The rhetoric in ‘I Have a Dream’ by Martin Luther King
I have a dream by Martin Luther King was written by John King as a call to the blacks in America to open their eyes to the racist acts they faced. He was an activist trying to help in changing the systems hopefully to bring change in the lives of his fellow blacks. There were calls for boycotts and protests so that his people could be able to get true freedom, and jobs. The success of the ‘I have a dream’ speech came because of the social mood of the time. Both common citizens and activist needed support for their vision for victory and the speech came just in time to strengthen their dreams for freedom, fairness and equality. The structuring of the King speech was effectively constructed for appealing to different audiences. It has appeals comprising of logos, ethos, and pathos and reinforced rhetorically through significant schemes and tropes for a historical tribute to the black community.
I think the author is aware of what his audience needs and he is keen to invoke their emotions in a logic manner to provide them with ideas that strengthens those ideas. The author wants his audience to be empathic on the situations taking place in the society. He is keen in making sure that his audience understands the possibility of achieving the desires of their hearts. He reminds them that it needs determination if they are to achieve the dreams, to a point when “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” (Vail, 51-78). The speech targets three levels of audiences: the discriminated Negros, average whites who had similar notions at the time, supremacists, and militant blacks who perceived that the blacks were evil and that the civil rights movement was fully associated with violence.
The first part of his speech paints a picture of the pains experienced by the Negros through a thorough description of their condition like when he says that they were “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” and lived in a “lonely island of poverty” in a “vast ocean of material prosperity” (Vail, 51-78). This is a touching point targeting the realization of whites to the plight of blacks. It leads them to think about their treatment of the blacks, while sinking deep into the minds of the blacks regarding their situation. He then lists the problems faced by the Negros invoking the sadness in blacks and creating further discomfort in whites whom he literally reminds of breaking their promises to blacks. He however maintains a dignified stance reminding the Negros that they can press on with their movements without violence, “marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people” (Vail, 51-78). He later instills images of a peaceful future in the minds of his audiences in a logic manner that everyone visualizes and longs for that same future in his dream.
He is keen on captivating the emotions of his audience by utilizing pathos making the white audience not to keep hating the blacks but in turn create sympathy for the Negros in dislike of racism in his description of “chains of discrimination” (Vail, 51-78). He also utilizes the use of logos and ethos, making his audience to hold the white community responsible, for breaking their promises and leaving the black people to suffer against what was termed as “the Constitution and Declaration of Independence” (Vail, 51-78). As he states, these are only achievable if “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” because racial segregation is morally wrong (Vail, 51-78). Therefore, through the different rhetoric approaches, King manages to capture the emotions, logic and by giving evidences, strongly influences his audiences against racism.
Works Cited
Vail, Mark. “The “Integrative” Rhetoric Of Martin Luther King Jr.’S “I Have A Dream” Speech.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 9.1 (2006): 51-78. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
