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Rhetorical Analysis Essay On I Have A Dream Speech

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay On I Have A Dream Speech
Kendra Branch Branch 1
English 101.95980
21 September 2012
Expository Essay

Can Having A Dream Make A Difference In Society? “I have a dream.” A phrase and or quote that many citizens of today’s society use in reference of what they would like their future to hold. Our society is not the best, but it is not the worst either. Change is the light that brings us out of the darkness. Through the use of repetition, diction and figurative language Martin Luther King, Jr. conveys in his speech “I Have A Dream” that all men and women are equal; therefore, things such as racism and division of classes should not be an issue. “I have a dream”, “I have a dream today”, “With this faith”, “let freedom ring”, and “when”, are some of the few examples of the repetition that Martin Luther King, Jr. uses in this speech. Each of these phrases conveys a different meaning and or perspective of this …show more content…
In his speech MLK uses many different words to capture the hearts and souls and even eyes of his audience. Single words such as captivity, sweltering, and manacles can have a momentous impact on such an audience as this. These specific words played a big role in some of the aspects of life that MLK was trying to convey to his audience. Captivity is used to describe the situation in which they were in. They were held down, tied at the ankles and could not do anything. “This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass…” This metaphor is full of nothing but diction conveying that the Negros hardship will not go unheard. People will feel through the power of words what Negros have been through for so many years. “Crippled by the manacles of segregation” explains one of many hardships that all had to face but mostly blacks. This also is a metaphor which is in other words known as figurative
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