Analysis of "I Have a Dream" Speech

"I Have A Dream"

Martin Luther King Jr.

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech that electrified a nation. In Washington D.C, King delivered his speech on the steps of the Lincoln memorial and as his powerful voice echoed out across an audience of 200,000 people, echoes of the Gettysburg address could be heard as well as the Declaration of Independence and the Bible. It has been called "masterfully delivered and improvised sermon, bursting with biblical language and imagery."The passionate speech is filled with rhetorical devices that help ground into earth King's demands of racial equality and outcries of social injustice.

The second paragraph of the speech starts with "Five score years ago", an allusion to Abraham...show more content... The fourth "paragraph" of the speech ends with an example of anaphora. A short hopeful phrase of "now is the time" is repeated four times back to back to back to back in the last four lines of the paragraph. These rhetorical devices have a powerful impact and add a decisive, hopeful feel. Martin Luther King Jr. in this conclusion also makes another metaphor with saying racial injustice is "quick sands" and brotherhood is a "solid rock." These metaphors also link the intangible with the tangible creating a contrast. Apples and bananas are different but the difference of good and bad is harder to see. When attached to real life objects the visualization is made.

The rest of the speech contains several more independent metaphors, all used to support Martin Luther King Jr.'s points. "The whirlwinds of revolt will shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges"; making a metaphor of revolt to a whirlwind and justice to a bright day. Yet again, metaphors are used to represent abstract ideas with concrete things to create a contrast. In another place it is seen that storm are like persecution and winds like police brutality. Tying in the earlier metaphor to imprisonment, this usage of a rhetorical device shows the vicious circle Negroes were living with. At some point it becomes repetitious all of the metaphors of justice to everything

Martin Luther King Jr. had many great ideas that inspired and had a big impact on the rights of African–Americans getting treated equally. His 'I have a Dream' speech inspired many others even those of a complete different race. Martin Luther King Jr. seemed to live by some pretty high morals on equally treating those around him. The March on Washington took place in 1963 that was when Martin delivered his speech. Martin Luther King Jr. had memorized the crowd with the powerful speech he had delivered. Martin had learned some of his teachings about Jesus in his earlier years. Martin also had a philosophy on nonviolent protest that also showed his value of humility and humbleness. It seemed as if Gandhi also played a role into Martin Luther King Jr's values. In King's earlier years he was also a Baptist preacher that had a very deep faith in Jesus. When King read Thoreau's Essay on Civil Disobedience he was astonished with the impact it had on those around him. King was all about the golden rule. He wanted to treat others the way he wanted to be treated. King had experience with racism within his earlier years as well. I got most of my information from a United States History book. King may have been African–American but his speech affected all sorts of different races. Coming from a young Hispanic point of view King affected me as well as far as political rights go. King was against racism in all ways he had tried very hard to fight for one's political rights. In

Many of us know Martin Luther King Jr. by his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This legendary figure impacted American society in a way that would change our culture forever. There is even a specific day in the year dedicated to him and his dedicated work to help our culture. He fought against racial segregation and civil rights for African Americans. If it wasn't for Martin Luther King our school probably wouldn't be as diverse as it is, segregation could have probably still existed and many more conflicts. To begin with, King was born on January 15, 1929 here in our hometown, Atlanta, Georgia. In 1953 King married Coretta Scott and later had four children. During his entire lifetime he had to deal with heavily segregated areas. After...show more content...

King talked about equality, peace, and his hopes and visions for the future ahead. He stated that the nation will not rest until African Americans are granted their well–deserved rights. King also mentioned his four children and the hopes he has for them. With the help of this march the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed the following year. This act ended racial segregation in public places, employment, education, etc. Next, the Selma March that took place in 1965 was also very influential to American history. The main focus of this march was to give voting rights to African Americans. Hundreds of African Americans came together and marched behind King from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. This historic three–day march raised awareness for the colored people who unable to vote. After this the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. This act allowed African Americans to pursue their right to vote under the fifteenth amendment. Furthermore, in recent times we have sadly noticed the topic of racial injustice in the media resurface. Examples of this include the drama with police brutality against African Americans and minorities and even recent tragedies with the deaths of African Americans. This is upsetting because of the all the hard work Martin did to allow us as a nation to become one and not let the color of our skin determine where were allowed to sit, eat, use facilities, engage with one another, and In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. played on of Get more content

In both the early and late 1800s, slaves worked every day for long hours with no pay. They faced discrimination from the white culture. The Emancipation Proclamation which was passed in 1863, led to the freedom of slaves that were held within the southern states. One would think that after the slaves were free, the states would go back to normal, but there were many things that whites did not like. Obstacles like segregation, which were posed on blacks, arose because of the idea that the white race was superior to the black race. In the novels, "They Had a Dream" by Jules Archer and "I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr., the cultural universals of values and communication aided African Americans in overcoming the obstacles they faced.

