Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offers much allusion in his "I Have a Dream" speech. "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation." This quote is derived from the Emancipation Proclamation, obviously. "This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in flames of whithering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity."
‘I have a Dream’ is one of the best known speeches of the twentieth century, a thoughtful and rousing call to social justice that clearly conveys King’s impatience with continuing racial discrimination. Kings content is structured to create a compelling argument for immediate action and change. He begins with a reminder of US democratic traditions and emancipation, with “five score years” echoing the “four score years and twenty” of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, placing the speech in the context of the history of the African-American struggle in USA. Lincoln’s promise however has not been honoured. African-Americans have metaphorically been given a “bad cheque”.
He ends his discourse with a dedication to let freedom ring today, as he beautifully recites the words to one of our nation’s greatest songs of liberty and justice. This sweet land of liberty in which we live will be even sweeter, and the words of this song will ring more true because of the deeds of this great man. Martin Luther King will forever live in the minds and hearts of American people. His dream of freedom will live on in every moment of America’s past and future struggle for a land of liberty and
King has used this device to validate the statements he is making directly following the quote. Some of the more powerful allusions used during this speech are from Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, both highly respected white men. “Five score years ago” was written in a way to draw attention to Lincoln. Those words are particularly meaningful because Kings Speech was giving in front of Lincoln memorial. Kings mention of the Emancipation Proclamation was to bring the spectators back to 1865 when Lincoln himself, who was not only morally opposed to slavery, however, was a President who defeated the matter of slavery in the south.
A lot of these leaders were born into slavery and escaped, passing on powerful messages to the people to come together and fight for their rights. I found Fredrick Douglas to be a good example of one who was born into slavery. He had a slave mom and a white dad that resulted in him being sent to another plantation to be a servant because of his color. In 1838, Douglas escaped and became part of an Anti-Slavery Society in 1841. He gave a powerful speech on the fourth of July addressing his fellow African Americans called ‘What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July.’ He portrays how all of America celebrates Independence Day with their political freedom.
He was committed to the antislavery cause and worked unceasingly for improvement of black civil rights. In 1837 Reason, Henry Highland Garnet, and George Downing launched a petition drive in support of full black suffrage. He was also secretary of the 1840 New York State Convention for Negro Suffrage. Reason founded and was executive secretary of the New York Political Improvement Association, which won for fugitive slaves the right to a jury trial in the state. In 1841 he lobbied successfully for the abolition of the sojourner law, which permitted slave owners to visit the state briefly with their slaves.
The citizens of Rome were so displeased with the conditions of society they cried out openly and in seclusion for defenders of liberty. Caesar was so outrageous and selfish for power he used any tick possible to accumulate money. (Insert class test). He was seen as having no ethics or honor as quoted from (class text) In a letter from Cicero to a Friend about Caesar. Cicero writes, “How can you have honor if you have no ethics?” As pertaining to Caesar’s unethical debt abolishing and not holding true to the Senate
Before Dimmesdale kills himself, he admits his sin to the whole town. Also, Dimmesdale receives treatment from Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, who knows their secret, and is trying to get revenge on them both. Chillingworth ends up realizing that he is going insane with trying to get revenge and believes that he has sinned more than both of them. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne uses satire to poke fun of the Puritan attitude toward sinning and the punishments of sinning. The reader learns from the text that the Puritan religion looked down on the idea of sin and punishes sinners harshly.
In the very beginning of the soliloquy Wolsey is depicted with a bitter tone speaking of how “little good” the court had done for him. He goes on to describe the stages of one’s downfall; which in this case is symbolic to the changes of seasons and the sequence in which they take place and then proceeds to elaborate his dreary tone by speaking of his lack of depth and high blown pride that now must be hidden. The shift in Wolsey’s tone happens dramatically when he claims the world to be something in which contains glory and vanity and states that he “[hates] ye!” This phrase alone depicts Wolsey’s hostility and complex feelings. He later quickly shifts to a tone which contains one of self pity by calling himself a “wretched” man that does by the monarchy. The use of shifts in tones varying throughout the soliloquy reflects Cardinal Wolsey’s struggle to cope with such shocking news.
This places emphasis on the hope that MLK has for the future of America and for it to be a place of equality. MLK refers to the Declaration of Independence as a ‘creed’. This biblical reference shows how MLK has the moral high ground within the battle of equality and segregation. Demonstrating to his observers that he is doing what is right by America. Martin Luther King states how, “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together”.