I Have A Dream Essay Example

Civil Rights Act in 1964. Following this development, large demonstrations took place in Washington to advocate for jobs and freedom.

This is when the king made his most famous speech "I have a dream". King's popularity grew as he received recognition, becoming Time Magazines "Man of the year" in '63 and receiving a Nobel Peace Prize in '64. However, Malcolm X's arrival brought about change as he advocated for violent protest.

Here, differences arose as the FBI made efforts to "silence" King. In 1967, he launched his poor people's campaign to confront economic issues that had previously gone unquestioned. On 03.04.68, he delivered his final speech titled "I've been to the mountaintop." The next day, he was assassinated.

The Speech. On August 28th, 1963, over 250,000 individuals, including 50,000 whites, gathered to advocate for "Jobs and Freedom." Numerous speeches were given by figures such as labor leaders Walter Neither and actors Sidney Poitier and Marlon Brando.

The event featured multiple speakers, each given a 15-minute time slot. Among them, Martin Luther King delivered the most famous speech. Initially, King had prepared a formal speech addressing the challenges African Americans faced in their fight for freedom. However, he was influenced by someone well-known who encouraged him to share his dream instead. As a result, he gave one of the most iconic speeches of the 20th Century. This televised speech received nationwide coverage and was extensively reported on by every newspaper in America, reaching an audience much larger than the 250,000 attendees at the event. Julian Bond, both a civil rights activist and one of Martin's students, claimed that this speech solidified King's position as the leading figure in civil rights.

In my perspective, rather than engaging in argumentation, King saw this speech as an opportunity to persuade, empower, and inspire others.

In analyzing the speech, I will now demonstrate and examine the proof. King begins by utilizing the term "we" to establish his identity as a member of the audience. Additionally, he demonstrates his understanding of their hardships by introducing a metaphor, describing "The negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity." Here, he refers to disadvantaged African Americans as an isolated island surrounded by a sea of relatively content and successful whites. King also employs a frequently recurring and crucial aspect of the speech when he declares, "One hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free, one hundred years later the life of the Negro is still crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination, one hundred years later..." He utilizes this repetition for dramatic effect, employing it abundantly throughout the speech. This paragraph serves to introduce the ongoing suffering experienced by African Americans today.

Paragraph 2 on page 328 discusses the concept of tranquillizing drug of gradualism. The section revolves around an extended metaphor, where a cheque is used to symbolize the fight for freedom. The author states, "In a sense, we have come to our nation's capital to cash a cheque." They further discuss the declaration of independence and extend the metaphor by remarking, "It is evident now that America has failed to fulfil this promise when it comes to its citizens of color."

Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the

Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe (repetition) that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check - a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice."

This means he believes America has not fulfilled its promise towards African Americans. Nonetheless, he refuses to accept that freedom and justice cannot be achieved, asserting that this metaphorical "bad cheque" can indeed be redeemed. He continues engaging with the audience using inclusive language such as "we".

The author stresses the significance of taking immediate action and rejects the notion of complacency. They refer to the concept of "the fierce urgency of now." This idea is supported by a quote from Pirkel avot 1:150, where Hillel asks, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am myself alone, what am I? If not now, when?" The highlighted portion of this quote is particularly important, as it advocates for a revolution - an abrupt and transformative change - rather than waiting for evolution, which denotes gradual change over time. This is the main message that King aims to convey. In the preceding paragraph, he discusses the lack of progress brought about by evolution in the past century. Now, he calls for an end to gradualism and the initiation of a peaceful revolution. His objective in this paragraph is to inspire and motivate.

The text highlights the third and fourth paragraphs found on pages 328-329

of King's book "Now is the time - we cannot work alone." These paragraphs employ repetition to stress the significance of the "fierce urgency of now" to the audience. This effect is achieved through concise sentences that commence with the phrase "Now is the time." Additionally, King refers to his crowd as "God's children," thereby establishing their equality with white people. He bolsters this notion by citing Genesis 9:6, which asserts that those who harm others should bear consequences due to humans being created in God's image.

The speaker in this passage connects with the crowd by referring to them as "my people." He uses two consecutive metaphors to encourage pursuing peace instead of bitterness and hatred. Additionally, he compares their fight for freedom to a plane's approach, highlighting the importance of dignity and discipline. King employs these rhetorical techniques to inspire and persuade his audience. His language is uplifting and hopeful, stating that "63 is not an end but a beginning." This excerpt can be found in paragraph 6 on page 330 of the "I am not unmindful - unearned suffering is redemptive" section.

King uses this paragraph to express his empathy for the suffering of the readers, introducing the word "you" and mentioning "persecution" and "trials and tribulations." He emphasizes the intensity of this suffering by describing it as being "battered by the storms of persecution" and "staggered by the winds of police brutality." Through this paragraph, King aims to create anger and understanding, setting the stage for the motivational paragraphs to follow. This excerpt can be found in Paragraph 7 on page 330 of Go back to Mississippi - let us not wallow in

the valley of despair.

In this part of the speech, King starts to shift the atmosphere and persuades his audience that there is still hope. He achieves this by utilizing repetition once again. He urges the audience to "Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back..." This paragraph aims to alter the audience's mood before the iconic "I have a dream" section. It can be found in paragraph 8 on pages 330 - 331 under the title "I say to you today - shall see it together." This particular segment of the speech is where King truly transforms the speech's tone from focusing on what is wrong to emphasizing what can be done. He motivates and uplifts his audience from this point onwards.

The author of this passage uses the phrase "I have a dream" nine times throughout. The main focus of his dream is the peaceful coexistence of white and black individuals, sitting together harmoniously. He provides various examples to support his vision, such as envisioning a future where descendants of slaves and slave owners can share a table and embrace brotherhood on Georgia's red hills. Towards the end of his section on "I have a dream," he references a biblical quote, potentially from Isaiah 40:4, which conveys the idea that rough places will be smoothed and crooked paths will be straightened. Additionally, he interprets this quote as applicable to eliminating evil within humanity. This particular excerpt is located in paragraphs 9-10 on page 331 under the heading "this is our hope - sing with new meaning."

In the paragraph below, King discusses the significance of faith in relation

to a dream he previously mentioned. He emphasizes the prevalence of the words faith and hope, which collectively account for 6% of the paragraph's content. King asserts that faith will guide them through the hardships they will encounter in their pursuit of freedom. These ideas are explored in paragraphs 11, 12, and 13 on pages 331 to 332 of "And If America - We are free at last." In this concluding segment of his speech, King speaks about the universal presence of freedom throughout America. Employing repetition once again, he uses short phrases, akin to those in paragraph 3, particularly repeating the phrase "let freedom ring" a total of seven times. Ultimately, King envisions a prosperous future for America, characterized by its achievement of widespread freedom, thus concluding his speech on a positive note.