During the...show more content... used communication to acquire civil rights and overcome inequality. When slaves were free, they began to look for work. However, the white society believed that blacks were still to be treated unequally because of their color. "Growing up in Atlanta surrounded by WHITES ONLY signs," (Archer 123) Martin persisted to not let it get to him. By 1954, Martin lead the Civil Rights Movement. His adequate way of speaking was soon to be heard by nearly 250,000. In 1963, King's "I Have a Dream" speech amazed the audience. "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." His speech was a major turning point and led a few Americans to see these powerful words and make use of them. " By the end of Freedom Summer, the civil rights movement had achieved some major goals. It required school desegregation "as quickly as possible," forbade the use of different voting requirements for blacks and whites, and made discrimination in public places illegal" (Archer 163). This shows that King's speech helped inspire and achieve civil rights for African Americans using

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When informing Americans across the nation of his dream, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proposed an unforgettable speech that would one day change The United States of America forever. In analyzing "I Have a Dream", there are a few rhetorical purposes that are reflected throughout. These purposes are repeatedly focusing in on a particular audience in which King speaks to. Using different types of appeals and literary elements, his speech produced a meaningful purpose that the audience could relate to. The issue of racism in the mid twentieth century played a huge role in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Throughout the 1960's he gradually became a civil rights activist, participating in multiple boycotts and riots against...show more content...

Throughout the seventeen minutes of the speech, both blacks and whites of all generations were influenced by one man's words. This purpose of the speech is one of the most vital in analyzing it as a whole because the informative and influential aspects are what directly spoke to the audience. With the people of The United States of America categorized as the audience, King speaks to people of all races and ethnicity. This discriminated audience included the grasping appeals to the ethos, pathos, and logos. As each appeal is fully informed of the rhetorical purpose, King finds a way to encourage all three. Through several metaphors and types of imagery, he makes the decision to speak to all of the appeals in order to accomplish to need for change. Clearly aimed directly at the hearts of blacks and making the whites feel ashamed of their actions brought together a turn in society as they knew it. This specific structure geared towards the audience was the main reason why King impacted Americans across the country and not just at the march. These different appeals mixed within the audience to help King influence his purpose of racial equality as each type of person could relate to his moving words. Through the emotional engagement King had with the audience, he was most definitely able to gain a substantial amount of credibility. Consistently relating back to the phrase "one hundred years later", he directly Get more content

"We're one, but we're not the same." (Bono). A man in the 1950's lived by this quote. The name of this man was Martin Luther King Jr. The time in which Dr. King lived in, was a time when things were tough for people like him. Using the same bathroom as a white person had not been allowed. Restrooms only allowed one type of person, either white or black. If a white person wanted your seat on a bus, you would have to give it to that person. There are many more laws that were against black people, at least that was until he changed it. Martin Luther King was non–violent, brave, and honorable leader. Protests and boycotts led by him had huge impacts. He even gave big speeches in front of thousands upon thousands of people. Dr. King was a great...show more content...

King's dream today. Even though Dr. King had been assassinated on April 4, 1968, does not mean we do not have a role in living out what he spent countless hours on to get African Americans free. The question people may be asking is, "What am I supposed to do to live out Martin Luther King's dream?" One of the most important things people should do to live out his dream is treating black people like they would treat anyone else. Even better, treat them as they were a friend. The Bible says, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." (Luke 6:31) Martin Luther treated everyone the same no matter what race they were. Of course people need to do that and if they did, it would make the world a much preferable place. On the other hand, people could also stop acting like black people are overall worse than them. Black people turn out to be really nice people. They are not intimidating at all. The Constitution says, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal." (James Madison Jr.) That means that everyone is the same. It plain out states that all men are created equal. Americans should live by this and even people in a different country if they know that

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