...“I have a dream” spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. was verbalized in 1963 on August 28. It was a national turning point for America. In his speech, he uses many literary expressions to portray his beliefs such as Metaphors and Allusions. These are heavily used to depict his ideas about the injustices of African American people and where these injustices thrive. Martin Luther King was an activist for civil rights. He, along with many, wanted to bring to light the terrible injustices that belong to an African American. He uses many metaphors to paint a vivid picture of the world as he saw it. In his speech he declared, “This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” He uses this metaphor to compare the time a segregation to a excruciating summer. He expresses that people will not rest until they are all considered equal. This time would be joyous just like the autumn, out of the heat and suffering. Later in the speech, Dr. King also states,”The...
Words: 639 - Pages: 3
...apart. Then during the 1960’s, Martin Luther King began to speak up. He was a simple minister from Alabama, until he became the figurehead of the Civil Rights movement. King had witnessed racial injustices for many years, but even he couldn’t have imagined the impact he would make by standing up to those injustices.He organized boycotts, led rallies, and gave speeches; however, he is best known for one speech. The "I Have a Dream..." speech was given during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Over 250,000 civil rights supporters witnessed one of the most famous speeches in history. King used powerful, emotional metaphors, repetition, Logical appeal, and Emotional appeal to rally the audience by painting a picture of what the world could be. At the time King gave his...
Words: 1028 - Pages: 5
...Comparative/Contrast Journal The “I have a Dream” speech written and preached by Martin Luther King has a greater impact in effectively persuading their message to the audience than the speech written by Chief Dan George. While Martin Luther King uses Greek philosopher Aristotle’s three “proofs” or appeals; ethos, logos pathos throughout his speech, Chief Dan George only uses two out of the three proofs; ethos and pathos. Though both leaders hold the desire to send out a strong message to their audiences, the speech written and spoken by Martin Luther King contains all three proofs which results in having a greater impact on the people as they are more easily convinced by his vision. Ethos being Greek for “character” is used heavily in King’s...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...On August 28, 1963, in Washington DC Martin Luther KingJr.,gave one of his most famous speeches titled “I have a dream” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.King’s purpose for delivering this speech was to inspire people to unite as one.He wanted to end racial discrimination and lead a progression of civil rights for all human beings regardless of race or cultural background. He dreams one day that his children will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. He introduced his topic with three words “ I Have a Dream”, he unified the concept of where there was no social hatred,where people were treated equally, and where it wasn’t a crime to be a minority. The speech was split up into two sections, the...
Words: 500 - Pages: 2
... 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of African Americans. King delivered a memorable speech called “I Have a Dream”. A speech about the Civil Rights Movement, and made America think more about what the Declaration of Independence establishes of what America should strictly follow, which is “All men are created equal” no matter what skin color ,nationality, and ethnicity. King dreamt about civil rights his whole life, now everyone in the United States is created equal not just men. The audience that this speech targeted was the United States, so they could realize how harsh America has gotten. White people during this time period should be ashamed of themselves of treating innocent people the way they did, only because of the distinct skin color. King encouraged America, and the world to make a change about being divergent. “I Have a Dream” speech changed the face of America forever....
Words: 655 - Pages: 3
...Throughout American history, racism has fractured this country in many aspects. The United States is notorious for a racist history towards people of color. Why has the African-American culture been handled differently for numerous years in the United States? Martin Luther King Jr. posed this very question in his “I Have A Dream” speech to the American people. In August of 1963, Dr. King delivered the speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His speech contained multiple rhetorical devices, including repetition, allusion, imagery, symbolism, and irony. Rhetorical devices are used in order to arouse an emotion, inspire to take action, and persuade a new point of view. This speech is celebrated as one of the most inspirational speeches in history, and it served as the turning point of the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout “I Have A Dream,” Dr. King emphasizes that segregation is erroneous by utilizing different literary elements....
