...Speech Opinions Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech is an important guideline and goal of equality for the world to follow. Even if the performance, and the marching was staged as Malcolm X stated, the morals of the speech are still valuable and relevant in today’s society. However I agree with Malcolm’s dissatisfaction with the people watching the speech and some participating in the march. To throw away personal opinions and pretend to support a cause to seem “chic”, as Malcolm wrote, is disrespectful to the cause. It is also disappointing that money and publicity bring more people together than serious issues that need to be resolved. Even in the present time most people don’t care about other people’s suffering unless it affects them directly. Throughout history it is clearly shown that affecting a nation's money is a sure way to get some sort of change. For example, the United States would have had no interest in being involved with the Middle East if they didn’t have a rich oil supply. Because oil is a profitable and limited product, the United States ensures that the Middle Eastern countries’ affairs don’t affect oil fields. The only thing that matters is profitable oil, not human lives....
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...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...
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...Literary Techniques of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech Literary Techniques of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech Introduction Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent civil rights leader, delivered a powerful speech at the historic March on Washington. The speech uses several literary techniques to engage the listener. In the speech, King especially likes to use repetition and metaphor to convey his ideas. These devices are the foundation of King?s unique and effective style. Repetition In I Have a Dream King uses repetition throughout. Repetition is a good tool to use to reinforce an important idea. In Dorothy Seyler?s Read, Reason, Write, she states: ?Some repetition of key words and phrases will occur in well-written and unified essays. Some writers, though, go beyond this technique of unified writing and use repetition to produce an effective cadence, like a drum beating in the background, keeping time with the speaker?s fist pounding the lectern for emphasis.? (58). King?s speech is a perfect representation of this. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons...
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...Rhetorical Analysis Paper Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have a Dream According to Aristotle, there are three ways for a speaker to persuade his audience: ethos, logos, and pathos ("American rhetoric: Aristotle's rhetoric - selected moments," n.d.). Aristotle noted that a speech should “engage both the rational and non-rational elements of the listener's soul” (Wardy, 1996, p. 63). The speaker must have credibility with their audience and appear fair, open-minded, honest, and knowledgeable (ethos). He/she must also have logical appeal with strong, valid arguments based on facts and, perhaps, with personal experience and observations (logos). And, finally, the speaker must emotionally appeal to the audience and create a personal connection to draw and hold their attention (pathos). Of the three, Aristotle believed that ideally arguments should be made with reason, or logic, alone (McKay & McKay, 2010). However, it is often a speaker’s emotional appeal that creates the personal connection, as well as captivates and motivates the audience … and few have done that better than the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. If you say the words “I have a dream”, Americans from age 18 to 80 immediately think of Martin Luther King Jr. They may not know the words achieved notoriety from a speech given at an equal rights march on Washington, DC in August 1963. They may not know that 250,000 blacks gathered at the National Mall to demand "jobs and freedom" (Hampson, 2013). Additionally, they...
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...Title | #2 Group AssignmentMartin Luther King Jr. - I Have A Dream | Due Date | Week 8 | Date Received | | DECLARATION | To be completed if this is an individual assignment: I declare that this assignment is my individual work. I have not worked collaboratively nor have I copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by another person. | Student ID | Student Name | Student Signature | Student 1 | | | | To be completed if this is a group assignment: We declare that this is a group assignment and that no part of this submission has been copied from any other student's work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for us by another person. | Student ID | Student Name | Student Signature | Student 1 | 4240138 | Danushka Nirmal De Silva | | Student 2 | 4235150 | Ngu Ing Sung | | Student 3 | 4237293 | Dashilla Ladaey | | Student 4 | 4237323 | Ahmad Akmal Afiq | | Student 5 | 100070566 | Lasse Svenning Jensen | | MARKER’S COMME Total Mark | | Marker’s Signature | | Date | | EXTENSION CERTIFICATE | This assignment has been given an extension by Unit Convenor | | Extended due date: | | Date Received | | Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have a Dream An analysis of a historically important leadership speech Words: (excl. front-page and...
