Please read chapter 10 about persuasive speaking and answer the following questions.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is considered a classic modern American address (Link to see and listen to the speech: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm ). He spoke at a time when segregation was still the law in many states. Although he was directly addressing a supportive crowd gathered in Washington, D.C., he was also aware of the larger audience, many of whom were hostile, that would be reached through print and electronic media. No one could have foretold the dramatic and historic effect that this speech would have for decades to come. Review a transcript of this speech and then write an essay or speech on one or more of the following questions:
a. How did Dr. King use ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade his audience to consider his appeal?
b. What aesthetic elements—for example, metaphors, repetition, Biblical references—were used to create a unified, eloquent address?
c. To what extent has Dr. King’s inspiring dream been realized? What remains to be done to create the society he envisioned?
NOTE:
1. Please respond to at least 2 other people.
POST 1
Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” Speech is one of the most recognizable speeches in history and rightfully so, MLK uses all components of what makes a strong persuasive argument. The most important three being ethos (personal credibility), logos (reasoning and organization), and pathos (emotional appeal). With these three essential elements one is able to constitute a strong persuasive argument. MLK had already gained credibility as a speaker and an activist in the Civil Rights Movement even before this speech. He was a key player in the Montgomery Bus Boycott’s, helped establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), was famous for his non-violent protests, started the Birmingham Campaign, and his letters from the Birmingham jail are also famed. In the famous “I Have a Dream” speech MLK also shows his ethos by delivering his speech in a certain manner, he voice is clean and cut, the words he uses are not too pretentious but also not overly simplified. If you watch a video of MLK giving his speech you can see he is wearing a sharp suit adding to a respectful reputation, also in a video you can see how he only ever glances down and instead keeps his eyes up and forward to the audience, this shows that he knows what he is saying and that he is confident in his words and did not simply memorize or is just reading off his speech. Another piece that makes up a strong argument is that of logos, reasoning and organization. I feel as though MLK’s speech fits closely with the problem-solution format. Right away in his introduction he presents the topic of his speech (racial inequality in America) and his stance on the topic (opposed). He also mentions famous American documents as evidence for his argument such as the Emancipation Proclamation and the Declaration of Independence quoting the famous phrase, “-guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” then following it up with how America has not delivered on this promise. MLK than lists the harms of what segregation can do saying:
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.”We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi
POST 2
a. How did Dr. King use ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade his audience to consider his appeal?
I Have a Dream by Dr. King is one of the most popular speeches in history. This was a public speech delivered in August 1963. In this speech, Dr. King aired the economic and civic grievances of the black people. He encouraged the black people to fight for their civil and economic rights. He championed an end to the rampant racism that was taking place in the U.S. He used different devices to pass the message. Some of the styles he used include ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos defines one’s character and personality, particularly in its balance between caution and passion. Also, it refers to the values and practices that differentiate one individual and organization from others. One of the cases where the ethos is used in Dr. King’s speech is when he says that, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. In this case, Dr. King describes the character of the person he is describing, that is, the character of the black people. Pathos is also used in the speech. He uses pathos to appeal to the audience’s emotions and beliefs. One of the cases where Dr. King uses pathos is when he says, “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream”. This shows his strong belief and conviction about the equality of the African people. Finally, he has also used logos in the speech. Logos is a persuasive and rhetorical appeal to the rationality and the logic of the audience. An example of logos in Dr. King’s speech is ”America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds”. In this logos, Dr. King is telling the audience what happens in his society as well as the society of other people.
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