Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech

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In this paragraph, Martin Luther King, Jr. uses the appeal to authority when he quotes Thomas Jefferson, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” That if a highly respected man such as Jefferson, who was the President of the United States, believes this then it must be true. Even though both happened in different time periods and goals, they both wanted change for the greater good; wanting to be a united country, not being divided, having controversy and problems with one another for example: racism/slavery. MLK’s mission was to unite all genders and races to become one and not one superior than the rest while Jefferson had a legislation in hopes of abolishing slavery, with views of it being unjust and against the laws of nature.…show more content…
“...when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children…” He included this to his speech so the audience and readers would feel sympathy and sadness towards the children thus wanting to help in any way; also adding imagery, “welling up” for others to picture it in their mind, thinking about it. As a reminder, this is a letter to the clergymen, King uses emotional language to influence to bring a sense of urgency, that from the history of blacks in America, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights,” (wanting civil rights and being seen/treated as an equal in society), but because of the constant denial, lack of action and justification which leads to the buildup of frustration and absence of
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