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...Rhetorical Analysis: The Ballot or the Bullet The two great civil rights leaders of the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, held diametrically opposed political philosophies. King was a pacifist, in the tradition of Gandhi before him; Malcolm X was a radical, an advocate of violence. Both, however, shared a common goal—real freedom for African Americans. Malcolm X’s speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” was a direct response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech of a month before. Malcolm X, once associated with the Black Panthers, and a member of the Black Muslim movement, wrote “The Ballot or the Bullet” not only as a response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s pacifism, but because he was frustrated with white dilly-dallying in reaching a decision on black rights in America. Political debate had reached an impasse, and Malcolm wanted to make it clear that if the Congress couldn’t come to a decision, black Americans would take matters into their own hands. He did not share Martin’s pacifist inclinations, and he promised a violent seizure of civil rights. An examination of Malcolm X’s speech will reveal that it is one of the most powerful speeches ever written. It is, in every respect, the equal of Martin’s “I Have a Dream” speech. It is eloquent, it is memorable, and it is poetic. Its tone, unlike Martin’s conciliatory speech, is militant. He appeals to the emotions of his young audience, rousing them to anger; and in the same breath, strikes...
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...Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail The nonviolent approach remains supreme as a way to achieve a peaceful resolution to conflict arising as a result of social, economical and political change in a contemporary society that has faced many of those challenges as a result of the fight for equality and social vices. This is because non-violent actions tend to create an atmosphere for peaceful negotiations and dialogue. In the case of Martin Luther King Jr in his letter from the Birmingham Jail, his idea was to create an atmosphere to frame the minds of his readers and clergymen of the situation in Birmingham caused by injustice and inequality. Martin Luther King Jr’s letter from Birmingham Jail was an icebreaker. The Letter intended to break the chains of segregation and injustice. The letter was written in the 1960s when African Americans were facing a series of injustices in the South as a result of racial segregation. This social injustice was seen in his letter when he used words such as “Negros,” to support his point. He said “ Negros have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the court. They have been more bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in good faith negations.”(Lee 215) These citations reiterate...
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...The Leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. Abstract The visionary leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. influenced a nation, and ultimately affected a dramatic change in the area of Civil Rights. The achievements he accomplished in the arena of Human rights still serve as a platform for social change today, even decades after his death. Martin is hailed as a classic Charismatic and Transformational Leader, whose masterful rhetorical skills and personalized leadership empowered many Americans to stand up and claim their rights as American citizens. This paper will provide an analysis of Martin Luther King’s leadership style, and speak briefly about its development. We will discuss his background and the factors that greatly influenced his success as a leader. We will also cover Martin’s application of influence tactics, such as rational persuasion and inspirational appeals, and reveal an almost textbook ideal of leader, follower and situation dynamics. In general, we will discuss his vision and finally pinpoint the factors that ultimately led to his rise in power. “Always bear in mind that your resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.” Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President. Introduction Of all of the leadership styles that have been studied, observed and researched throughout the ages, Charismatic and Transformational Leadership, are cited as being the most powerful. Martin Luther King Jr. is definitely one of the most charismatic and transformational...
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...From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the Martin Luther King Jr. speech. For other uses, see I Have a Dream (disambiguation). Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering "I Have a Dream" at the 1963 Washington D.C. Civil Rights March. | "I Have a Dream"30-second sample from "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. | Problems listening to this file? See media help. | "I Have a Dream" is a public speech by American activist Martin Luther King, Jr.. It was delivered by King on August 28, 1963, in which he called for an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the speech was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement.[1] Beginning with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed millions of slaves in 1863,[2] King examines that: "one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free".[3] At the end of the speech, King departed from his prepared text for a partly improvised peroration on the theme of "I have a dream", possibly prompted by Mahalia Jackson's cry: "Tell them about the dream, Martin!"[4] In this part of the speech, which most excited the listeners and has now become the most famous, King described his dreams of freedom and equality arising from a land of slavery and hatred.[5] The speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century by a 1999 poll of scholars of public address...
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...Critical Analysis Essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail” In arguing, writers use different techniques to effectively convey their message to their intended audience. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen in which King’s presence in Birmingham and his methods of public demonstration were questioned. King’s letter was not only a response to his presence in Birmingham, but he also used the opportunity to address the unjust proposals by the clergymen that Negroes wait for the legal system to abolish segregation and unjust laws. King uses rhetorical modes of persuasion such as ethos, pathos and logos to meticulously address and discredit the claims made by the eight white clergymen. Throughout his letter, King also makes many comparisons to effectively illustrate how the Negro pursuit of freedom was timely. To answer the question of his presence in Birmingham, King uses both ethos and pathos to explain why he is qualified to be present leading the demonstrations. To argue the perception of him being “an outsider coming in”, King first states that because he has organizational ties in Birmingham, he has an obligation to be available whenever he is needed. This statement discredits the notion that he is an outsider. To lay the foundation of his argument, King states, “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” This statement is used to make King’s presence seem less personal...
