Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Allusion

In hopes of creating a better sense of credibility, which encourages people to accept his idea or “dream”, King mentions the Declaration of Independence. Dr. king makes himself credible by challenging what citizens known as the unalienable rights. Unalienable rights, are rights that cannot be taken away from a human being. They are considered rights given to people by God himself, when they are born. In the third paragraph he quotes, ‘the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” He uses the quote to show that the Supreme Court should be on his side. However, he then goes on to tell how even though it should be on his side it is not. “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note.” He is stating that the American government has neglected their promise to ALL of the American people. By doing this he is asking the readers to ask themselves, why has America failed to reach the expectations of equality? Why is the injustice only occurring to blacks? And most importantly, What can be done to change this? In another attempt to appear more credible, King often times quotes the bible. His use of the bible can cause an emotional response, but

In this speech, King utilizes diction throughout, such as "we," "America" and "free." Words like "we," and "America" in the same sentences and same speech, gives everyone, African-Americans, the feeling of being equal and they deserve to have the same rights. Thus giving hope to everyone that they will, one day, be equal in everyway and have the same unalienable

He mentions “that all men would be guaranteed the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;” however, how come this declaration only applies to white men and not black men? He raises the issue of discrimination against African Americans in front of millions of people and he states that there is no equality between both groups. This declaration should be taken seriously and understood by everyone and should not leave African Americans out. King also alludes to Abraham Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg “5 score years ago,” which means that he is emphasizing that to this day one hundred years have passed and yet there is no change whatsoever. He also uses Lincoln’s words because he is literally standing at the Lincoln memorial.

One of the rhetorical devices that King uses during his speech is biblical references. He uses biblical references to catch his audience’s attention. King states that the people devoted to equal civil rights will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, righteousness like a mighty stream”

On August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King gave his first “I have a dream” speech. He presented his speech at the Lincoln Memorial to make a point about the injustices of segregation and how to stop all the racism against African Americans. He wants to show that one day everyone will be free and be able to participate in obstacles no matter what your skin color is. King uses ethos, pathos and logos throughout his speech to help grab the audience’s attention and make them want to do as he says.

Dr. King uses this form of rhetorical appeal to persuade his audience by making reasonable claims and supporting his claims through evidence. Fundamentally, Dr. King used logic and common sense to show his audience how equality was not being exercised by the American government. Dr. King sates: “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

He spoke at over 2,500 public events and delivered up to 450 speeches per year. On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a speech to a massive group of civil rights marchers gathered around the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. The culmination of this event was the influential and most memorable speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. Popularly known as the “I have a dream” speech, he is an inspiration to me because he spoke in the most iconic manner, behind every word he spoke there was a deep and valuable meaning that still retains in our world today. He improvised the speech, but he was able to give the most outstanding speech, the words he spoke influenced the Federal government to understand the racial inequality and take more actions to realize racial

Dr King’s speech, “I Have a Dream” claims that how people are treated decides how they feel in that if treated poorly they will feel alone and segregated. He describes this by saying, “One hundred years later the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.” (p.1). Dr. King aims to make the crowd realize how the African American community feels in order to make them support the cause of making white men and black men equal. Martin Luther King is connecting with his audience of African Americans who are hungry for equality between the white and black people.

Last but not at least, by overstating the words “I Have a Dream”, King left the mind of his audience with a faith and belief that things are going to be better. The speech not only magnified the hope that all Negros had in their eyes for their future country, but it also made the whites embarrassed of their performances. He gives the black people a never disappearing light of hope. King, in his speech, also shared with his white audience a sense of community. By referring to kind references to the injustices done by the white people, he made clear that not all of them are to be blamed for it.

King desired a world in which African-Americans were not denied basic human rights; he believed, like the Declaration of Independence stated, “…all men are created equal” so an entire race should not be excluded from receiving the same freedom and justice provided to each white person. His speech emphasized that all people deserve to live in a world free of discrimination, a world where the color of a person’s skin does not dictate the way they are treated. King’s ambition was to motivate his fellow African-Americans as well as white supporters in the fight against oppression and segregation and to do it now. In his speech King stresses “…the fierce urgency of now,” because African-Americans equality cannot be delayed. He wrote the speech as a call to action for American citizens; he began it by highlighting the racial injustice they encountered and how, despite the Emancipation

King stated, “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." King is preaching

King states many allusions and some metaphors about his dreams of freedom that target areas that are deeply affected by prejudice and ferocious racists. One of the many things that Dr. King dreams one day will happen consists of an allusion that describes the unity of races, he says, “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” In this allusion Dr. King discusses how he hopes that one day the vicious racists and horrible governor in Alabama will one day have kids and that these sons and daughters of these racist men will one day play with the African American boys and girls in peace and unity. Dr. King also decides to make a metaphor out of the situation that was currently occurring in the US, he declares, “With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.” In this quote Dr. King makes a statement that one day that America will become transformed into a magnificent country of friendship and unity.

All the biblical allusions remind the audience that what King is saying is in agreement with the bible. King also references the American dream in his speech, “I have a dream…” multiple times, in an effort to appeal to all Americans. His dream is part of the American dream, and he is trying to get the audience to see that we all have the freedom to dream. That we are all equal. Lastly, there is an appeal to fatherhood in the speech.

King inspires those who support equal rights for all “ to rise up from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice”.and stand up for what they believe. He insists that people who believe in the cause to speak up and join together as one voice, to demand equal rights that they deserve. In addition King uses Light and Dark imagery to make a statement on how people have been waiting a long time to receive equality and the same freedom as everyone else. He does this by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, and how “ It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

This speech was delivered on August 28, 1963 at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During Dr. King's speech, he continuously used the phrase “I Have a Dream”, hence the title of the speech. What Dr. King did was use anaphora in a very profound way that had a huge impact to the message of his speech. The repetition in his speech would stress the fact Dr.king has this dream, this dream that he most certainly shares with many of his fellow people. With doing so, he also stressed the importance of those dreams necessary towards the progress of his movement with anaphora, constantly reminding the audience that theses dreams