Analysis Of Helen Hunt Jackson And Martin Luther King's A Century Of Dishonor

Race is a social construct. There is no one gene that makes an individual African American, no one physical trait that classifies an individual as Asian, and no one cultural attribute that can define an individual as Caucasian. However, race is not solely a social construct. It is an attribute that grants certain individuals the privilege of looking through rose colored glasses, while disallowing others to be given glasses at all. These glasses cause the very basis of discrimination and intolerance that led to the slaughter and internment of the Ponca Tribe that Helen Hunt Jackson describes in “A Century of Dishonor” and the segregation and racism towards African Americans that Martin Luther King, Jr protests in “I Have a Dream.” While both …show more content…
In “A Century of Dishonor,” Jackson’s use of diction contributes to the appeal of emotion, for she describes the Poncas as “gentle and peaceful” and their situation as “being without a crop to rely upon…[and] reduced to a state of desperation and destitution” due to “[their compliance]… with [the treaty with the United States government’s] stipulations (1152). Her word choice emphasizes the Ponca’s deprivation and places the blame United States, causing the reader to feel sympathy towards the Poncas who held up their end of the treaty but were still taken advantage of. Furthermore, Jackson appeals to logos by citing information from several of the treaties that were made between the United States and the Ponca Tribe: Jackson forthrightly discusses the maltreatment and injustice of Native Americans brought upon by the white people by using diction that warrants a mood of indignation and pity. Discordantly, Martin Luther King Jr. uses ethos and pathos to convey his thesis of freedom for all people, regardless of race. King uses ethos by relying on historical examples to demonstrate how the current freedoms that are granted are not sufficient to signify equality. He alludes to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, stating that “[the …show more content…
However, each writer employs contrasting methods in order to do so: Jackson’s accusatory tone and reliance on logos and pathos, and King’s hopeful, inspiring tone along with his use of pathos and ethos. Regardless of their methods of delivery, each author embodies the idea that King writes about in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” that “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” Jackson and King represent those who have been silenced and aid in the catalysis of change that destroys the need for rose-colored glasses. Equality is that