Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech 'I Have A Dream'

In fact, martin wanted the people to see the truth in their long suffering. He wanted to reach their hearts so they would feel just how bad the injustice had gotten. In the beginning of his speech he stated “one hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So, we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.” Martin wanted reaction. He had the hearts of the audience making his speech more effective. This is how any speech should begin. Even though he started his speech with a

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech (1963) "I Have a Dream," brings an up-roaring excitement to his audience, African-Americans, which fills their hearts. He employ's cases of diction and parallelism, telling everyone that he wants African-Americans to be truly free. This turned the tides for African-Americans in the United States, filling them with enthusiasm and the yearning for change.

Near the end of Martin Luther King’s speech a gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Dr. King saying, “Tell them about the dream, Martin”. At this point Dr. King stopped reading the speech and expressed his inner feelings saying “I have a dream..”(Mlk, 4). He continued to tell the crowd of his dream for the Negros to be free and equal and that they would be able to live happily and do as they pleased. He had a dream that America would live out the meaning of the constitution stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”. He tells the crowd that at the end “We are free at last”. Dr. King’s choice of words and the tone in which he delivers his speech is enticing and pleasing to the crowd of America.

The audience who heard "I Have a Dream", is exactly the audience that the speech was intended to be spoken to. This is evident in the language and content of the speech. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not only relate to the oppressed African Americans in his speech. He did not bring up the wrongs that had been performed between white and black abolitionists, nor did he ridicule white Americans in any way. By doing this he spoke to everyone hoping for a chance, by making it clear that racial equality was everyone's fight. By not attacking the opponents of his beliefs and dream, King set up a chance to perhaps open up an their minds to views they may not have considered had they been forced to be defensive due to attacks aimed at

Martin Luther King Jr once said to a crowd of hundreds,”This note was the 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” (King 48). A topic of debate that has lasted many, many years is the idea that freedom should be given to all, no matter their race or background. In the texts and speeches, I Have a Dream spoken by Martin Luther King Jr, Lolita in Tehran, a memoir by Azar Nafisi, and A Eulogy for Martin Luther King Jr, spoken by Robert F. Kennedy. They each speak about how people all across the world have been discriminated and treated unfairly just by reason of their race or religion. The belief that people should be given the freedom

The author used allusion, repetition of certain words and imagery, in the “I have a dream section” in the speech. “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with words of ‘interposition’ and ‘nullification’ー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.” (King 22) Martin uses imagery to paint a picture of what society should be like. This gives the audience a visual of what he’s trying to say; so he’s helping the audience.

led the ¨March on Washington,¨ where he addressed over a quarter million people at the national mall (textbook). It was there Dr. King's inspirational ¨ I have a Dream¨ speech influenced the nation to act on civil rights (textbook). King's famous speech "was a message to the nation and the world, but its most immediate subjects were the lawmakers nearby who would vote on the civil rights bill being worked on in the House (Kennedy). During the speech Martin said his most famous quote ¨I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character¨ (King). This quote was very inspirational and motivated many African Americans to fight for their rights.

Martin uses repetition in the speech he made. He uses the injustices of the declaration of independence, he spoke of the check analogy, and he spoke of freedom many times in his speech. He shares an analogy of how America wrote a bad check to Negros. He writes that the check was bounced because of insufficient funds. He states that the freedom of the blacks was a symbol of the check and the check had bounced as a symbol of the freedom being taken away. Dr. Martin spoke on how the declaration of independence should be valid for all and not just for one race. Dr. Martin said “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” He does not believe that this is it for blacks. He doesn’t want them to give up on their freedom. He wants them to keep pushing forward. In his speech, he also repeats the purpose of his speech. He says many times “I have a Dream”, this dream is not just a dream it’s a figure of speech. It’s a phrase that he uses to show his meaning on a wish he wants to come true. He wants the injustice of the declaration of independence to stop. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” The creed isn’t being used to the fullest, it is being neglected. Dr. Martin repeats “I have a dream” to show consistency in what he believes. He wants the true meaning to be

We can easily analyze this sentence and understand that the Negros were the victims of the racist violence. This showed uniqueness, because the Negros not just suffered, but they went through a horror like a nightmare, they were beaten, underestimated, treated differently because of the color of their skin. Martin wanted to stop this nightmare so that “one day to live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” said by

He says, “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.... Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check.” King talks about the Constitution which reads that “All men are created equal... with certain unalienable rights.” Then Dr. King tries to show how these rights and this equality by the segregation and racism that the African-American community has faced since the beginning of our nation and even in 1963. Some of the examples he gave

In Martin Luther King’s speech ‘I have a dream’ He uses rhetorical devices, emotive language and a careful choice of pronouns to establish rapport with the audience. Before King became a speaker he was a Baptist minister, which means he was used to speaking in public and was very knowledgeable on the bible. The speech was given exactly one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation and was making the point that these promises were made but had not taken place.

King refers the the Emancipation Proclamation because that was the document that ended slavery. King is saying that everything being segregated should have never happened because this was signed. He also refers to "the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of "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” (King 84-85). When the documents were signed, it should have given all men the same rights and privileges.

What is the main purpose of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream Speech?" Well it depends on whom you ask this question. White people will give a totally different answer than black people. It is a fact of life that the two different races will never see eye to eye. They can interpret the same event in two totally different ways. I believe that both races understand the main points in Mr. King's speech. They realize that Mr. King emphasized peace, respect, and equality for every human being. The problems between races begin when they begin to interpret Mr. King's dreams.

“I Have a Dream” is about empowerment, Dr. King uses Lincoln's words from the “Gettysburg Address” which were “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”. He uses rhetoric to show that black men are no different from the white men. Kings point in saying “I have a dream” is to say that he has a vision for America. The vision is that every man can come together in brotherhood despite their skin color.

The article “I Have a Dream” by Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. examines the idea and importance of equality and identity of the negroes compare to other races. The speech uses facts such as “The negroes are still languishing in the corners of the society and live on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean” to explain the authentication and dignity they gained throughout the entire United States. And “The manacles of segregation and chains of discrimination” to justify how black people been treated during these years. Another important idea from the speech which illustrates how Americans had defaulted the compromise to the negroes, Martin use the “Insufficient Funds” to stress out the gaffes the country made to them. The term “I Have