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Similarities And Differences Between I Have A Dream And Martin Luther King

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“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” This was said by Martin Luther King, Jr and, unknowingly, represented his life. He was a minister, and major advocate for the Civil Rights movement in America, and helped to gain equality for African Americans. While many people supported King, many changes he advocated came after his assassination in 1968. This essay will compare and contrast Martin’s two famous literary pieces, “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, and discuss whether he was successful with their intents. Dr. King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in front of more than 200,000 people. He spoke of his hopes for future generations, inspiring many people. Through describing the difficulties that he and other African Americans had to face, he even changed some people's perspectives, leading to a renewed interest in the movement for equality. Another literary piece of Martin’s was titled “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. His letter was a famous argument and a response to “A Call for Unity”, which had criticised the actions of protesters and African Americans at the time. While this was a letter written only a few months before his speech, they had many similarities and differences. Both literary works by Dr. King inspired many people and helped to build a strong generation who knew what they wanted. Freedom, equality, and justice. However, despite similar purposes and uses, his speech and letter also had differences. In his speech, Martin focused on encouraging people who already agreed with him, he proved that he understood how they felt and that he felt the same way. However, his letter was addressed specifically to the Clergymen who wrote “A Call for Unity”, and he attempted to connect with them through their religion, and help them to understand his views. The secondary and tertiary audiences for the two pieces are very similar however. In both he was also trying to win over others who did not agree with him, who were mainly Christian and Caucasian Americans at the time. Throughout his speech he mentioned American society, Justice, and the differences that African Americans were forced to face in

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