Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

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Martin Luther King, Jr. gave one of the greatest speeches this nation has known. His style, presence, word usage, and actions have placed him directly in our nation’s history. The issue of race inequality within society, has always been one of controversy and scrutiny all the way back to the founding of the United States. It’s easy to forget when looking at how today’s society is. Men and women of all different races and backgrounds are free to interact, work at the same places, and live together, a hundred years ago, it was very different. Our country has made considerable strides in changing and developing how we have handled race issues over the years and while we are still not perfect, it is impossible to dismiss the little progress we have made. It is due to the courage, strength, and words of men like Martin Luther King Jr. that have changed our nation. The speech in itself is one of the most influential pieces of literature ever written. From King’s enthusiastic delivery, to switching from reading a manuscript to speaking off the cuff half way through the speech, to his extensive use of metaphors, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered “I Have a Dream” in excellent fashion. Ironically,…show more content…
influences his audience. Can you imagine taking the time, or having the brilliancy to put together such an amazing collection of diction, and more importantly, metaphors? Martin Luther King Jr. makes his audience think. Sure, he probably could have stood at the podium, said just about anything and been glorified for it. King was not that type of figure. Yet, it is more meaningful and surely better, to analyze and admire Martin Luther King Jr. for the way he influenced his audience. Remember that his audience was quite possibly in the millions, counting the almost quarter million present in Washington D.C., in addition to all the people listening on the radio and watching on
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