Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Speech

In a speech Rev. Martian Luther King Jr. gave to the Riverside Church in New York City, King conveyed his beliefs on the horrific atrocities currently present in the Vietnam War. King began by stating that no longer Vietnam was a oversea issues, "Vietnam [had to be brought] into the field of my moral vision". Likewise, King stated the issues at home such as the overwhelming majority of the nation's poor were fighting in the Vietnam War. In King's mindset, a nation that held it self on the acclaim that all men are created equal, was in fact not equal. King uses a variety of persuasive elements including, but not limited to: concrete examples and analysis, a robust tone, and powerful rhetoric. While King was only one voice out of many of those who were on both sides of the war, King still managed to change others views about politics through the usage of his persuasive elements. In all, King posses a natural eloquence that allows him to spread his message far and wide with the hopes that America will never forget the testatrices that took place at home and oversea during the Vietnam War.

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.

He uses short sentences very frequently to drum his ideas into the audiences mind. A perfect example of these short sentences is when King says, ?This is our hope.? By making those four words a complete sentence, it emphasises the individual words and really persuades the audience towards his ideas. Another persuasive structural technique which King uses to captivate the audience is the length of his paragraphs. He signposts the beginnings and ends of his paragraphs very effectively throughout his speech using recurring ideas. An example of this is when he starts 8 consecutive paragraphs with the words, ?I have a dream?. This helps the audience to understand his speech and each of the different points he makes. Another structural aspect of his speech which makes it easy to listen to is the grouping of ideas. The major grouping of the ideas in the speech is in two parts. The beginning of the speech is about how black people were being mistreated at the time and how the Negro was, ?sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.? The second part of the speech however, was all about looking to the future. It was about his dream of a nation where people, ?will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.? This structure to his speech makes it easy to listen to and helps draw the audience in to him.

King and X employed figurative language in their methods of persuading their audience. In King’s “I Have a Dream” speech he conveys the use of similes in the phrase, “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” in order to illustrate the need for justice until all are equal. He stresses the need of discrimination to end and for justice to let all nondiscriminatory in society. He used the negativity of injustice and turned it into a positive of justice being endless water that roars through a mighty stream that will forever be flowing. X also used similes to describe that all “negroes” are in the same boat and all will get the same treatment from the white man in the phrase, “…you’re going to catch hell just like I am.” He emphasizes that all “negroes” whether educated or illiterate or wealthy or poor will gain the same result of the hell that is being brought upon the by the same man who happens to be white. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X felt the lack of acceptance and the treachery being brought upon them by the white man in their use of similes.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, King uses different rhetoric devices to advance his purpose, which is the African Americans have suffered too many injustices to keep quiet any more. The different rhetoric devices he uses are ethos, pathos, and logos.

With the people of The United States of America categorized as the audience, King speaks to people of all races and ethnicity. This discriminated audience included the grasping appeals to the ethos, pathos, and logos. As each appeal is fully informed of the rhetorical purpose, King finds a way to encourage all three. Through several metaphors and types of imagery, he makes the decision to speak to all of the appeals in order to accomplish to need for change. Clearly aimed directly at the hearts of blacks and making the whites feel ashamed of their actions brought together a turn in society as they knew it. This specific structure geared towards the audience was the main reason why King impacted Americans across the country and not just at the march. These different appeals mixed within the audience to help King influence his purpose of racial equality as each type of person could relate to his moving words.

Very common in the South, segregation was to blame. Segregation was everywhere and on behalf of Jim Crow laws, inhumane ideas accumulated. African Americans were treated as if they were animals, which is morally wrong and sinful. Both of King’s examples give emotional and logical reasoning to make the reader think and actually perceive how the African Americans felt during segregation. The letter and speech that are used to compare and also to contrast in rhetorical devices are “I Have A Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Both are written and/or spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Using pathos and logos King emphasizes the struggle of African Americans during segregation.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was an astonishing display of language that persuaded the American nation to dissolve the barrier that stood between equality for all in our great nation. The true beauty in Dr. King’s speech rests in his ability to persuade the audience at the Lincoln Memorial, as well as, the nation to believe that it is a necessity to rid the exigence of segregation. Through the usage of metaphors that engage the reader, King uses language as an instrument to control the audience’s emotions and fuel their ideas that they can be the ones to make the change to propel our nation from one mediocrity to greatness. In his speech, King uses an eloquent blend between symbols and emotions through metaphors to persuade the audience that there is no true constraint that can hold them from achieving their goal and use the historical March on Washington as the solution to this exigence that failed to wither away one hundred years ago when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Referring to “vaults of opportunity… riches of freedom and the security of justice”, Martin Luther King Jr. intelligently and metaphorically expresses how valuable equality is for African American citizens (King Jr. 2). After speaking out about injustice and lies, his discourse changes as it comes to an end. King Jr. focuses more on the unification of the nation instead of focusing only on African Americans. He faithfully believes the nation can “transform…. Into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood” (King Jr. 5). Highly contrasting from his first metaphors, the audience is provided a sense of peace and faith. Martin Luther King Jr. used many metaphors to mold the hearts of the audience and persuade them to believe in the civil rights movement.

It's the 1960's; American society is being torn asunder by civil unrest involving the struggle for equality at home and an inhumane war in Vietnam. In the midst of such turbulence, Martin Luther King Junior argues that American involvement in the war in Vietnam is unjust. He poignantly examines the thesis using appeals to ethos logos and pathos.

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.

In Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he uses a series of metaphors and similes that allow him to express his emotions and experiences with racial injustice. While using these two devices he effectively connects to the reader and the audience while voicing his opinions. As king uses metaphors throughout his letter, he is able to convince his audience ( the clergymen) and his readers to imagine themselves in the place of African Americans, focusing on the full meaning of King’s letter. “Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity. ”(pg.268, line 11)

emotion is also shown through his tone of voice during his speech and the evident passion he holds as a civil rights activist. Another important tactic used in King’s argument is his extensive use of metaphors throughout his whole entire speech. Using metaphors in an argumentative piece of writing can sometimes help put theoretical ideas into concrete matter. In King’s use of metaphors, he uses phrases like “great beacon light of hope” and “great vaults of opportunity” to make his opinionated words more understandable to the common man. Also, his appeal to logic (making claims that defy all counter arguments) makes his argument multiple times stronger than what it could be without it.

Martin Luther King Jr. advocates for non-violence throughout much of his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” However, he uses the extremist behavior of the black nationalists as a way to threaten the “white moderates” into siding with him on the issue of Civil Rights with the idea that he is the most moderate and sensible person leading the fight for equality. How can King justify using others’ violence to argue for nonviolence? Even though King’s tactics seems contradictory, it did help to encourage “white moderates” to advance his cause for equality, avoiding the violence of extremist groups.

King inspires those who support equal rights for all “ to rise up from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice”.and stand up for what they believe. He insists that people who believe in the cause to speak up and join together as one voice, to demand equal rights that they deserve. In addition King uses Light and Dark imagery to make a statement on how people have been waiting a long time to receive equality and the same freedom as everyone else. He does this by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, and how “ It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.