What Are The Rhetorical Devices In I Have A Dream Speech

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech at the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” He used a metaphor to give a more vivid description of how the emancipation Proclamation impacted the lives of African Americans. He said “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering justice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.” (209)The statement “A joyous day break to end the long night of captivity” (209) is referring to the emancipation proclamation. The long night that King is referring to would be the many years that African-Americans were enslaved. King uses the rhetorical device of pathos to bring about emotion to the nation. He gives the image of oppressed beaten down slaves that have overcome slavery only to be denied their human rights once more. This was a very powerful opening marker for King because it sets the tone for the exact purpose of why he is delivering the speech. Another metaphor within the speech is when Kings says “It is obvious that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’.” (209)This dynamic metaphor paints a realistic picture for Americans explaining how people of color are not being granted their equal

Within this quote there are multiple metaphors that help bolden King’s thoughts: “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” “island of poverty,” and “vast ocean of material prosperity.” These metaphors explain how it still felt nearly impossible to end discrimination, and how Negroes are on their own with no support. The use of the metaphors display a deeper and stronger meaning to the topics that King was passionate about. These rhetorical devices brought to the non-colored portion of the audience’s attention of how difficult the life of a Negro was and that freeing the slaves one hundred years ago was not enough.

It is necessary to first understand King's arguments before delving into the actual analysis. King's main argument is that African-Americans are not free or equal according to the rights

He does this by justifying his actions through the use of quotation, allusions, and pathos. As he justifies his action, King ultimately conveys a bigger idea of inequality and oppression in America. America is supposedly the land of freedom and equality, however with segregation, the creations of unjust laws, and oppression towards certain groups, people are tied down and restricted from their rights. Action is required to protect these rights, and waiting for a designated time is futile. This not only applies to issues of the past, but also issues of today. Many LGBT, blacks, females, etc. are still experiencing injustices in today’s time and age. Just like King’s claim, action needs to be taken now in order to protect the rights of the people and to establish

Secondly within the text King challenges the system that has been forced upon African Americans. Going back the the concept of segregation. It was designed to systematically keep the African American community oppressed without the community knowing it or the government directly stating it. The White lawmakers tried with all their power to keep the African American community powerless and have a sense of inferiority. Martin Luther King Jr. challenged those who tried to enforce this ideology by speaking against it despite the danger. He spoke out against these racist laws in the quote “A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law.” (92, King) Within this quote he speaks against the unfair laws that affected African Americans but they were not able to vote on. It is incredibly unfair and unconstitutional to deny someone the right to vote let alone create a law affecting a specific race without letting

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.

King’s use of word choice intensifies his speech to stop racial discrimination in America. He uses negative words, like “captivity”, “poverty” and “persecution” to describe that African-Americans have no freedom and constantly being discriminated within society due to their skin colour. Kings distinctive voice begins with “One hundred years ago” is repeated, which suggest the lack of no change in the lives of African- Americas one hundred years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves. King also states “America has given the Negro people a bad cheque, a cheque which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’, which recognises his use of a metaphor to express something that many people in the audience may have felt or even experienced. Personification is used when he says “that one day the nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed” America here is being compared to a human being who can rise up and live the true meaning of his belief. The intensity of King’s speech is built through bold statements and rhythmic repetition. Each repetition builds on the one mentioned before and is reinforced by King’s increasing passion “Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina…” It would always take a commanding voice to inspire thousands and King’s booming voice was well practiced in

King is trying to connect to the crowd of people and trying to get equal rights for everyone no matter their religion,color of their skin. “King is connecting with his audience member not only as a fellow man of color, but as a parent of children whom he hopes will inherit a better world because of his actions in the civil rights movement now” he is saying that he wants his kids to have a better life than him because he got judged by the color of his skin and he doesn't want that for his kids. A 100 years ago slavery was suppose to stop but it didn't. “ Five score year ago a great America in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree is a great beacon light of hope it millions of negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of injustice…..” this shows that even though slavery had ended it was still going on and people still had to do hard word just because the color if their

The grievances occurring in 1963 weren’t supposed to still be an issue to African Americans. Dr. King references the Emancipation Proclamation and tells of the injustice still being reaped. They were given rights in the Constitution, but their daily lives tell another story. African Americans were still encountering racism through forms of employment and schooling. Dr. King wants to be given what they were promised: equality.

King makes a frequent use of metaphor throughout his speech and creates powerful images using multiple metaphors. The most powerful metaphors he used were comparing several banking terms to the constitution and discrimination. For instance, he used “promissory note” as an image for Constitution which is an important obligation that need to be honored. King believed that America has failed to honor the Constitution by addressing the issue of black men discrimination. In addition, he compares bad treatment that black men received with “bad check” that marked with “insufficient fund.” This powerful metaphor gives the clearer image of King’s message of discrimination that happened in the country – discrimination that black men received.

King employs many metaphors throughout his speech to disclose emotions that can only be represented by comparing two things. The most notable example is in the beginning of his speech where he compares the lack of justice to a "check with insufficient funds." By doing this, King makes his audience acknowledge that the African American population has been deprived of its freedom. This example correlates with the rest of his speech speaking on how African Americans are treated as less than human even after being granted their freedom in 1865. To fully understand why he compares these two things the audience will need to know information regarding the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and how they were supposed to give African American slaves equal rights. This metaphor makes the audience recognize that African Americans

Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted peace and he was determined to speak it into existence. As powerful as King’s speech was and still is, it had to have a more concrete meaning. King’s approach to the situation only made his speech more dynamic because King was not just fighting for African Americans, but he was fighting for the world. King’s use of rhetorical devices made his “I Have a Dream” speech what it is today. Pathos was the dominant rhetorical device, but the way King used amplification, authority, and anaphora made the people of yesterday and today appreciate things a bit

King uses plenty of simile and also allusion in his speech. This makes much more people feel like what is going on is very unfair and disrespectful. He is comparing real world examples to everything that was going on during this time. The examples he uses are great for him, but they’re better for the way the American view the things that were happening around them during this time. King wants people to realize how unequally blacks are

Furthermore, in the introductory paragraph, King alludes to Abraham Lincoln when he says: “Five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” This historical allusion was efficiently used, it demonstrates to the audience that the 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, believed in the equal worth of both races since he agreed to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation states that freedom, justice, and equality is guaranteed to all Americans. However, King uses it in the speech to display the injustice presented to the African Americans. King uses many literary devices to convey a message to the audience that states: African Americans

"We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice". [Avoid starting a paragraph on a quote. Instead, create a strong transition sentence in your own words]With these words, King employs the technique of logos, the logic, as he appeals to the African American population not to give up their fight for civil equality. Furthermore, the organization of the speech is also quite logical. For instance, King begins by alluding to history, and then he portrays a picture of a seething American nightmare of racial injustice and ends the speech with dramatic future by painting the dream of a better, fairer future of racial harmony and integration [Maybe a little more on logos].