The “I Have a Dream” Speech, written and told by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A man known for his pieces of literature. But, in this specific piece it speaks of a certain issue that needs to be addressed at the time, before it gets worst. This speech speaks of the treatment of the black community, and the “Dream” that Dr. King has. One Rhetorical feature that caught my attention was his use of metaphor (404). He says, that “America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check marked “insufficient funds.” This is an important part of Dr. King’s argument, because of this brilliant use of metaphor he opened up people’s minds. Right after, he says, “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” What I got from this part of the speech was that black people aren’t cared for by the white supremacists. I came to this conclusion because, the words “insufficient funds” tells me that black people aren’t being given enough money from the bank. Also, the “bank of justice is bankrupt”, this tells me that justice is all out of money. Money is resembling the ability to care. And the bank resembling the white people. In the end, Justice is not on the black community’s side and doesn’t care enough to lend them a hand. This is one of the many things in Dr. Kings Speech that led me to better understand his argument. In just one sentence he told us a story.

Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most entycing and innivative speeches in history, not just for people of color, but everyone. The speech highlights the mistreatment that negroes have endured, including empty promises and dehumanizing experiences. However, he still believes that things can change with the help of the “good” whites; but the only way to ensure this “dream” can be fulfilled is through immediate action. To make his speech powerful, Dr. King filled his speech with rhetorical strategies. One powerful aspect of Dr.King’s speech was his repeated use of repetition throughout. However, the most important and effective use of repetition in my opinion was “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted…together”(406-407). This was the climax of the entire speech. His repeated use of “I have a dream” drove home the point that this is not something definite, like a plan. It stems from ambition, and he basically told the audience that the only way to achieve this dream is to act now and act together. I believe that when people are told of a plan, they assume it is definite and therefore many people will not act on it, thinking they play a small role. An example of this would be voting for our Presidents. Millions of people decide not to vote, thinking his/her role is insignificant. Where as an election like this past one, we saw that every single vote would have had a significant impact. Dr. King also uses the phrases “one hundred years later” and “now is the time” numerous times in their respective sections in his speech.(404/405) When Dr. King was repeating “one hundred years later, he was referring to one hundred yeara after former President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves. Repeating that phrase is so powerful because it drives home the point that the negroes cannot wait for the government to make changes no matter what paper says otherwise. On the next page when Dr King. repeats “now is the time” he backs up his prior one hundree years neighborhood and also brings about another point. This point, equal to using the wkrd “dream”, is that the best time to make a change is NOW, and that is a big theme throughout the speech.

Maverick Guillermo

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, opens his “I Have a Dream” speech with a symbolic quote as follows, “Five score years ago, a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (403). He opens his speech by preaching President Abraham Lincoln while delivering the speech in front of Lincoln memorial. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862 and signed on January 1^st, 1863 releasing all slaves free from the states. In the speech, Martin Luther King Jr used a very strong language and attitude towards the people. I also noticed that in the following quote “Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums” (406), he used a bit of parallelism while delivering the speech. Also in the speech, he said a very powerful quote and it goes “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights” (404), this quote I’m sure impacted many fellow Americans because nothing will be the same until Negroes got the equality that was granted.

Dear Dr. King,
I found your speech, “I Have a Dream” very intriguing after reading it perhaps the third time noticing a pattern like use of metaphors, emphasis and reiterations. One phrase which strongly resonates with me is in the beginning of your speech where you say “but one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the negro is still not free. One hundred years later the life of the negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” (p. 404) This resonates with me because I believe decades later we still feel some effects of segregation and discrimination. I believe your technique of metaphors to be a very effective tool of “dramatizing an appalling condition” as well as creating emphasis.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” there is also a pattern of metaphors and reiterations which I believe to be a technique of creating emphasis on your main points or ideas, which I believe to be a very effective technique. I think the main ideas and messages of your “I Have a Dream” speech and your “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are very similar, if not the same, however one difference between “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is that the speech was inspirational and discusses your visions for the future while the letter discusses your experience in prison as well as the experiences of injustices of blacks in the community of Birmingham.