A Rhetorical Analysis of I Have a Dream Essay - 1484 Words

In Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, King makes use of an innumerable amount of rhetorical devices that augment the overall understanding and flow of the speech. King makes the audience feel an immense amount of emotion due to the outstanding use of pathos in his speech. King also generates a vast use of rhetorical devices including allusion, anaphora, and antithesis. The way that King conducted his speech adds to the comprehension and gives the effect that he wants to rise above the injustices of racism and segregation that so many people are subjected to on a daily basis. Throughout King’s speech, he uses the rhetorical mode, pathos, to give the audience an ambience of strong emotions such as sympathy. For example, whites had†¦show more content†¦King creates an enforced emotional appeal to the audience by using pathos, and he makes the audience feel empathy for the way that whites have treated non-whites for over a century. King also uses allusion to augment his point in his speech. Throughout his speech he makes many references to the Bible. â€Å"†¦justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream† (King). King alludes to the bible verse Amos 5:24. Through the allusion, King depicts that he wants justice to overtake the injustices of discrimination, and for justice to not only overcome discrimination, but for it to flow through America forever. King believed that humans live in a world where God does not judge people by their race and that people should not judge each other off of the color of their skin. â€Å"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together† (King). This line in King’s speech alludes to the bible verses Isaiah 40:4-5. Although he does not quo te the verses verbatim, this connects King’s message with the religious sides of people, as the majority of people practiced Christianity in America at this time. King dreams that one dayShow MoreRelatedI Have a Dream: Rhetorical Analysis865 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"I Have a Dream† Rhetorical Analysis Five elements of rhetoric: * Speaker: Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister from Atlanta, Georgia, who was inspired by Christianity and Gandhi. * Audience: Primarily African-Americans were present at the speech, but it was heard by many white Americans across the country. * Subject: A call for an end to racism in the United States. * Context: The speech was given on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, in a time where it was very difficultRead MoreRhetorical Analysis I Have A Dream767 Words   |  4 PagesShelly Ahmed Deborah Williams Rhetorical Analysis 04 November 2017 â€Å"I Have a Dream† The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. There was about 250,000 people in attendance. 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But, to understand the speech one must first understand the context. At this time, the slave era was far gone but, not forgotten. Negro men and women were still experiencing segregation in the 1960’s. There was negro bathrooms, negro schools, negro water fountains, and even ne gro restaurants. Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential black man who took on theRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech1058 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King Jr’s â€Å"I have a Dream† demonstrates the combination of the rhetorical appeals to support his argument for equality and social justice because he draws attention to the past history of America’s Injustice and oppression towards black Americans. One of the explanations that the I Have a Dream address by Martin Luther King Jr. is memorable is that it contains a superb balance of Aristotles 3 rhetorical appeals: attribute, pathos, and logos. Ethos is associate charm to authority