Words: 563 - Pages: 3
...Luther King Jr. In 1963, King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech, in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The speech's location and date signify that even after years of the emancipation proclamation being pioneered the African Americans still face discrimination in their own country. The location aids King's mission of getting his message across, which is that all people deserve equal rights and he hopes to see all Americans united. To convey his message, King uses rhetorical devices such as diction, a rhetorical question, and repetition. In the beginning of his speech, King uses diction to stress his point that even after years of African Americans being set free from their positions of slaves, they still feel like they're chained up. King uses words such as "great", 'hope", and "joyous" to describe the emancipation proclamation. The emancipation proclamation was instigated by Abraham...
Words: 718 - Pages: 3
...Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech exhibits rhetorical elements in which he uses repetition within his strong imagery, logical thoughts, and credible examples to support his argument that all men are created equal and should be treated as such. In the first paragraph of King’s speech, he immediately evokes Pathos in his audience. He refers to the beacon of light that has been “seared in the flames of withering injustice.” This image casts a feeling of hopelessness and despair. The metaphors invoke an initial feeling in his listeners and grab their attention. The second paragraph continues the strong use of imagery, but he also incorporates a repetition to help strengthen his message. His reference to “One hundred years later”...
Words: 570 - Pages: 3
...Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” Likita M. Taylor ITT-Tech English 1320: Composition I November 12 2012 Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” These are the opening words of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech”, which he predicted will be the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement and the turning point in finally ending segregation. Time and time again, his speech is credited as being “one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history.”(Martin, 2010, 10 par 1). He was an astonishing, intelligent speaker who often relied on using strong rhetoric devices to get his message across. Through his articulate use of logos, pathos, and ethos, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free.” (Martin 2001 par3). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on to this day as a perpetual masterpiece. Before one can really understand the analysis of his speech, it is important to understand King’s arguments. His main point is that blacks are not free or equal according to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. He argues that African-Americans must claim their full rights and demand liberation from inequality and suppression. King's audience is not only Black Americans, but his message...
Words: 794 - Pages: 4
...RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 1 Rhetorical Analysis of “I Have Dream” Speech Alfonso Gonzalez Itt Technical Institute Instructor Deana Schoneberg EN 1320 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 2 The main point of Dr. Kings speech was that an injustice had been done to the black people. They were promised freedom from the emancipation proclamation and up to that point they still were not free. They were segregated and treated like second class citizens. Were they suppose to sit down and let white men at that time humiliate them, beat them, bomb their houses, and strip them of human dignity? No! Dr. King was preaching to all who listened, that now was the time to metaphorically cash this check, a check that will give them upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. But to do this, not with violence or retaliation, “we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.” (Carson, 1998, p225) This would be the way Dr. King would want to see his dream played out, with non -violence. Were all his efforts done in vain? On August 28, 1963, The March on Washington was organized by Bayard Rustin and led by union leader A. Philip Randolph. The backdrop ironically took place on the steps...
Words: 1127 - Pages: 5
...A Rhetorical Analysis of MLK Jr.’s “I have a dream” Speech Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, one hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which outstandingly furthered the civil rights movement. At that time, racial segregation, police brutality, and other forms of racial inequality were terribly prominent in America. The speech successfully focused the country’s attention at the need for racial equality “Now” (King, I Have a Dream). King gave the speech in order to motivate his followers to peacefully continue to demonstrate, protest, and boycott until they were fully granted the equality and privileges that any other citizen was allowed to have. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech is his most notable, and one of the most influential of Twentieth-Century-America because of his excellent rhetorical use of repetition and anaphora, contrasting metaphors, and appropriate quotations and allusions throughout the speech. Martin Luther King Jr. used a profuse amount of repetition and anaphora throughout his speech. A subtle form of repetition, the repetition of singular words, was mainly used to emphasize key themes in the speech and keep them in the minds of the audience. Such repeated key themes were “freedom”, “justice” and “injustice”, “America” and “American”, and plural nouns such as “we” and “our”. Since the preceding words were repeated so frequently...
