Oedipus The King Rhetorical Devices

Ms. Floyd and fellow classmates, my essay will illustrate how the art of rhetoric can spark a movement and bring change to our nation. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was famous for his inspirational speeches that showcased the epitome of rhetoric and solidified his place in history of being the most influential civil rights leader. One of those speeches, MLK’s “Give Us the Ballot”, energized the civil rights movement on May 17th, 1957. He was driven to action ever since the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation of schools was against the 14th constitutional amendment. This was a huge step forward for civil rights. Unfortunately, the states choose to ignore this landmark decision and the federal government turned a blind eye. This

In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.

The fight for civil rights and freedom is a reoccurring subject that has appeared throughout American history. Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” were written over one hundred years apart. Although they are set in different time periods, they discuss the rights the American people should have, while also criticizing the people with superior power in the government. Thoreau’s aggressive writing style and King’s peaceful, calm style help to deliver their messages. Not only their writing style but also their emotional appeals, tone, and other rhetorical strategies help to give their audience a sense of the social issues they are disagreeing strongly with.

On April 16th, Martin Luther Kind Jr., Minister and Civil Rights Leader, his letter entitled “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, angers and informs that civil disobedience is not just. He supports this claim by first saying that we will obtain our rights because of heritage and god, then protesting and breaking the law is the correct thing to do, and finally, everyday heroic people are disobedient to find justice. Through King’s use of tone, rhetorical appeal, and rhetorical analysis, he effectively persuades the people of America, to bring justice to this society and to stop the violence.

In this life, many hope for peace, but not many try to achieve it. According to Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, there are many ways to achieve this, but the best possible course of action would be through nonviolent direct action, which includes but is not limited to: peaceful protest, sit-ins and civil disobedience. In King’s letter, he proclaims his reasoning behind nonviolent direct action, including: the concept that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (par. 4), extremism can be used positively (par. 22), and the fact that “oppressed people will not stay oppressed forever” (par. 24). King uses literary devices including ethos, logos, and pathos to prove and reaffirm that which he is trying to convey.

Persuasive writing is most effective when all three rhetorical appeals, Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, come together to form an indisputable argument. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X are two of the most influential figures of the past few decades; similarly, their work is summarized as some of the most persuasive and controversial of all time. The audience of both of their pieces, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” include oppressed African Americans and the white oppressors themselves. Each man takes full advantage of the three rhetorical appeals to influence their audiences to support their radical theories about racial inequality in the 1960’s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the most effective because of its hopeful emotions, irrefutable facts and, of course, the respected author.

Henry to deliver because he was speaking to a group of people who were opposed

The audience feels pity for Oedipus because of his final requests before he is exiled. Aristotle uses another key component in Oedipus Rex, he uses pity, especially from the audience. When Oedipus asks the new king Creon before he is exiled he asks four requests from him. Oedipus begs Creon to bury “the woman inside, bury her as you see fit” (Fagles.1584-5.246). The audience feels pity for Oedipus when he has to beg Creon to bury his wife/mother. Oedipus says “I command you-I beg you” to Creon, when Oedipus starts to talk to Creon here as if he is still king (Fagles.1583.246). Oedipus’s second request to king Creon is take care of his daughters. The audience feels pity for Oedipus because Creon has to permit Oedipus to see his daughters. Oedipus

Often times in letters or passages, authors analyze strengths and weaknesses often know as rhetorical analysis. In Martin Luther King Junior’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, he uses terms of artistic appeal by utilizing ethos, pathos, and logos to demonstrate his claim. Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes personal experiences and events to therefore convince the clergyman to stop the segregation occurring and to increase the public use of nonviolent campaigning.

We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.

After reading and analyzing Dr.Kings “Remaining Awake during a Revolution” commencement speech that he presented at Oberlin College during his graduation ceremony; he wanted the people to have a good visual on what he was explaining and talking about. King wanted to inform the people about what was going; so he used allusions, statics, and logos.

Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. are seen as national heroes for the significant message they represent, liberty and unity. Throughout history, minorities have been oppressed and courageous men like Lincoln and King worked hard to liberate them. President Lincoln ended the Civil War and Dr. King was an activist in the Civil Rights movement. Both the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement lead to unity and freedom. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address’ addresses the theme of freedom by having a nation where independence reigns by abolishing slavery. Conversely, in King’s I Have a Dream Speech, the theme of freedom is addressed by ending segregation and discrimination in America. Lincoln’s theme of unity is ending the war to unify the nation to improve it. Similarly, King’s theme of unity is ending the division of races in the nation and working together towards a better future.

By using allusion to historical leaders and documents, he reminds the audience of the past and strengthens his argument the time for change was long overdue. Repeating the phrases “I have a dream”, “Now is the time”, “Let freedom ring” and “Free at last”, King used anaphora and repetition to bring the speech to a great climax and leave the audience completely energized. King also used parallelism to unify the movement’s effort into one group of equal parts by urging the audience to “Go back to” Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, as well as “the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities”. He also used parallelism to send a message of unification to all parts of the country by repeating the phrase “Let freedom ring” combined with names of many of our country’s mountain ranges, just as in the song “America” by Samuel Francis Smith (My Country! ‘Tis of Thee). Perhaps it was King’s use of metaphors that made the speech draw in the audience. He described the circumstances of racism and inequality with phrases descriptive of slavery including “flames of withering injustice”, “chains of discrimination” which connected the audience to their past while inspiring them to change their future.

Powerful movements require powerful leadership. During the 1960s a push for civil rights developed, and African Americans took various positions. Two strong leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X approached the Civil Rights Movement using different methods. Their speeches reflect the disposition of their tactics. In his speech, “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King, Jr. focuses on applying his non-violent philosophy. On the contrary, Malcolm X projects himself in an aggressive tone reflecting the attitudes of Black Nationalists in “Ballot or the Bullet.” These speakers demonstrate their objectives and tone through their use of diction and syntax.

In Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream,” he employed rhetorical devices and the balance of the three appeals, to inspire the American People to enlist in the fight