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...its interest of reading might be. The audience in writing is defined by the person or group of people that is reading or listening to a certain choice of writing. Depending on what kind of writing genre is presented, determines the audience of the writer and how the writer choose to reach his or her audience. In order for a writer to reach a particular audience, the writer has to be able to compose his writing. The writer can do so in such a way that a rhetorical situation is formulated in a particular genre which reflects the type of audience that it interests. A rhetorical situation is situations in which a story and a scenario is presented and explains a situation that could possible occur in real life, therefore giving a situation in which the reader can assume the outcome; a certain form of communication to entail a situation. Different genres may include rhetorical situations, for example, in a horror movie a killer may stalk a college student day in and day out. The situation is considered rhetorical because although the situation is occurring in a fictional setting “a movie” it’s also a situation that can possibly happen in real life. You can assume that eventually the student is going...
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...John Fitzgerald Kennedy is credited as being one of America’s greatest speakers. That is why, when asked to choose a speech to do a rhetorical analysis on from the Top 100 American Speeches on www.americanrhetoric.com, I had to choose his “Inaugural Address” from January 20, 1961. This speech is ranked second, under Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream.” President Kennedy utilized many of the tools typically used in rhetorical or persuasive writing. He took full advantage of Aristotle’s three areas of rhetorical speech writing: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, paired along with other literary tools such as repetition, rhythm, and comparison. President Kennedy opens his speech by establishing credibility, or ethos, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.(Americanrhetoric.com)” This excerpt tells the American people that he has followed the rules and has a legitimate responsibility to the American public as did the Presidents in the past. He is official. Then, a few moments later, JFK begins to capitalize on the emotions of the people, tying himself to them, identifying with them by using words such as “we.” This is the pathos part of his speech, “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights...
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...John Fitzgerald Kennedy is credited as being one of America’s greatest speakers. That is why, when asked to choose a speech to do a rhetorical analysis on from the Top 100 American Speeches on www.americanrhetoric.com, I had to choose his “Inaugural Address” from January 20, 1961. This speech is ranked second, under Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream.” President Kennedy utilized many of the tools typically used in rhetorical or persuasive writing. He took full advantage of Aristotle’s three areas of rhetorical speech writing: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, paired along with other literary tools such as repetition, rhythm, and comparison. President Kennedy opens his speech by establishing credibility, or ethos, “For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.(Americanrhetoric.com)” This excerpt tells the American people that he has followed the rules and has a legitimate responsibility to the American public as did the Presidents in the past. He is official. Then, a few moments later, JFK begins to capitalize on the emotions of the people, tying himself to them, identifying with them by using words such as “we.” This is the pathos part of his speech, “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights...
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...A Rhetorical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail” The Constitution of the United States of America states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The First Amendment of the constitution goes on further to state, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there-of; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” In light of these, “Truths” that our country was founded on it is unimaginable that at the time “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. he was, in fact, serving time in a narrow jail cell for his participation in non violent demonstrations. These demonstrations were an attempt to win these previously proclaimed “Rights” for the Negro populace not only in his time but for all time to come. King, in his response to the criticisms of eight white religious leaders of the south’s statement calling his actions, “unwise and untimely,” has the well designed approach of appealing to his audience on all levels engaging their logic, emotions and most importantly the very ethical nature of the issues facing the Negros in the 1960’s. An Example of King’s logic at work comes almost immediately as he details...
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...BARACK OBAMA'S SOUTH CAROLINA SPEECH Introduction In this paper, I shall analyze US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama's South Carolina victory speech from a particular pragmatic perspective. In particular, I shall explore the idea that this speech is constituted by many voices (in other words, it displays polyphony, to use an idea due to Bakhtin 1981, 1986) and that the audience is part of this speech event, adding and contributing to its text in a collaborative way (in particular, in constructing meaning). As many are aware (including the journalists who report day by day on Barack Obama's achievements), Obama uses the technique of 'personification' (The Economist, Dec 13th, 2007). When he voices an idea, he does not just expose it as if it came from himself, but gets another person (fictitious or, plausibly, real) to voice it. Since in an electoral speech, he cannot reasonably get people on stage to voice his ideas, he personifies ideas by narrating what people told him. His stories are his way of personifying his ideas. The discourse strategy he uses serves to reverse the direction of influence from the people in control to the people controlled (see van Dijk 2003). Duranti (2006b) writes that The language of politics has been presented and studied in terms of its ability to persuade an audience (of peers, subjects, and superiors) to go along with the speaker's view of the world and his or her proposal (Perrot 2000). In much of this literature, the successful political...
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