Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream

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.

King uses logos and pathos to help all Americans better understand the African-American struggle of the 1960s. In “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King’s use of pathos highlights the real emotions he is feeling about the America in which he lives in. He then uses logos to expand his reasoning behind the civil rights movement. A similarity between my logos and pathos quotes are that at least one of the quotes from each rhetorical device show some sort of problem between African Americans trying to receive freedom. A difference between the two quotes are that the pathos shows the struggle, and destroyed hope of what had happened. The logos quotes state more of a historical fact. The point trying to be made is that logos and pathos can show the struggle and facts all about the rough world during the

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who genuinely knew how to capture his audiences with his words. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” makes an appeal to his reader about the injustices that have been set in place by the oppressor. In the letter he talks about numerous things, mortal authority in Christian communities, American ideas, and the suffering of the African American community. Dr. King uses logos to persuade the reader why he s protesting in the first place because the oppressor has broken the negotiation between the whites and the African American. His logical argument to why the ideal way to proceed with non-violent protests is because of the political decisions that have been made. An example he brings up is the idea of there being just and unjust laws in America and as citizens those unjust should be deliberately disobeyed. Dr. King says, “Conversely, one has a mortal responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all” he soon starts to define what both type of laws means…”A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law…An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the mortal law.” In order to persuade his reader about the idea he has do more than engage with the readers emotions. By Dr. King defining what the difference between the two laws sets a more conceiving idea of the treatment towards African American. Martin Luther King basic point is unjust laws do not just hurt the one being oppressed but also the one doing the oppressing. This is more of logos appeal for the reason he is not trying to connect with the reader emotionally but rather make sure the reader understands his cause for the protests.

In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. makes appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos to convince the clergymen that colored people have been waiting for too long for political, economic, and social justice and freedom. He argues that it’s unfair to promise someone, or a group, for a change and not fulfill that promise. Along with demonetizing and/or belittling a person to the point where they don’t feel as important or as worth as they should; making them feel hatred and anger towards the person(s) that inflicted the pain on them, and anger towards their ethnic/culture. Also, that he is needed and wanted in Birmingham. King appeals to ethos to establish credibility and biblical allusion. King uses logos to process his

In Martin Luther King Jr’s famous speech, King uses Logos and Pathos to express the Negroes’ fight for fair treatment. “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence… was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’” (pg. 261-262, P4) This quote from MLK’s powerful speech used Logos by presenting a logical and convincing fact. It states how our founding fathers wrote the freedom of African Americans in the same legendary documents that we follow and live by today, not just white people, but all men are created equal. Other than using Logos to appeal to his large audience in front of the Lincoln Memorial, he also presented a large amount of emotional phrases

Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 wrote “Letter From Birmingham Jail” in largely in response to “Public Statement By Eight Clergymen” and the rising racial tension in the United States. In the letter, Dr. King addresses many of the arguments made against his civil rights protests and the timeliness of his actions. Dr. King illustrates his points by using pathos of the audience describing horrific and solemn scenes caused by segregation. He also supports his points using ethos quoting the bible, activists, and philosophers. Dr. king also uses logos making logical conclusions and arguments that defend his actions.

Martin Luther King Jr. is known for his speeches and active movements against segregation and oppression of African Americans in the mid-1900s. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King makes apparent the three artistic appeals, especially logos and pathos. Throughout the entire piece, King repeatedly appeals to logos and pathos using a series of rhetoric including anaphora, imagery, and allusion. By using these literary devices, King is able to effectively correct the misconceptions held by his accusers and justify the behavior of the nonviolent protest by shining light on the unjustified segregation that is holding the African American community hostage. In a response to a statement issued by eight white religious leaders of the South, King maintains a steady and respectful tone conveying to his audience his refinement and good cause.

In “The Letter to Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King played a role as the “protagonist” who tried to convince the clergymen that their intentions were good but not their actions. King guides the clergymen by answering their questions and supporting his side of the external conflicts. Not only does King try to get the clergymen to see he is right but also his audience, the white moderate, and non supporters. King used three ways of persuasion and each on supported different types of audiences, but the most effective on the clergymen was logos because it plays with the clergymen’s emotions and beliefs

In Dr king’s speech he uses both logos and pathos. In his speech Dr king uses logical information to explain how racism is becoming a major deal in America.“We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakaborrors of police brutality”(King 263)The quote appealed to his aquince be telling them how bad the black community is being treated. On the other hand Dr king also uses pathos

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.

In Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, King makes use of an innumerable amount of rhetorical devices that augment the overall understanding and flow of the speech. King makes the audience feel an immense amount of emotion due to the outstanding use of pathos in his speech. King also generates a vast use of rhetorical devices including allusion, anaphora, and antithesis. The way that King conducted his speech adds to the comprehension and gives the effect that he wants to rise above the injustices of racism and segregation that so many people are subjected to on a daily basis.

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.

As you may know, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was a very persuasive and opinionated man. In order to achieve this, he used two main types of persuasive appeals in his most famous work, “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” These appeals are known as logical and emotional appeals. Also known as logos and pathos. King’s usage of logos are just as effective to readers as his usage of pathos. When he uses them, they make readers/listeners even more confident in believing his argument.

To begin with, MLK uses the rhetorical device Logos in his “I have A Dream” speech. He states on page 261 paragraph 2,”Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” King selects this rhetorical device to make his speech more influential, respected, and effective by using this piece of logical information. King chooses this example of Logos to make his speech more influential, respected, and effective because when he stated that when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the signature “gave hope to millions of Negro slaves…It became a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” Based on his statement, we can conclude that many African American slaves had hope that other African Americans had a better future ahead of them. This rhetorical device persuades the audience to respect The Civil Rights Movement because he mentioned Abraham Lincoln. To elaborate, this mentioning of Lincoln persuades people to respect The Civil Rights Movement because Lincoln is known as “Americas Greatest President.” Being known as “Americas Greatest President” would influence people to respect the movement because those who believed he was “Americas Greatest President” would most likely contribute to the movement. Abraham Lincoln was known for being “Americas Greatest President” for many reasons, one of the reasons being how he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Mentioning Abraham Lincoln fits into the occasion which is to end segregation and fight for freedom because it shows how even after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; African Americans are still not free. By this I mean Colored people are still being treated differently and unfairly compared to Whites. This also fits

The marvelous use of ethos in this speech really brought out the problems that the blacks were faced with. The documents, government, and granted rights, said one thing but were they really meant for all? Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence, “the Negro still is not free”(“ American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King I Have a Dream”). All of these documents and promises made by the government about “freedom for all” wasn’t completely true because the blacks were given the same promise. They still had to sit in the back of the bus, and use different bathrooms, and go to segregated schools. King confronted the government about these unfair “rules” they produced by “ coming to cash this check”(“ American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King I Have a Dream”), meaning they have come to receive the promises they were given. The check was to give them “the riches of freedom” and “the security of justice“(“ American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King I Have a Dream”). He backs up his ethics by describing the real life actions he faced during the racist times like, physical violence and abusive