Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”  speech was a famous and powerful speech directed towards not only his fellow black community or as he puts it “brothers and sisters” but also towards the white community, the people in the South, including Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana which were considered the main places where segregation is most common. The one rhetorical feature that interest me the most was his use of metaphor in the quote “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (pg 407). This interests me because of the way he says it gives me a good understanding of what he hopes to see for the future of all the black/colored community. It means that one day black and white people will be equal instead of separated, and will come to understand each other in order to live in peace.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. explains the hardships black people endure every day in the South. In page 2, King said “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brother at whim…when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of ‘nobodyness'” King repeated “when” a lot of times to emphasize the sad/harsh times for black people. This repetition made me realized that the issue of racism must resolve quickly because King lists a lot negative examples of racism and how it played out throughout the years. He delivered a powerful message to make his readers think about the issue and try to help resolve it. However, King did not ask for help from his readers, he intentionally made his readers feel a shame of not doing anything and feeling sad about black people’s situation.

In “Letter from Birmingham” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was written in aggravation to further explain to eight religious white leaders who publicly stated worry and prudence relating to his peaceful demonstration against segregation and racial terror in Birmingham, that they completely missed the point of the reason for this protest. One feature of a rhetorical device used in this text was the metaphor “It has been a tranquilizing thalidomide, relieving the emotional stress for a moment, only to give birth to an ill-formed infant of frustration.” (2), in other words the way that the people in power are disregarding such an important issue within the American nation towards the black community that the long-term effect will be much more problematic. He claims that justice isn’t certain, and that all improvement stems from dynamic and imaginative battle for what’s moral, which is precisely they were trying to do. But the fact that this was constantly being overlooked would have produced such a staggering realization in the upcoming.

What interested me about Martin Luther King’s speech, “I Had A Dream” was his wise use of religious allusion. The people he was specifically addressing were those from the south where many highly esteemed the bible. He would use “religious language” to capture their hearts. What was especially noteworthy was the content in which he chose. For example considering how big the bible is he could have simply used any text, however he chose the right words. Case in point, he made the profound statement that “all men are created equal” (406) and also uses the expression “children of God” (407). This required a lot of forethought and preparation on the part of Mr. King before delivering his captivating speech. He invested much of his time & whole heart into it, thus underscoring how strongly he felt about the issue of racism. These chosen texts were not only powerful in themselves but also appropriate to the theme of his message on racial equality. History shows that some have viciously killed in the name of religion and the bible, thus coercing people to make changes as seen during the time of “The Crusades”. Dr. King on the other hand would utilize religious allusion in a peaceful manner. His objective was not to force his listeners to make changes but to reach their hearts so as to allow the individual to make the necessary changes based on what they heard and/or read. Granted his approach was direct and bold but never did he have to use psychical force to get the message across. Those guilty of racism wouldn’t be literally beaten, but figuratively beaten, in other words guided by their own consciences. His approach helped me see the power of making decisions for myself & helping others come to the right conclusions.

Dr. Martin Luther King is predominantly known for his fight against segregation. In his speech titled, “I Have a Dream”, King begins by describing the racial inequality Negro’s have recieved, leading up to the mistreatment they have had to dealt with for over a Century now. By doing so, he expresses the idea that he wants change right away. King also uses the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln, to validate the reason that everyone should be treated equally despite your color or race. However, in his speech, King creates a religious allusion, which I believe creates the greatest impact, by referring to everyone, us people, as “God’s Children”(408), and that we all share the similarity which that we are all born under a creator. This feature helps others to relate to Kings situation, especially to my understanding, such as they way Muslims are misjudged in our society today. I believe this allowed people of other religions to open their minds to racial equality and helped them to realize they wouldn’t want themselves or their people receiving the harsh treatment Negro’s went through.