Rhetorical Analysis Of The I Have A Dream Speech

Subsequently, King exercises the strategy of pathos, the emotion appeal. In his statement, "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God\'s children". The great use of imagery with the contrast of light vs. dark here definitely draws audience’s attention. Moreover, by making references to the government as a "Bank of Justice" that gave African Americans a "bad check," King describes the situation of the African American people. He proclaims that the "Bank" is not bankrupt and that it was time to "cash the check". These metaphors are easy to understand and are something that the audience can relate to.

Like instruments in an orchestra being brought in one by one to a melody that fills the ears of its listeners and drives out any other thoughts, King then targets the white moderate population, the white voters. He tries to place this audience into the shoes of the black people by giving vivid descriptions of the trials they have been going through and invoke empathy in their hearts. He says: "When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your brothers and sisters at whim . . ." This statement brings up an issue every culture has had to deal with, death. Death in the American culture is one that is associated with loss and grief. King deftly imposes this loss on the shoulders of his white audience making it clear to them the pain the black people have been dealt.

King begins his story of the black americans by pointing out how children are treated the same as adults and to encourage the audience to feel sorry for the children. He appeals to periodic rhetorical questions, such as,”Was freedom a force?” and “ Why does misery constantly haunt the Negro?”. All that Black Americans wanted, was to be free of racial discrimination; however the White Americans had a different idea of “freedom” for them. He asks why do bad things happen to blacks. He states that even though they have committed no crime, they are treated as criminals. People that are being discriminated have nothing to be sorry for. By using rhetorical questions, he is trying to emphasize the biggest

He also uses the same rhetorical device in the speech, particularly when he says “America has given the Negro people a bad check; which has back marked ‘insufficient fund’. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. ”(26) In the speech he is expressing to the nation that justice yet to be made , the African Americans are still being treated wrong and it is time for a change. King thinks its time to look past skin color and look at the right’s of the people and making justice in all races a big

King was always trying to persuade his listeners that the present treatment of african americans was cruel and unjust, these are facts. King states in his speech “I Have a Dream”, “One hundred years later the negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the negro is still crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. ”(MLK 261). When king emphasizes that is has been 100 years and nothing has changed, the logical appeal may influence listeners to take his side.

In his speech, in order to back up his basic structure King uses rhetorical modes, one of which is pathos, or the mode of utilizing human emotions, by making his audience no longer hate Negroes and instead hate racism and wish for a new, better world, which is part of the structure of his essay. King tries his best in the speech to make the audience sympathize with the Negroes, dislike racism and then be filled with hope of a new world without racism by using strong adjectives and metaphors. For example, King constantly describes the Negroes as being “crippled” by the “manacles of segregation” and “chains of discrimination.” Through this, King makes the audience feel that the Negroes are in great calamity; as if the Negroes had committed a crime and have to be restrained, something which King emphasizes on when he compares the situation of the Negroes as to being stranded on a “lonely island of poverty” while everybody else around them are indulging in a “ocean of material prosperity.” Therefore, through this, the audience realizes how it is not because the Negroes are stupid that they live in poverty, but because the white American society is literally holding them back.

This was great rhetoric. King plays on Americans’ patriotism when he says, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” He makes it seem that those who are segregationists are backward people. Another great argument he makes is by showing the brutality African Americans must undergo. He says, “But when you have seen vicious mob s lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters…then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.” (King 47-48) King’s great arguments make it nearly impossible to ask African Americans to wait.

King knows of the wars being fought by each person and their families. King is“not unmindful that some of you [the black community] have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells.” and King understands that “some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering.”

On August 28th 1963, Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, King confronts the mistreatment of the African American community and the lack of free will they contain in society. Throughout the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement took place, influenced by centuries of cruelty towards the African Americans.. The most influential speech in the modern era was said in front of thousands of Civil Rights activists who all shared a common goal; to fight for the respect and to be treated as equals within the United States.

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 also makes it a point to share his ideas and hopes for the future as he talks about brotherhood and justice for all of “God’s children” not just limited to African Americans. To illustrate the idea of the struggle, King compares the feelings and “discontent” of the African Americans to the feeling that one gets during a very hot summer. He then uses autumn to compare the relief that it brings after the summer to the relief that will come to the people of color once they’ve gained freedom and equality. King makes sure to address the fact that the event is not just one in which the Negroes are venting nor are they just feeling the need to get something off their chest, but an event where they expect change to take place soon and thereafter. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual (Dr. Martin Luther King, 1963). In addition to addressing the oppressors, Dr. King also addressed his people and the ones supporting the movement. Drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred is something that Dr. King encourages the people not to do; he does not want the need for freedom and the weariness of struggle to cloud their vision. The fight is one in which King believes should be done with the heart and soul, not with fists and

The primary purpose of Dr. King’s eloquent and dramatically delivered speech is that of persuasion. King’s claim is the Negro people are still not free one hundred years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This warrant is supported by King’s effective emotional appeal to his African American audience. He supports this with the following: "but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” This is emotional because after one hundred years of oppression, the African American community has still not achieved their cultural and economic potential according to King. He is endeavoring to persuade his audience, fellow minorities and

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most moving speeches in American history. His powerful oration was characterized by bold statements that provoked deep thought and recollection among members of his audience and the nation as a whole. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King employs anaphora, allusions and strong metaphors and imagery to address the issue of racial injustice and mobilize the people towards a common cause.

Dr. King said in the speech that he hoped America would eventually live out its creed of that all men are created equal. “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’” (King). That means that America does not trust and respect the African Americans. He spoke the truth and never lost sight of what he believed

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