Martin Luther King Analysis

885 Words4 Pages
During the 1960's, the United States of America and its citizens were undergoing a period of drastic change. The discussion over civil rights and racial equality caused a hotbed of disputes and extremist philosophies. Amongst the throng, the leaders of the up and coming rise and call for change stood. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Lyndon B. Johnson, were at the forefront of the civil rights debate. The projection of their ideas was one of the single most significant contributions towards the advancement of all colors and creeds, while also denying the infectious spread of extremist ideas and striving to decrease racial tensions. Although these speeches mostly strove for the same linear purpose and the methods to which they would achieve this differed, the presentation of their ideas tends to use a set of similar persuasive techniques (Aristotle's ethos, logos, and pathos) and rhetorical devices (repetition, allusion, metaphor, etc). Speeches are the ultimate form of persuasive writing. By combining literary excellence with theatrical monologues, the speaker can effectively convince others of the value in his statements and opinions. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. did not get up to the podium to speak, he got up to perform. To support his viciously powerful performance, King a used a one of a kind pastoral-like tone, strong allusions, metaphors, and repetitions to make his point heard and keep it reverberating in the minds of the audience. King creeps into the wallets and through this route the heads of the audience by using monetary metaphors in his intro paragraphs. "Five score years ago" is his easy and very relevant lead in to these concepts and also a reference to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (king1). He follows it up with "beacon light of hope" that is the Emancipation Proclamation (king1). These references are spent in order to
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