What Is The Purpose Of I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister and a Civil Rights activist, became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is widely known for his speech that took place on 28 August 1963, “I Have a Dream.” This speech aimed toward the entire nation. King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice and for them all to stand up together for their rights. In this speech, King uses emotional and logical appeal to gain the audience's support. He applied many rhetorical devices to his speech to connect with the audience’s emotions, and to logically support his arguments.

He refers to the principles voiced by the nation's founders in his appeal for racial equality. This strategy was especially important in light of the fact that the government was concerned that the Civil Rights movement might discredit the United States abroad. The government was worried that if they gave African-Americans freedom, the United States would be seen as weak and have been persecuting innocent people. Hence, it was perceptive of King to imply in the speech that he is not undermining the United States, but asking the country to do justice to the principles that were asserted to be the backbone of U.S. politics and society. King states, for example, that his dream was "deeply rooted in the American dream," (King 2) and that he dreams of a day when Americans "will be able to sing with new meaning `My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing'" (King 3). King then uses the words of that song to distinguish the different areas of the country where he hoped the United States would soon "let freedom ring" (King 3) for all its citizens. King alludes to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as being a "promissory note" (King 1) to all citizens, which those at the march were claiming as their inheritance. The speech gains power from King's stressing that he was asking the United States to live up to its principles and thus to fulfill the greatness of its pronounced creed.

Early in his speech, he establishes the connection of the Negro people to American society, stating that “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” Essentially, society has set them up for failure, intentionally creating an environment in which it is impossible to succeed in. Much like the concept of “forty acres a mule,” Negros were deliberately placed in a position of guaranteed failure. When the slaves were freed, they were promised forty acres of land and a mule, but were given no tools to harvest the land. They requested help from other famers, but were swindled out of their land or given land which was implantable, effectively consigning them into being in the same position as they were when they were enslaved. However, King transitions away from a feeling of hopelessness to one of optimism, claiming that although society wants the Negros to feel oppressed, they refuse to believe that “there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of the nation.” They are aware that opportunity and liberty are not things of limited quantity, therefore they should be offered to everyone. The “bank of opportunity” is impossible to go bankrupt because there are unlimited funds, waiting to be distributed out to everyone. The metaphors King connects to the current

He maintains a sense of elation and emotion as well as imagination throughout his speech. This he does through his description of economic and political philosophies that black people should adopt. He continually insist that for black people to rise out of oppression, they should desist integration and focus on separation. Just as the white people control all of the economic aspects in white community, black people should also control the economy in the black neighborhoods. He encourages black people to open up business, begin small and grow through self-help like the white people do in their neighborhoods.

On August 28th, 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke passionately for 17 minutes on his views about human equality for African Americans at one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in history. King played a major role in ending the segregation for African Americans. His rhetorical language left an impact on America. Through his use of appeals like ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical techniques. He influenced Americans to believe in the notion that all men are created equal.

On August 28th 1963, Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, King confronts the mistreatment of the African American community and the lack of free will they contain in society. Throughout the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement took place, influenced by centuries of cruelty towards the African Americans.. The most influential speech in the modern era was said in front of thousands of Civil Rights activists who all shared a common goal; to fight for the respect and to be treated as equals within the United States.

I have a dream that one day everyone will understand what Martin Luther King Jr said in his infamous speech on August 28, 1963, and recognize the power and beauty in his words. In the “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. persuades the citizens of the United States that they should no longer accept segregation, and all men should be created equal, as our Constitution states. In this fight though, we can not use violence, but use the power of words, and not stop until every human being is free. This speech was given in a time where black people were made to think that they were equal with white people, when in actuality, they were “separate but equal” which is not the same thing. This is when called segregation flourished and eventually, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had enough of this injustice and he spoke out to the citizens of the United States and the world to fight for freedom. This speech used all of the rhetorical devices: ethos, logos, and pathos, and it used such powerful, discrete language that not only persuaded the reader, but entertained them, drawing in his audience after every word. Its rhythm made it stay with people, haunting them. He truly made it clear of the awful ways the African American people were being treated, connecting to them, making them feel something, making the reader want to listen to him and follow King with every step he took.

In the beginning of his speech, king uses ethos when he stated “Five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” (King) He is referring to Lincoln, which helped bring authority in his speech. By bring up Lincoln in his speech it also helped him boost power with the civil rights act since Lincoln helped America out during the civil war.

In his speech, King expresses, that the "Negro...finds himself in exile in his own land” (Jr., Dr. Martin). This expression yields empathy as it demonstrates that he sympathizes with the unreasonable treatment and distance of African Americans. He likewise utilizes highly conative words to bring out an enthusiastic reaction in the audience, for example, "chains of discrimination" and "oppression" to fortify the requirement for change. He also uplifts his audience through positive diction using words such as “freedom,” “majestic,” and “brotherhood” to spur and move his crowd. He additionally claims to logos through his utilization of analogies: “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient

He does this by using strong language and imagery to reinforce his ideas. First, he does this by starting each sentence with “I have a dream.” Perhaps the most recognized verse of the entire speech is when King states “I have a dream that my four little 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.” This statement appeals to the emotional side of every person in the audience by connecting with them on a level deeper than just professional. He is just a father who wants more for his children and this statement allows the listener to think about what aspirations they hold for their children and connect with King on a deep, personal level. He continues to connect with the audience with other “I have a dream” statements but then ends with “. . . we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men . . . will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:” to once again connect the audience with God and what He would want for everyone and to also serve as a message of hope that one day America can live by the truths that it claims to be

One the other hand, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech “I Have a Dream” is a public speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. King was one of the most famous American civil rights activist. His mission for this iconic speech, was a call for an end to racism in the United States of America. Thus, this speech was a defining moment in the civil rights movement and was done so, at the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. King was a Baptist minister and was the driving force behind the civil rights movement. He demanded justice for the unjustly. Mainly the people of color.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I have a dream” (Aug. 28, 1963) he exclaims the social and political freedom of African Americans. King utilizes parallel structure and to envoke his dream of freedom.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed-we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” This was a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. He believed in the idea of equality for all men, in a world where a black man and a white man can walk together side by side, a world without segregation, jobs and equal pay for the people. Martin Luther led one of the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of the United States. As a civil right activist, he stood for equal rights for all people and he led a great march of over two hundred and fifty thousand civil right supporters for quality and the end of racism in the United States. His speech “I have a dream” paved the way in setting a decisive moment for the American civil rights movement in the country.

King is extremely emotive in his speech, and uses incredibly descriptive and poetic phrasing to demonstrate the eloquence of his argument. His use of words like "Now" and "today" imply a great need for immediate action regarding civil rights; the fact that he is so well-spoken is intentionally utilized in the speech to lend credence to his words. Given the stereotype at the time that blacks were unintelligent and uneducated, King 's responsibility to show the capabilities of black rhetoric was great. King, as a religious man, brings spirituality into the speech itself, but not in a self-aggrandizing way; he merely states that racial justice should be done as it is according to God 's will.

With the challenges that we, as the human race, have faced, we have also endured and conquered some of the easiest and most of the hardest issues that had risen in the past. With more opportunities opening up, there will also come more challenges. In Martin Luther King’s speech I Have a Dream, he was able to express the way he feels toward having the dream that one day everyone shall be united as one. By using repetition in the power of words, dedication and hard work, and other variables thrown in the mix of the speech, King was able to empower the people to make a stand and fight for the opportunity of equality and freedom.