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Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

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Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the struggle African Americans suffer living in a nation where they are a part of, but are heavily rejected by the masses. At the time of the speech, the United States was going through a rough time period of increasing racism and discrimination. He gave his speech during the March on Washington event led by Dr. King himself, in order to awaken the people about the injustice of racial inequality. The tone King present throughout the speech is determination and optimism for the future. In the “I Have a Dream” speech delivered on August 28, 1963 to the nation, Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the problems that are separating the people in the United States, attempts to inspire the country to come together as one; he then uses rhetorical devices which evoke emotion along with encouragement to ultimately end the dissatisfactions of racism and discrimination.
Dr. King addresses the struggles within the nation. He brings up the past of slavery and the hardships Negros endured stating, “One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition” (King). Martin L. King is trying to make a point about how horrendous the inequality of this nation has become throughout the century. Although the people were considered equal, the people of color were segregated, had less freedom, and were downgraded by their own society. Therefore he declares, “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice” (King). He wants the public to open their eyes and realizes that the wrong doing should not be concealed, but it shall be revealed for all to see.
Martin Luther King’s main idea he is trying to get across is while there are many problems going on at the time, it is best to stay optimistic about what the future may hold if everyone were to be considered truly equal. In the beginning of King’s speech, he states with

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