Nonviolence In Dr. Martin Luther King's Speech

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As mentioned earlier Dr King believed that non-violence and civil disobedience are the only ways to fight for freedom. During my research on Dr. Martin Luther King and his attributes towards non-violence, I found his book “Stride toward freedom”. In this book Dr. King outlined his way of nonviolence. He tells the story of the Montgomery movement and his own personal journey, and then offers six basis points for nonviolence. Dr. King lived and taught these essential ingredients of active nonviolence until the day he died. These are the points that Dr King emphasis; Nonviolent resistance is not cowardly, but is a form of resistance, Advocates of nonviolence do not want to humiliate those they oppose, Nonviolence seeks to defeat evil, not people, …show more content…
At the beginning of the speech, Dr King speaks at a pace that one would use in an intimate conversation or similar to a preacher giving a sermon to a group, which is fitting as King was also a preacher. By speaking at a slower pace with slightly long breaks between sentences and ideas, King reels the audience into this intimate conversation that he begins, and then as each part progresses on the pace quickens. Along with his increase in pace, his tone increases as well. The tone fluctuation he displays matches up with his strongest ideas, metaphors, or references in the speech. King utilizes tone and pace strategically with his story he tells in the beginning of his speech about going through various times throughout history but wanting to remain in the current time. Slowly raising his voice and pace when reaching the climax of the story where his point would be made, making it all the more impactful. The point in of itself is not the only reason why the audience reacts to it so well, it’s the fact that in the speech he’s not speaking loudly so when he does start to increase his voice the audience sees and hears the confidence in his voice and become confident and hopeful themselves. This appeal to the people’s emotions through delivery is effective for King because he guides the audience’s emotions through the

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