Preview

A Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
973 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech
Out of many prominent speeches throughout recent and non-recent history, the speech by Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” is indubitably the most enthralling, gripping, and well written. This speech and all of its entirety are solely based on the idea that all human beings living in the United States should have the prerogative to be treated as equals, regardless of their race/ the color of their skin, their religion, or other associations that one might have with a group of people. Moreover, King makes a point to persuade the people that if they act now, believe now, while preserving and acting on the notion of peace, the world of equality will prevail and the world of segregation will fade into the past. (and it is thereby their obligation …show more content…
Throughout his speech, Dr. King traverses intense emotional territory, from the "flames of withering injustice" to those "battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality," But closes by filling his listeners’ hearts with a hopeful, aspirational message, which proved to be a comforting prospect. Hope is vital in order for any type of action in any type of situation to be sustained for a long period of time. Motivation may allow action to materialize, but it is faith and hope that determines how long the fight is put up before it begins to dissolve. (assuming that the issue has not already been resolved.) In order to emphasize this point, King inserted repetition; “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” In addition to this, King uses repetition with the following phrases: “I have a dream…” and “let freedom ring,” each time, increasing the power of the rest of the
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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

    Analysis Of John Fitzgerald Kennedy's Speech
    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analysis Of John Fitzgerald Kennedy's Speech

    Martin Luther King, Jr., a Civil Rights Activist of the 1950s, delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 to advocate for equal rights for all ethnicities and to convey the message that unity is essential to the strength of society. Martin Luther King, Jr. starts his speech by uniting the audience under a similar belief that, “all men would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream
    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream

    In the piece “I have a dream” King uses logical appeal to give his reasoning over equality. King makes you feel guilty by not just what he says but he also makes you feel emotional with all of the false promises. King uses repetition of the phase “I have a dream” to convey his message. The most common rhetorical devices king uses are ethos, Pathos, logos, and repetition to describe his purpose. The rhetorical devices king use doesn’t just apply to one person it applies to everyone altogether.…

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

    Rhetorical Appeals In I Have A Dream Speech
    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Appeals In I Have A Dream Speech

    The speaker of the well known speech, ‘I Have a Dream’ was its very own author, Martin Luther King Jr. This speech was mainly about freedom and equality for African Americans. King emphasized on African American history, and how him and his people have been treated. The argument he used was that the African Americans have gone through enough and they deserve freedom and equality as much as white people. To support his argument he uses three appeals; emotional, ethical, and finally logical.…

    • 680 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

    After the March on Washington fifty-two years ago civil rights activist Dr. Martin King Jr. delivered for the first time his "I Have a Dream Speech" at the Lincoln Memorial. During the speech, Dr. King offered inspiration and called for an end to racism in America. In fact, he spoke on his personal hopes and dreams for people of all races in his country. One of his hopes was that one day people of color would be judged based off their character, rather than their skin color. As for his dream that he expressed in speech, it was that a day would come that colored people and whites could unite and see one another as equals.…

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

    Rhetorical Strategies In I Have A Dream Speech
    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Strategies In I Have A Dream Speech

    In 1963 Martin Luther King gave the most powerful and famous speech in the history of the United States. 40 years later, no other speech has been able to overcome the effect that this speech has had on the American people generation after generation. Despite the fact that the message of the speech is perhaps the most enduring aspect of the speech, the rhetorical strategies Martin Luther King used were instrumental in captivating the attention of millions people then, and now. The purpose of “I have a dream” was to awaken awareness about the importance of equality and to transcend his vision through the use of pathos, ethos and biblical imagery, among other elements; these are the strategies that enabled him to compose a dialogue that is essentially as motivating as a work of poetry.…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Martin Luther King Jr To Malcolm X
    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Who Is Martin Luther King Jr To Malcolm X

    In the words of Robert Kennedy, “Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of the…acts [which] will be written in the history of our generation.” Small steps often lead to great changes, and so it was with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, pioneers in the fight for racial equality. These two great leaders had the same goal, to achieve racial equality; however, they went about achieving that goal with two very different approaches. Dr. King’s message in his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington in 1963, was one of optimism and hope that the broken promises of the American government would one day be fulfilled. His hope was to achieve racial equality through integration rather than segregation. Dr. King grew up in a very loving and stable home where both his grandfather and father were…

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

    I Have A Dream Speech Rhetorical Analysis
    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I Have A Dream Speech Rhetorical Analysis

