Summary Of I Have A Dream Speech

"I Have A Dream" is a mesmerizing speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was delivered to the thousands of Americans on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to African American under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.

King uses a metaphor within his emotional appeal to express that his emotions are not only felt by him but by the Negro community and they are deep. “Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation” (King 3), expresses that he does not expect the whites to be able to feel what the Negro community feels as it is almost a physical pain. This is effective because he is separating his thoughts and feelings from the white community to show what they have been doing themselves. King unfolds a series of events that is shared by almost every Negro individual with the use of anaphora because they have been told to “wait”. “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers….when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers….”

Martin Luther King, Jr. uses metaphors to make his argument in “The Letter To Birmingham Jail” by saying things such as “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait.” He is referring to when the people were being brutalized by police officers. They were kicked, cursed at, and treated awfully. I believe one reason Martin Luther King uses metaphors in his writing to show you more detail and give you a visual of what he is saying. In addition a good example of Martin Luther King using a metaphor to show detail would be when he talks about little girls not being able to go and play on the playground with other white children.

In the renown text "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. uses deep metaphors, an anaphora which seems never ending, and unique syntax to refute the arguments made by the clergymen. In paragraphs 12-14 King starts off in a gentle manner then unleashes his true feelings in paraph 14. These rhetorical devices were the key to his success in gaining equal rights during the civil rights movement in the United States. To begin, I noticed the metaphor "But we stiff creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at the lunch counter.

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most famous civil rights activists in the history of the United States. He gave several important speeches and promoted non-violent protests. His most famous speech was “I Have A Dream”, around a quarter of a million patrons, black and white, attended this empowering speech at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. The reason his speech was vastly successful in the movement against segregation and injustice was because of its repetitiveness.

King uses many similes in the paragraph, but when he's analyzing the "justice too long delayed is justice denied". King uses phrases such as "Asia and Africa are moving with jet-like speed" and "we still creep at horse-and-buggy like pace". He uses symbolism when saying "the cup of endurance runs over", and "plunged into the abyss of despair". By this King is trying to emphasize that there is a point when the black people collectively will no longer conform to being mistreated unequally, and no matter how much endurance they might have a revolt.

Perhaps one of the most visual examples is, “like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed.” Martin Luther King creates a vivid comparison of a boil to injustice though this simile. Both are disgusting, but must be cured by letting the wound breathe. While the smiles are impressive, equally abundant are Dr. King’s use of metaphors. “Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.” This quote actually contains two metaphors in one: the comparison of injustice to quicksand and the comparison of dignity to a rock. The use of personification in Martin Luther King’s writing has a breath-taking impact When King says, “the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us," the reader is given the imagery that an emotion is given the human-like characteristic of a shadow, making the idea of disappointment even darker than it already

This quote isn't the only example of figurative language Martin Luther King Jr. uses in his speech. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses figurative language to create powerful images in listeners' minds. Specifically, Martin Luther King, Jr. uses metaphors to paint a picture in listeners minds to get them to really understand the cruelty of slavery. For example, in Dr King’s speech, “I

Martin Luther King Jr uses repetition, concrete diction, and tone in his speech to distinguish between the ways someone acts, gets treated based on the colour of their skin and the ways that they feel. In his speech, King says “I have a dream” and “let freedom ring” a lot to show repetition. He also uses concrete detail when explaining how the blacks no longer want to be disrespected or be under their discriminating rules. King’s final way of expressing himself is through tone, he changes his tone when saying what him and his people want. The purpose of this speech is for people of all colours to understand that King tried to spread a message that he wanted a better community without racial discrimination and rights for black people.

In addition to King’s uses of allusions, the speech contains many contrasting metaphors and similes that influence his audience very effectively. He begins by pointing out that even though Negros are freed from slavery, they are still slaves “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” King then goes on about how “America has given the negro people a bad check” whereas the check in this instance symbolizes their right to equality because the mistreatment of the Negroes and racial discrimination is evident and the check “has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’” meaning they have yet to feel what they too, are guaranteed. With that understanding of human nature, Martin Luther King, Jr. compares gradualism to a tranquilizing drug, implying that people have a tendency to relax when things are “cooling off.” But he urges for his people not to relax and to take charge “to make justice in reality for all of God’s children.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was an astonishing display of language that persuaded the American nation to dissolve the barrier that stood between equality for all in our great nation. The true beauty in Dr. King’s speech rests in his ability to persuade the audience at the Lincoln Memorial, as well as, the nation to believe that it is a necessity to rid the exigence of segregation. Through the usage of metaphors that engage the reader, King uses language as an instrument to control the audience’s emotions and fuel their ideas that they can be the ones to make the change to propel our nation from one mediocrity to greatness. In his speech, King uses an eloquent blend between symbols and emotions through metaphors to persuade the audience that there is no true constraint that can hold them from achieving their goal and use the historical March on Washington as the solution to this exigence that failed to wither away one hundred years ago when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

On August 28th, 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke passionately for 17 minutes on his views about human equality for African Americans at one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in history. King played a major role in ending the segregation for African Americans. His rhetorical language left an impact on America. Through his use of appeals like ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical techniques. He influenced Americans to believe in the notion that all men are created equal.

King and X employed figurative language in their methods of persuading their audience. In King’s “I Have a Dream” speech he conveys the use of similes in the phrase, “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” in order to illustrate the need for justice until all are equal. He stresses the need of discrimination to end and for justice to let all nondiscriminatory in society. He used the negativity of injustice and turned it into a positive of justice being endless water that roars through a mighty stream that will forever be flowing. X also used similes to describe that all “negroes” are in the same boat and all will get the same treatment from the white man in the phrase, “…you’re going to catch hell just like I am.” He emphasizes that all “negroes” whether educated or illiterate or wealthy or poor will gain the same result of the hell that is being brought upon the by the same man who happens to be white. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X felt the lack of acceptance and the treachery being brought upon them by the white man in their use of similes.

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.

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most moving speeches in American history. His powerful oration was characterized by bold statements that provoked deep thought and recollection among members of his audience and the nation as a whole. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King employs anaphora, allusions and strong metaphors and imagery to address the issue of racial injustice and mobilize the people towards a common cause.