Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech

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.

“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

Many authors use rhetorical devices and strategies to get their point across and try to convince the reader to believe in their perspective. It can also be used to get emotions from its readers, but that isn’t really the whole point of persuading someone. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. uses an abundance of pathos in order to make the reader or clergymen feel sympathy towards the black people. Along with pathos, he uses logos and a bundle of hypophora. In order to obtain the goal of persuasion, Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter contains rhetorical devices.

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.

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 first argument king discusses the reason on why direct action is the only program he has left to use to get what he seeks. He does an exceptional job arguing this point, by promoting the fact that he tried the three other movements in order to accomplish the peaceful negotiations. King stated in his letter that “in any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action”. King collected the facts about the injustice in Birmingham. King stated that “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city”, he also said in his letter that record of brutality is widely known. King stated that he tried open negations and self-purification movements before driving to the direct action sit ins. King is giving the audience a logical and a credible reason behind the direct action program, being necessary in order to persuade the audience of why it is indispensable to use the plan. King uses poignant visuality of the fact , that his fellow brother and sister are inheriting injustice in the courts, while also being disparaged by the police of Birmingham and receiving inequitable bombings of Negro’s

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote numerous speeches in efforts to inspire the idea of non-violent protesting in hopes of eventually reaching racial equality. Under what conditions can a man with seemingly no connection to a local community step in and assume the mantle of leadership as a spokesman for a segment of that community’s population? In all of the speeches, one way or another, Dr. King used several different rhetorical devices in order to defend his own actions. In specific, two of his speeches, “I have a Dream” and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. King used the rhetorical devices of anaphora, allusion, and diction to relay his thoughts of what is right, and also as a way to build a common ground with his audience. Though the rhetorical devices are shared between the two speeches, there are also several differences. The main difference between the two speeches is that in “I have a Dream” Dr. King is vocalizing his own ideas for what could become of the United States of America. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. King is responding to the clergymen’s letter regarding his braking of the law. The rhetorical devices as well as the speeches are similar, while the audience is the factor that changes the premise.

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.

The pinnacle of the civil right’s movement had produced many of the most influential and well-known activists in the nation such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination, people took their grief to the public and called for acts of violence to deal with the sudden loss. As their anger continued to rise, Cesar Chavez published an article, in which he urged people to come to their senses and take a less violent approach to the situation. Chavez states that only through nonviolence will people continue to strive towards the peace that they and Dr. King have so long looked forward to. He appeals to his audience by relating to their commitment to God and struggles in everyday life in order to garner their support. He also

While what King refers to throughout his speech creates an emotion that spreads through the crowd, he realized the power of words and their effect on people. He uses “horror,” “distrust,” and “brutality,” to represent what their past and present consisted of. “Glory,” “hope,” and “dream,” are used in his speech to show what their future would be like after that day. King starts of the speech retelling why the audience is there, fighting for their rights, and

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black."1

To begin, Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American rights activist and an impressive preacher. One day during a peaceful protest, he was arrested and sent to the Birmingham Jail. In jail, he wrote a detailed, metaphoric letter to the clergy men, speaking about the recent racism problems and how to fix it. He wrote page after page of issues, using several examples and many iconic phrases from history. Martin Luther King Jr. was not an uneducated fool, as many seen him. He knew that if he used ethos, pathos, and logos, he would get many people on his side, consisting his notable character known by the church, his ability to evoke sympathy, and his logical way to present this problem.

While sitting in a jail cell, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. uses this time of reflection to write a letter to the 7 white church leaders in the south in rebuttal to their recent criticisms of the Civil Rights Movement. The letter comes after the recent protest in Birmingham, and the criticisms of his work form the Southern leaders. King crafts his argument in a cause and effect style to illustrate the direct problems or criticisms, and refutes these claims with substantial support in favor of his movement. He builds his persuasive argument through ethos and logos, to present the validity of the cause, and then he calls for reflection from the church leaders. While his tone does not stroke any of the leader’s ego, he appeals to their

On April 3rd, 1968 in Memphis,Tennessee at the Mason Temple many protesters came together to hear Martin Luther King Jr’s speech. His purpose was to get his point across, blacks should have their freedom like any other white man or woman. Martin Luther King Jr. went on to say how happy he is to be living in this time period, able to see the period of life unfold. His purpose was to raise awareness that, something is happening in the world,things are going to start changing. Martin Luther King Jr’s use of ethos and pathos is successful in showing that the world is changing in many ways. Most of all he uses logos or logic very well, giving us the info on how, people are starting to rise up in masses and make small cities bigger like New York City, Atlanta, Georgia and many other cities.

He explains to his audience that when the Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery, all he had to do was keep the slaves fighting among themselves. But when the slaves came together, that was the beginning of getting out of slavery. Thus, the civil rights community must stay unified in order to achieve what they want. Still in the past, King next reminds his audience of their success in Birmingham, Alabama. Through these remarks, King restores their faith, telling them that they had done it once, so there was no reason why they couldn’t successfully protest again.