    Emotion is the basis of human interaction. Everyone has emotions and everyone responds accordingly. It is obvious that in trying to create an effective piece of writing, authors will turn to using human emotion to do so. In the speech by Martin Luther King Jr., his stylistic choices are effective in persuading his audience by targeting their emotions. Ultimately, the content of the writing is unsuccessful unless delivered in a way that forces listeners and readers to feel a certain way.…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    A Rhetorical Analysis Essay On I Have A Dream
    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Rhetorical Analysis Essay On I Have A Dream

    King says his dream is “deeply unmoving within the American Dream.” This reinforces the protest’ rights to equality in America. He says he dreams that “the sons of former slaves and also the sons of former slave homeowners are ready to sit down along at the table of brotherhood.” This emphasizes the necessity for black and white Americans to figure along. Central to the message of this speech, and also the Civil Rights movement additional typically, is that this line: “I have a dream that my four little kids can sooner or later sleep in a nation wherever they're going to not be judged by the colour of their skin however by the content of their character.”…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Homer Plessy
    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Homer Plessy

    Martin Luther King jr. is famous for his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. Plessy had a dream, that one day, no matter your decent, your skin pigment, or your background, you were subject to equal citizen ship. His small rebellion sparked an inferno throughout the black community, inspiring those to take action and act out against the iron fist of racial suppression. Although he lost his case, he still was able to set precedent and evidence for future generations to draw upon and use as a weapon in the fight for equality. Brown made possible, the mixing of two repellent peoples, the path was never easy and will never be easy but hopefully, in 100 years, humans of all origins will join hands and fight in unity in the face of…

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

    Metaphors In I Have A Dream Speech
    • 183 Words
    • 1 Page

    Metaphors In I Have A Dream Speech

    The most core part in the whole speech starting with “I have a dream……”, King repeated the same sentence structure and gave series of metaphors to describe the wonderful blueprints for future. He used the metaphor of brotherhood to encourage the audience to consider the freedom and equity across the race differences. King also use the word “heat” to metaphorically referred to the oppression while the word of oasis to refer as freedom and justice. King encouraged people to believe their faith so that they were able to “hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” In here, the mountain referred as the despair people had at that time; the stone referred as the hope they should have in minds for the future. Moreover, the terms of jangling…

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

    Lincoln Memorial Speech Analysis
    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lincoln Memorial Speech Analysis

    It affects generations now and generations to come. I would love to have witnessed the crowd’s encouraging reactions and encompassing energy and unity. I would love to have been jostled by their shouts and embraced by their cries for equality. I would love to have seen Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking from the Lincoln Memorial with such passion, reminding us of the sad reality of the state of our country, but pushing us to act now to fix our past mistakes. I would love to have witnessed his speech that still inspires us today. I believe King’s “I Have a Dream” speech to be a monumental event in the history of the United States. As certain groups are looked down upon and opinions differ, we will forever be facing the battle for equality. Nevertheless, we can always relate back to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. We will always be able to connect with his yearning for unity between all people. Hopefully, similar leaders will emerge, reminding us of these values. We need to remember history so that we do not repeat it in the present. As King tells us, “now is the…

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

    Martin Luther King Impact On Society Essay
    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King Impact On Society Essay

    “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” One of the most memorable quotes in American history was given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his I Have A Dream speech. This speech shows current Americans and the younger generations to come of how King and his movement changed the face of the country (Kazin, 981). To this day, Americans celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, schools all over the nation still teach children the impact that he had on American…

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

    Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech
    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

    The Dream that shook America Speaker, Martin Luther King Jr., in his speech, “I Have a Dream,” points out that discrimination and inequality towards people of color and of all backgrounds need to come to an end. King’s purpose is to inform the audience gathered, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Assembly, about all of the hardships of discrimination in order to promote peace and to set his goals for the nation. He adopts a passionate tone in order to change the way society treats people of color and race during the Washington Assembly held in 1963. King begins his speech by introducing the topic of discrimination, where he encourages a change in the unfair treatment that African Americans receive on a daily basis. He demonstrates…

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

    What Are The Rhetorical Devices In I Have A Dream Speech
    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What Are The Rhetorical Devices In I Have A Dream Speech

    On August 28, 1963, America was gifted with Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, given from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Throughout his entire speech, the crowd was heavily moved and it was apparent from the way that they clapped in admiration. The speech was a highlight in the movement of freedom and equality based on the turnout, and show of support of the movement during the speech. The intended audience was far surpassed with over three-hundred thousand people from all ethnicities gathered in Washington to hear the historical speech.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics