Martin Luther King Rhetorical Analysis

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Register to read the introduction… He uses these words and follows them with things that he knows that people are hoping for. He uses the word dream, because it is such a personal and deep commodity. The phrases he adds to the end of this representation are also very personal. This is so effectual because the target audience of this speech can see these visualizations become reality. This audience probably includes many parents, like King, making his reference to his children universal. Also, the familiarity of bible-type language (especially in the last paragraph of the example), draws the listener closer into his dream.

All of the changes to the phrase ?I have a dream? are additions to the end, except the first one of the paragraph. The first sentence in this passage includes the word ?still?. This creates an energy, because it gives the sense that the dream will not go away, it will not diminish. This is very potent, because it?s the only change to the actual small phrase ?I have a dream? throughout the whole speech. It makes the speech continue. Even now, over 30 years after his death, reading through the speech gives the reader a sense that things are not complete, and that King still has a
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King uses many metaphors, both large and small, to describe many different notions. ?Metaphors, like connotative words, are so powerful, so emotionally compelling, that we respond to the even if we are not conscious of their use.? (Seyler …show more content…
Even within this small selection there are several. He refers to gradualism as a tranquilizing drug. This is one of the most powerful metaphors within the speech, though it is one of the least developed. This was meant to incite action. The action cannot be gradual, as then it wouldn?t be effective. And gradual action is easy to get caught up in, and more importantly, it?s easy for the opposition to ambush.
The last sentence refers to racial injustice as ?quicksand? and brotherhood as ?solid rock?. This gives great visual and physical representation to these non-physical terms. Quicksand is a symbol for an unstable existence. This is probably because it tends to conjure up thoughts of sinking or being sucked into the ground. The ground is indicative of strength and stability. Solid rock, which is in turn used with brotherhood, happens to be what the Earth?s crust is made of. So this ?solid rock? is the opposite and stands for steadiness and support. Justice is security, something every human needs for

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