The Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history. Martin Luther King Jr. was a masterful speaker, who established a strong command of rhetorical strategies. By his eloquent use of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as his command of presentation skills and rhetorical devices, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free" (King 1). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on as an everlasting masterpiece.

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.

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.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices “out the wazoo” throughout his letter directed specifically at his fellow clergymen (or fellow ministers and christian leaders), otherwise known as his peers. He seems to stress many different inequities over history, specifically occurrences with the African American community. Narrowing down and focusing in on paragraph's 13-14, we can analyze his specific usage of rhetoric that justifies his argument on the timeliness and reasoning for changing the inequitable laws of segregation. King’s major usage of ethos, and especially pathos, really “hits home” in its goal to disarm the the claims opposing King’s statement, “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” This quote defines King’s goal so well to me because it clearly defines the problem as well as solution which consists of a timely journey into the seemingly unreachable depths of freedom and equality. The problem lying in the delayed justification that the laws of segregation that must be revised so that the brotherhood of the American heart may be reunited once and for all.

A determinate of how effective a piece is can be recognized by how the piece affects the intended audience in the long run. In the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, both authors use several different effective rhetorical methods to convey their messages to the audience. Edwards (one of the best speakers in his time) and King (one of the most influential Civil Rights activists) both use these methods in an effective way. King and Edwards both use different methods to convey their messages, but it is important to analyze what one is the most effective on the intended audience. You must analyze how Edwards uses direct addressing

Dr. King uses pathos appeal on paragraph two to get the reader feel that there is hope for the racial equality situation. The hope will make them more willing to fight this battle. On paragraph 2 of the speech, Dr. King says, “great beacon light” and “joyous daybreak to end the long night.” This brings hope to the reader because usually when someone hears light, they associate it with something good going to happen. Light is a symbol of something nice and good happening. When King talks about the “joyous daybreak,” he is talking about how even through the dark, there is light. This gives the audience hope that in the end there will be equal rights for everyone no matter what color they are. It is also a way to describe something hopeful. Paragraph

Many people believe that their voice won’t be heard in this world but this mans voice changed the nation. It was 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. when king delivered his greatest speech on the facts of injustices to the black community. King makes an effective argument about the inequality of treatment the black community through his use of ethos, pathos, logos, and alliteration. King builds his credibility through the use of personal events for injustice done to him, his family and friends.

In order to convey his message to an audience, a speaker must utilize several tactics. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. uses the appeal to emotions to persuade the audience to be against the Vietnam war. By appealing to the emotions of the audience, Martin Luther King Junior helps to evoke a sense of pity, thus convincing the audience to side with his point of view. One of the most compelling arguments King uses is the mentioning of family. He states “the war was ... sending [the poor’s] sons, their brothers, and their fathers to fight and to die...”.

The central idea is that Martin Luther King Jr. persuaded a lot of people that they should go out and peacefully try and make a difference. In “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. he is very compelling because he uses a lot of figurative language to explain his reasoning behind why African Americans should have the same rights as whites. The most important paragraph was the third paragraph. A quote that describes it well is “ One hundred years later, the life of the negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”

In Martian Luther King Jr’s speech I have a dream; King used his words skillfully and intellectually to target his audience’s emotions. His words lifted up the spirits and hopes of those who stood in support of him. Imagine how different an impact his speech would have had if he approached it with the emotional appeal of pity or sympathy. It’s not likely many people would have been moved if he pulled the poor pitiful us card. Instead, King went at it guns a blazing determined to let everyone there know that they were not down for the count and their voice mattered. When King used the words, “…America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” The crowd erupted with cheers. This is what they wanted to hear. This was the message that needed to be given all over the United States.

wrote a very well planned out speech for the specific occasion he was speaking at. He made his speech on August 28th 1963, a time where racism was ravaging especially in the south. However, being the man he was, he bravely stood up in front the nation’s capitol and spoke his mind. He had such eloquence when he wrote this because it flows so well.

In these excerpts from his speech, he talks about his experiences as in what he has seen and heard. For example, he talks about how he watched both black and white men waging war against Vietnam, burning down huts and crushing men’s deepest dreams. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks about the cruel irony of this war when in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem the same thing is happening only its Us citizens fighting each other. This type of argument is compelling because it speaks of a horror that to most US citizens have no way to relate to and compares it to the Vietnam which citizens saw first hand. He also appeals to the hearts of the masses using their sympathy for the soldiers and connects this to the residents

still have a dream.” Using ethos helped demonstrate his credibility by showing that he can relate to Negros and that he too has personally experienced racial inequality.

The date and time for the speech was 28 August 1963. The speaker was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The audience were a massive group of civil rights marchers approximately two hundred fifty thousand. The topic the speaker addressed was for an end to racism in the United States, and economic and civil rights. I had minimum knowledge that it would be about addressing the end to discrimination of the negroes. Yes, the speaker was introduced as a great man of this nation. The speaker had a couple qualifications for speaking on this subject since he had a dream, and was a negro wanting an end to racist behavior. My initial impression of the speaker was a brave man to stand in front of thousands of people, and mention a matter that was serious. I personally would rate the

Martin Luther King Jr. was a very powerful activist for the African Americans. Not only was he fighting for our rights to be free and to have the choice and the voice to do different things, he was also a voice for equality and for the blacks and the whites to come together as one. He wanted the nation to be together instead of apart. One day, he wrote a very powerful speech that touched many many hearts. His speech was so powerful that it is still very important in todays’ world. This speech is known as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. This speech struck a nerve to everybody black or white. It made everybody finally listen to what the African-Americans had to say. This one, powerful speech sparked a change around the world. “The speech of the great African- American orator, preacher, humanitarian and civil rights activist, Martin Luther King (Jr.), pays more attention to the injustice, racial discrimination, oppression and inequality meted out on the blacks by whites in the American society, and shows how those issues can be resolved through a particular ideology.” (Ubong Josiah) In this speech that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, he acknowledged the needs of African-Americans. He said and did what he had to do to touch the lives of everyone so that one day everyone would be treated the same.