I Have A Dream: Rhetorical Analysis

Today, everyone has equal rights and liberties. However, it had not always been like that. Many groups including women and black people faced discrimination in the past and they had to fight for their rights. Martin Luther King, one of the most influential figures of the Civil Rights Movement, had both seen and experienced the negative impacts of segregation in a community. On August 28, 1963, he delivered his “I Have A Dream'' speech in front of a huge crowd at the Lincoln Memorial during the Civil Rights Movement. That speech was arguably one of the most important and famous speeches in American history. By criticizing the unequal treatment of black people and the applications of segregation, King argued that the idea of discrimination should be destroyed, and every individual who lives on this land must have equal rights, as well as liberties, in order to have a peaceful nation.

As long as there is discrimination, peace fails to exist within a society. That is why, as one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, King criticizes and verbally attacks the harsh applications of segregation which many of the black people faced in their daily lives, including himself. Additionally, he expresses that they were given a “bad check” by America and were denied the most basic rights that were granted to all human beings by the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence (King). He further elaborates by saying that they now came to cash that check which will give them “riches of freedom and the security of justice” (King). King also repeatedly gives examples of the harsh applications of discrimination to provide a justification to the Civil Rights Movement. Additionally, King mentions that they are not going to be satisfied until they start living in a society where people would no longer “be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” to show their dedication to the movement (King).

During his speech, King also demonstrates his hopes for a bright future in which segregation no longer exists. Furthermore, he shares his vision of a world where people from all races will finally be “able to join hands and sing in the words of the Negro spiritual” (King). The positive tone he uses here shows the audience that despite the hardships the black community endured in the past, they are looking for ways to create peace within their society instead of holding a grudge against all white people. Additionally, King also sees the destiny, as well as the freedom, of their “white brothers” “inextricably bound to [their] freedom” (King). The overall diction King uses in his speech serves the purpose of unifying the audience which supports his vision of a brighter future in which segregation will be destroyed and freedom will ring “from the mighty mountains of New York '' to “every hill and molehill of Mississippi” (King).

Conclusively, during his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial, King expresses their desire to live in an equal world where the minds of the individuals are no longer invaded by the parasitic ideology of discrimination and racism. Addressing not only the black community but everyone listening to his speech by using a unifying and a positive tone, King shares his dream of a future where people in their society will finally have equal rights and liberties. Furthermore, King also expresses his hopes for an ideal world where people of all races will finally be able to join hands together and stand united.

Mahir Kaya

WORK CITED:

King, Martin Luther. “I Have A Dream.”, 28 August 2003, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.