I Have A Dream Rhetorical Analysis

Jennifer Watkins
John Kear
English 101 3617
21 January 2015 “I Have A Dream” By Martin Luther King Jr. In 1963, African American men, women and children were still suffering from racial prejudice. They were still being segregated and kept out of places by signs marked “White’s only”. Black men and women fought back to gain their freedom and dignity. (History Wired) They fought by organizing peaceful protests, sit-ins and speeches. (History Wired) Dr. Martin Luther King was born January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was an amazing man who was well educated and fought for the rights of all black Americans. He accomplished so much in the short time while being one of the main leaders in the civil rights movement. In fact, Dr. King was
In Dr. King’s speech he uses Logos accurately. By showing that All Americans deserve freedom and equality. He supports the logic behind the need for America to follow through on its promise of freedom by stopping police brutality and segregation. He stated that “Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” This injustice which Dr. King speaks of supports the logos in his speech. It is logical to say that once the black community were entitled to their freedom that injustice is being done unto them with the lack of freedom and respect in which they are being
King has built his Ethos from the moment he became a part of the civil rights movement. Ethos is an individual’s qualifications or reputation. Dr. King built his ethos in this speech my starting it off by telling his followers “Today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” By stating this he has shown his intention that things will change. He is showing that change is just on the horizon. He also builds his ethos by sharing his speech on the 100th year anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. He continues to build his Ethos by giving his empowering speech by standing in front of Abraham Lincoln’s statue. Dr. King continues to build his Ethos by having brutality and being thrown in jail. He did not make his presence known without being threatened on a daily basis to get his “dream” heard.
Finally, Dr. King used Pathos effectively. Pathos is the emotions in which the audience experiences while they are listening to his speech. Dr. King used many emotions in his speech. He drew upon happiness with the thought that someday “…Somehow this situation can and will be changed.” He drew anger from “…America has given the Negro people a bad check.” Dr. King used loneliness, sadness and shame by displaying the lack of follow through from the country in giving its people