil rights movement and to get them all on the same page of equality and freedom. He supported the civil rights movement and wanted to end the segregation of blacks and whites all throughout the nation. Martin Luther King Jr. adopts a determined tone throughout the speech to effectively show his passion on his beliefs. *Catherine add a thesis*

The intended audience would have to be every single American person alive. Because, of the microphone stand we know it could be heard nationwide, and the police officers in the photo next to the speech, lets us know there was an immense crowd.

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of hundreds of thousands of people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his influential “I Have a Dream” speech. King, a significant figure in the Civil Rights Movement, ignited activists across the nation that day as he encouraged and inspired his supporters to protest the injustice African-Americans experienced in their environment. Dr. King’s speech, efficacious for the use of rhetorical devices to demonstrate the necessity of racial equality to his audience, helped shape American society’s view and treatment of black people.