Words: 847 - Pages: 4
...Rhetorical Analysis – I Have a Dream. A speech, that will be remembered by many and be passed down from generation to generation, had shaped the future of America by the time Martin Luther King had stepped off the stage on August 28th, as he called for an end to racism in the United States during the March on Washington in 1963. This was one of, if not, the most powerful speech America has seen to this day. A beautiful way to begin! Good job! Martin Luther King stood on that stage with confidence and determination to make a change in the United States of America and it was shown through this rhetorical masterpiece titled “I Have a Dream”. The first line of the speech makes the audience aware of not only how serious he is, but also how determined and sure he is that his speech will change the civil rights in the United States of America; he could not have been more right about it. From the very first line, Martin Luther King had his audiences’ undivided attention. “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” (Line 1-2, Page 1) His audience in this case would not only be his fellow Negroes who are still not free, but the rest of the Americans that attended the March on Washington. Little did he know that the whole world would be his audience… Good! In this first line we see him start off with using logos. He refers to the USA as “our” nation. We see this throughout the...
Words: 995 - Pages: 4
...beginning of a composition course or the assignment of a writing project in any class. Contributors:Ethan Sproat, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee Last Edited: 2012-04-27 10:46:02 Example 1: “I Have a Dream” Speech A lot of what was covered above may still seem abstract and complicated. To illustrate how diverse kinds of texts have their own rhetorical situations, consider the following examples. First, consider Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Because this speech is famous, it should be very easy to identify the basic elements of its particular rhetorical situation. Text The text in question is a 17-minute speech written and delivered by Dr. King. The basic medium of the text was an oral speech that was broadcast by both loudspeakers at the event and over radio and television. Dr. King drew on years of training as a minister and public speaker to deliver the speech. He also drew on his extensive education and the tumultuous history of racial prejudices and civil rights in the US. Audiences at the time either heard his speech in person or over radio or television broadcasts. Part of the speech near the end was improvised around the repeated phrase “I have a dream.” Author http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/625/08/ Page 1 of 9 Purdue OWL: The Rhetorical Situation 9/11/13 7:53 PM Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the most iconic leader of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He was an African-American Baptist minister and...
Words: 2614 - Pages: 11
...ITT-Technical University Rhetorical Analysis of Dr. Martin Luther Kings “I Have A Dream” (Revised) Introduction On August 28th 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the “I Have a Dream” speech which was addressed to not only the 200,000 white and black Americans but people all around the world. The “I Have A Dream” speech has been considered one of the most greatest and powerful speeches in history. Why was it given? Simply to rectify that all me were created equal despite their race or color. In this Analysis I will be explaining some literary terms he used as strategies in his speech, and also explain how Dr. King used two rhetorical patterns to help him support his argument, those two patters are Ethos, & Pathos. Strategies Dr. King used many literary terms in the “I Have a Dream” speech such as Alliteration, which is the repetition of sounds. For example he says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The “c” in those three words of that sentence gives it a repetitive rhythm feel which will make that important part of the speech catch and memorable. Also from that same sentence he used Anaphora, which describes the most famous part of the speech, where in this case is “I Have a Dream”. Although he used it many times just buy naming this speech “I Have a Dream” it will make everything...
Words: 927 - Pages: 4
...Rhetorical analysis of Mitt Romney´s republican victory speech On the 7th November 2012 the presidential in America ended. Two candidates, one from each party, the Republican and the Democratic Party participated in the race. The results were as followed; Obama was re-elected for another 4 years in the White House. The participant from the Republican Party was the former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. Even though he didn´t win the election as he had hoped, his road to the top of the Republican Party is also very interesting to follow. For example the Super Tuesday Victory Speech he gave on March 6th 2012 after having won the Republican presidential candidacy on Super Tuesday. Perhaps if this speech had been different he would have been elected president in America? To look closer into this speech, will at first use the SOAPSTONE model to analyse it. The speaker of the text is of course the one delivering it, Mitt Romney. The speech where given as said before on Super Tuesday after having won the Republican presidential candidacy, which is the occasion for it. Especially the occasion is very important for Mitt Romney and his speech, since it will be showed on national television, where his audience most likely will be millions of republican voters, both those who supported him and those who didn´t. Which means that Romney will get the change to convince the republican voters, who supported other candidates in the run, to keep their vote republican in the presidential...
Words: 915 - Pages: 4
