Martin Luther King Jr I Have A Dream Speech Essay
“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” (King). The most compelling speech is “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. In the speech, he persuades America to treat everyone, of all color, as equals and to give everyone the rights promised in the Declaration of Independence. The speech was very impactful and included many rhetorical devices.
Martin Luther King Jr. incorporated ethos and imagery in his speech to express how deprived of freedom African Americans were. For example, he said “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check...” (King). The comparison he made of freedom being money allowed people to see how …show more content…
His use of imagery made what he was saying flow and the ethos he used gave him a stronger credibility. For example, he stated “...we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’” (King). His simile expressed that America is a desert-- he wanted people to venture out toward the ocean. Moreover, he declared that “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” (King). The strong analogies he made clearly outlined his and every other African American’s dream and he mixed it into his speech well. Lastly, he decreed that “Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.” (King). The flow of his hopes made it fairly easy to follow along which helped his speech greatly. His background with what he spoke about gave him a stronger sense of credibility and helped convince America’s people to change.
Overall, the “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. was the most impactful. It addressed the concerns of all blacks and persuaded equality. Not only that, but it talked about how we should dispose racial discrimination and segregation because justice should become “...a reality for all of God’s children.”
Martin Luther King Jr. incorporated ethos and imagery in his speech to express how deprived of freedom African Americans were. For example, he said “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check...” (King). The comparison he made of freedom being money allowed people to see how …show more content…
His use of imagery made what he was saying flow and the ethos he used gave him a stronger credibility. For example, he stated “...we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’” (King). His simile expressed that America is a desert-- he wanted people to venture out toward the ocean. Moreover, he declared that “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” (King). The strong analogies he made clearly outlined his and every other African American’s dream and he mixed it into his speech well. Lastly, he decreed that “Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.” (King). The flow of his hopes made it fairly easy to follow along which helped his speech greatly. His background with what he spoke about gave him a stronger sense of credibility and helped convince America’s people to change.
Overall, the “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. was the most impactful. It addressed the concerns of all blacks and persuaded equality. Not only that, but it talked about how we should dispose racial discrimination and segregation because justice should become “...a reality for all of God’s children.”