Preview

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

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
286 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's I Have And Dream Speech
Martin Luther King Jr's 1963 “I Have and Dream” speech is nothing short of inspiring in its message about abolishing racial discrimination. His main goal is to emphasize the racial injustices still present in society and that action should be taken to change it. His main points address the inequalities that Negroes face and how he longs for racial equality. King first begins by informing the audience about the racial inequalities that need to be changed. He then uses repeated clauses such as “I have a dream” and “Let freedom ring” as an emphasis of his passion for racial justice. This structure helps him make his argument by showing the audience that he has a good cause and evidence for backing up his viewpoint. King makes his point even stronger
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X
    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

    Baptist minister and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of civil rights supporters as a call to end racism in the United States as well as civil and economic rights for all races. In the introduction of the speech, he discussed the day that America’s forefathers signed the Emancipation Proclamation was a beacon of light for enslaved African Americans, as they would one day be free and seen as individuals rather than slaves. King states, “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” Continuing, Dr. King believes that the origin of racial inequality lies solely with America and the refusal to view all races as equal, like the forefathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech
    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages

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

    On August 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the prominent speech “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial to over 250,000 civil rights supporters. King’s speech was compelling and potent; it moved everyone. Furthermore, he helped change the world where there is justice. He believed in the equality between whites and blacks and died believing it. In addition, he strongly believes freedom exists for the blacks. He states, “[The white’s] destiny is tied up with [the black’s] destiny.” This quote emphasizes the problem of injustice in this world, and it makes the audience move into action. King’s speech was widely known, due to the effective tone he creates throughout his speech. His use of literary tropes and syntactical schemes help make this formidable tone. King’s speech influences the whites and blacks to listen by using extensive anaphora, metaphor, and diction to create a tone of necessity in his “I Have a Dream” speech.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    AP English 3 Rhetorical Analysis
    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages

    AP English 3 Rhetorical Analysis

    In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream (1963)” speech, he addresses the idea that in order to fulfill the premise that “all men were created equal,” the people of the nation must work together to move past the injustices inflicted on African Americans in order to ultimately grant them their civil rights. King’s claim is supported by first repeatedly alluding to historically renowned milestones in the fight against oppression and illustrating numerous metaphors to create an emotional connection with his audience. King’s “dream” that he frequently mentions is the nationwide unification to work toward a common goal in order to bring integration of all races and coexist without oppression. By establishing his goal, he creates an earnest tone for the people of America working toward cutting the “manacles of segregation and chains of discrimination.”…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    An Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech
    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages

    An Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

    In fact, parallel structure was used. Dr. King used parallel structure effectively in a lot of his speeches, especially this one. He used this particular structure to engage his audience. Through the use of this technique, he was able to organize, clarify and highlight information. Every small point built up to a larger point and made his ideas tie together. “I Have A Dream” and “Now is the time” are both great examples of parallelism found in Dr. Kings speech. “I have a dream” is repeated eight times, while ‘Now is the time” is repeated four times. He used both statements to help organize things chronologically. However, he also used such structure to make things simple and easy to remember. “Now is the time” was used to clarify every step that was to be taken at that particular time. By using this statement, King asked that the people take action immediately. He wanted them to think about the things that they could start doing to help their dreams come true. The constant hearing of that phrase, allowed the audience to think in present terms. As for, “I Have A Dream” it was used to make reference to the changes that were to come. Through parallelism, different ideas came together and were connected. Dr. King structured his speech, so that he would make reference to the past, present and then the future. He started by stating the things America has went through in the past, what it was going through at that particular time and what he hope to see it go through. The parallel structure, also helped create a sense of rhythm throughout the…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech
    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

    Martin Luther King Jr. uses a metaphor in his speech when he explains that, “The bank of justice is bankrupt.” He compares a “bank of justice,” to the American government and “bankruptcy” to an insufficient amount of justice in America. Bankruptcy is filed when there is inadequate resources to support an organization. This insufficiency is being compared to injustice for the Black people of America. Furthermore, King Jr. wants to acknowledge that equality and justice can and should be given to the Blacks.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech
    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

    Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a slave? I think it would be horrifying. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted everyone to have the same dream of freedom and equality for everyone that he had. SO that we may all have the privilege to live a free and normal life in the future. MLK’s speech was very compelling because he used such wonderful grammar and sentence structure that it gave him authority and credibility.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech
    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page

    Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

    Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the greatest speeches of all time. He achieves this status because the speech is brilliantly written and flawlessly presented. The speech’s clear purpose is to persuade the audience of the problem that is segregation and to call people to fight for civil rights. King’s language is simple and direct, yet very powerful and well-chosen. The speech itself appears to be easily understood. However simple, it very impactful. He uses analogies throughout the speech, these prove the speech to be more accessible to everyday people. He also treats his audience with a huge amount of respect, acknowledging their troubles, as well as, encouraging them to keep going. His use of the phrase “I have a…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech
    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages

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

    Believe it or not Martin Luther King almost didn’t give the “ I Have a Dream” speech. Mahalia Jackson encouraged King to go ahead and tell the people watching about the speech. King decided to go for it and improvised the rest of the speech. The speech gave people a realization on how different black people were treated compared to the whites. He had a dream that one day everyone would be able walk and communicate without being discriminated against. He wanted to point out that your skin color shouldn’t make you any different than anyone else. Everyone should be able to walk the same streets, interact with whom they like. King teaches one that all of this starts with the children. If you teach a kid from a young age to be a certain way then that’s what he’ll turn out to be but if you tell them they can have the freedom to interact with any kid they like to that’s a change. In the speech he said that he’ll like for the children of a slave and the children of a slave owner to be able to grow up together, in the same environment and not feel any different.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech
    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

    Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man, but what was he really like? well from his famous speech I've been on a mountaintop we learn that he was a very caring person. Not only that but martin also showed a very determined and helpful spirit, but how can we tell that this was a part of his personality, well in his speech it shows his personality and his beliefs best. Martin talked about a lot of things but in this speech we see that his focus was on human rights and bettering a community that was of his own kind.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    I Have A Dream Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.
    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I Have A Dream Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.

    In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “ I have a Dream” speech to hundreds of people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C revealing the ideals of the current world and encouraging his audience to envision his dream of a new America where segregation and discrimination were abolished. To do this King intelligently chose words, phrases, references that appealed to his audiences commonalities such as religion, their common struggle, and their desire to make the nation great.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech
    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

    My favorite image that Martin Luther King Jr. used in his speech is “one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering in the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.” I like this one because Mississippi was a horrible state that threatened African Americans, but King gave the people hope that even states like that can change. “One hundred years later” is the repetition that I find the most captivating to me. I love this repetition because king uses it to remind everyone that one hundred years ago Lincoln promised freedom to slaves yet they still feel enslaved and oppressed. “One hundred years later” and yet very little has changed.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Rhetorical Analysis
    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Rhetorical Analysis

    Leaders become great not because of their powers, but because of their ability to empower others (best25). We have had great leaders to come through the United States to deliver great speeches about racial inequality. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King, George W. Bush, William J Clinton, and Barack Obama. Dr. King I have a dream speech signified Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he calls for an end to racism in the United States and formed a civil rights movement. George W. Bush ending racial inequality speech signified a part of Dr. King’s speech by including his name and testifying everything he did. William Clinton speech talked about how if Dr. King was living he would have said you did a great job instead of I had a dream long ago. Barack Obama speech about the NAACP talked about the right we now have and how it all started one hundred years ago. Although these are great men I do believe that Dr. King had the best argument for ending racial inequality. Dr. King compares the cashing of the checks, emancipation proclamation, and by using the words I have a dream.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Speech Rhetorical Analysis Essay
    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King Speech Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    With the usage of anaphoras, King can get his point across further by repeating the same phrases. In paragraphs 17-24, King says “I have a dream” at the beginning of each sentence. Throughout the speech, King repeatedly states that he has a dream, a dream of a country where there is peace and you are not judged for the color of your skin. In paragraph 6, King repetitively says, “now is the time.” These phrases emphasize his main message but also give off a sense of urgency.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Martin Luther King Jr Not Free
    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page

    Why Is Martin Luther King Jr Not Free

    Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 at Washington D.C. in front of the Washington Monument. Dr. King gave his to help promote the idea that all men should be treated equally. He developed his speech by saying that “100 years later, we must face the tragic fact that the negro is still not free,” (King). Another way he shows that the African Americans are not free yet is by saying “One hundred years later the Negro is still languishing in the comers of AMerican society and finds himself an exile in his own land,” (King). His goal throughout his speech was to show how the African Americans were still not free and how that this is not the end of their fight for freedom, but the beginning. His speech was intended…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Martin Luther King's Speech
    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Martin Luther King's Speech

    King utilizes a simple format that enables his listeners to commit his every word to memory with ease and…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics