Love And The Toll Of Hate Analysis

The Role of Love and the Toll of Hate As discussed in the past several classes, rhetoric is mostly about the “Skill in using language effectively and persuasively” (Keith & Lundberg 3) whereas pathos is the “emotional state of the audience, as produced by a speaker or speech” (Keith & Lundberg 39). Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his feelings about love during his London speech to the Christian Action Group on December 7, 1964. Throughout the speech, King discusses the Philosophy that motivates non-violent protests against segregation. In this speech he focused on convincing the audience that love is a powerful tool of persuasion and that we should work against segregation through love and eliminate the hatred towards others. In his philosophical speech King talks about the similar type of affection that dwells in one’s heart. As he starts to speak about love, he quotes a poet and states “Fleecy locks, and black complexion cannot forfeit nature’s claim; Skin may differ, but affection dwells in black and white the same” (King). Through these words, he makes it clear that affection dwells in all of our hearts regardless of our skin color. He proposes that this affection should be used not to segregate amongst each other, but to link together and create a better world. In King’s …show more content…
He goes on to say, “Theologians talk about this kind of love with the Greek word agape, which is a sort of overflowing love that seeks nothing in return. And when one develops this, you rise to the position of being able to love the person who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does” (King). In short, King is persuading us to love each other without expecting anything in return. By doing so, you will be able to love the person, regardless of their wrong doings and only hate their evil thoughts and