I Have a Dream

“I have a dream “is one of the most important speech delivered by Martin Luther Jr. In the speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr expresses the realization of a dream of freedom and equality for all people. The purpose of this speech was to persuade people or give the public general knowledge about segregation . The speaker uses rhetorical strategy and different elements of literature to inform about the injustice being done to them and to point out the failure of unification between people.

Dr king stated, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in History as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. ” This is the first sentence that he delivers using syntax. The sentence is also a cumulative sentence because it supports the important idea that his speech will bring changes in the history. As the speech goes on , he uses extended metaphor such as , “cash a check” , “promissory note” , “fall heir” , “bad check” , “insufficient funds” , “bankrupt” , “riches of freedom “ , “security of justice”.

This extended metaphor is included in the passage reinforcing the whole idea of how black people are being separated. The bad check symbolizes the condition of the people. The promissory note might be the promise note for unification , riches of freedom only for white people , not black ; and security of justice only for white not for black people. Metaphor is also used in the sentence: “Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. The United States of America is described as a wealthy nation where a part of the nation is poor and starving because of segregation.

The effect is to convey the message of what black people at that time were feeling because of separation and to talk to people indirectly through the words of literature and not to hurt any white people or government by delivering such a speech. In the speech, he mentions, “this note was a promise that all Black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”; this sentence clarifies the use of paradox because slavery and segregation did not give freedom to African Americans. Another literary device that composes this speech would be parallelisms and repetition.

Like, “we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force” reflects the use of parallelism. The rights that weren’t provided to African Americans were the dreams that Dr. Luther wanted people to fight for in the speech emphasizing the sentence, “I have a dream”. The speaker uses a lot of Elements of language like diction, syntax, trope and schemes to make the speech memorable to people forever. The language that he includes archaic words that aren’t often used but it has its own vital role in the speech. In the speech, the use of trope is also been mentioned a lot.

For example, the sentences that he uses like “not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” uses metaphor. He compares the thirst of freedom and bitterness. He doesn’t want freedom given because of hatred but a freedom of happiness. Likewise the sentences, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality”, “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” uses simile .

He combines white and black people to gather for equality. When he says , “ I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colors of their skin but by the content of their character” creates appeal to pathos of sad feeling that he feels his children are being judged. The speaker also provides logos like “we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “for whites only”.

This information shows how much the separation is being done that even small children of black people are being suffered by it. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr created an ethos that he wants the segregation to stop and wants all people should to live in harmony. He, himself had to suffer through all this and wanted to bring change. The speech uses a great rhetorical strategy because the connection between the speaker and the public shows reaction on the subject (segregation).