Miranda Dominguez 8/29/13 ENG 104 Rhetorical Analysis of “I Have a Dream” By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The day of August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, 200,000 people gathered after the March on Washington. This is where Dr. Martin Luther King presented his “I Have a Dream” speech to America. He spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that was taking place in our nation. In his first statement he said, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” In this statement he has said what he was there to do.
In my opinion, he created a light in the mind of others because his speech was coming out from his heart. Dr. King used the language devices in his speech and created the best speech in American history. He used anaphora, reputation, allusions, and metaphors to engage people and convince them to claim their rights hardly. First, he used many anaphors in his speech “One hundred years later, Now is the time, We must, We can never (cannot) be satisfied, Go back to, Go back to, With this faith, and Let freedom ring (from)” which made the speech stuck in people’s minds. Second, he used the reputation in many forms such as “freedom, we, nation, justice, and dream”.
He referred to many other famous speeches and documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, the United States Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. This is obvious when analyzing the speech as one can notice that King structures his speech to appeal to a large array of audiences and supporting it with the three rhetorical modes of ethos, logos and panthos engraving Dr. King’s name in history. The act was Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. This speech was about civil rights and was aimed towards all people in the hopes that one day everyone can live together equally. He also made many references to the economy, by stating that he refuses to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.
President Obama was tasked with giving a speech that not only openly acknowledged and recognized what happened in Selma but also shed light on how far the nation has come since then. He has to be able to unify the people in the belief that America has a brighter future ahead. Obama accomplished this feat by reiterating the events of the past, using anecdotes and appealing to the emotions of the crowd. His speech starts off with the story of what happened in Selma. He says, “In one afternoon fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of
Furthermore success of the Birmingham campaign in 1961 and the March on Washington in 1963 (including the significant “I have a dream” speech) led to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act in 1964 and perhaps marked the high point of King’s career. Additionally, the freedom rides in 1961 gained white support, helped by violence against white protestors being highlighted on TV, and forced the federal government to order the desegregation of all interstate bus facilities. As the triumphs in Birmingham showed, King became increasingly successful in provoking violence from his opponents while ensuring his followers remained non-violent. This plus the
Martin Luther King called out to the right minded people “Now is the time to stand as tall proud unfettered men and it is time to cast off the shackles of oppression and go forth into the light of freedom.” (Reality Magazine 1996-2006) Simply because of the actions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. our entire world has benefited from his strength and trying efforts, because of his outstanding leadership which brought out hope and determination for change to millions people. His philosophy for life and humanity was
Inaugural Address of Barack Obama as well as John Fitzgerald Kennedy is powerful, highly infectious and is considered a classic speech. There are some similarities in them, either in propose or the usage of rhetorical device. Firstly, the ideas delivered mainly focus on the current situation, and inspiration of American dreams. Being confronted with the Cold War, in his address what Kennedy wants to deliver is to make the whole world know its policy, let all the nations understand its choice, that is, America will take the significant task to bring the freedom back, the freedom of its own nation, the freedom of the world. He believes and he wants all the people to believe that America will finally take the role of leading the world into a bright future, with the help of its incomparable democratic tradition, its progresses in science and technology and military affairs and its people’s hard efforts.
On August 23, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., who had always been struggled for the freedom and resistance of racial discrimination, stood in front of Lincoln Memorial and gave a famous speech “I Have a Dream” to 25 million people to fight for their human rights. In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, he played multiple Talk Cards such as a compatriot of Negro, a father of four children, a believer, and a normal citizen that wish for the right to vote. Using different cards can raise more resonance from the audience and make people feel more involve in a speech. I think Dr. King could have also played a card as a leader that can help Negros to overcome the difficulties and lead them to a brighter future where the United State is a place full of freedom and justice. I think this was a smart move because the speech could comfort the citizens and make them realize that they should stand up and fight for themselves.
Michal Adler Mrs. Klapper English IV February 27, 2011 Great Political Speeches that Changed America After the War of Independence, the United States of America was founded by the fathers of our nation; it was then preserved by Abraham Lincoln in the Civil war; and rescued from economic collapse by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who then led it to victory in the greatest war of all time. Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt both had great responsibilities with respect to leading the American people during extremely tumultuous times. Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, to redirect the nation’s cause during the Civil war, and Roosevelt gave great encouragement to the nation with his “day that will live in infamy” speech, right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Great political speeches by charismatic leaders during times of war can transform nations through their powerful words. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 to 1865.
It was also a period of radical change in segregation, discrimination and equal rights. Martin Luther King challenges American society to change and accept his race. This can be seen through Kings Use of anaphora throughout the entire speech. He continuously repeats “I have a dream” in his speech to amplify how he believes America is due for change to placate the growing population of African American people. Kings distinctive voice conveys his determination in uniting a nation to bring the changes needed.