Jfk/Mkl Essay

Inaugural Dream

There have been many great speeches throughout history. Two of the greatest are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream," and John F. Kennedy's "Inaugural Address." Both of these speeches had many similarities such as: their quest for freedom, their metaphors, and their repetition. They also had some differences including: whom they addressed, and their purpose of doing so.

Both of these great figures had one main goal in their speeches - freedom. They expressed their ideas in very descriptive metaphors. King said "One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination." This meant that even though black people were promised freedom, they were still being punished for the color of their skin. Kennedy stated "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price...in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." In this statement Kennedy wanted the whole world to know that America will do anything to keep it's freedom.

King and Kennedy's repetition also played a major role in the greatness of their speeches. King's repetitive "Now is the time" helped to show the black people that they must do something or else they would never be treated the way that they deserved to be. He also repeated words such as "us" and "we" which created a sense of one in the people he addressed. Kennedy's repetitive usage of "Let both sides" showed that though they are against us everyone should have one main goal - peace and freedom, and that we should come together to achieve this.

Although King and Kennedy's purpose for their speeches was freedom, the type of freedom they were trying to accomplish was different. King addressed over 200,000