preview

How Did Martin Luther King Jr Use Ethos In Mlk Speech

Decent Essays

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of many African American citizens with his empowering speech about the equality of mankind and the desecration of man itself. Standing in front of 250,000 people on the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, King declaimed his views on equality and changed America in ways most leaders wish they could. The great and inspiring civil rights leader played a pivotal role in ending the segregation between African American men and women with his rhetorical language, leaving a great impact on America today. Through his wide range of ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as tropes, appeals, and scheme techniques, he influenced Americans to believe that all men, black or white, are created equal. King relies mostly …show more content…

King used pathos and logos as well as ethos in his speech to appeal to the audience in a more emotional way. He mostly attempts to appeal to the audiences’ emotions, fears, and desires. When King repeats with the infamously famous quote, “I have a dream,” he stresses a sense of sympathy and hope towards the African American population during that time period. King states that the, “Negro…finds himself in exile in his own land.” In this phrase, King yields compassion as one can see when he emphasizes the unfair treatment and the alienation of the African Americans. King also uses highly connotative language so that he could evoke an emotional response to the audience by saying words such as, “chains of discrimination” and “oppression” to reinforce the need to change. He not only uses words to get to the saddening side of his audience, but King also uses an uplifting tone to motivate and inspire his audience by using positive diction, using words such as “freedom,” “majestic,” and “brotherhood.” Furthermore, King appeals to logos through his use of analogies; for example, “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” This analogy applies to logos by using a form of reasoning since he appeals to the basic concept of money and the frustration of receiving a “bad check.” Not only does King like to appeal to his audience, but he also uses rich metaphors to convey his message across American

Get Access