Martin Luther King Essay

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is elegant in purpose, tone, and style. This work uses many words that appeal to the reader, adjusting his mood, so words leave a greater impact. King motivates his audience and is extremely effective in demanding a change for the country. He talks about moral issues related to segregation of blacks, and demands a change.

King refers to Abraham Lincoln as one who freed the Negro, however describes them as “still not free”. King states that the blacks are constricted “still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” He reminds America that slavery is not over. Even if literal chains have been removed, blacks are still locked up from society. King also mentions that the country was not created as the founding fathers intended. He creates a metaphor: that the Declaration of Independence was a check, deposited in the bank of justice. However that check was always “marked insufficient funds”. King repeats the urgency of now throughout the speech, how now is the time to “cash this check-a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

The title of this speech “I have a dream” is indefinitely King’s most important phrase throughout the speech. The repetition of this phrase represents a sense of hope, one that has not been established yet. He compares the fault of reality directly against the flawless dream in his imagination. King establishes that “his dream” is actually simplistic, directly colliding with the nature of our nation (Ex. Brought up founding fathers). Using compare and contrast to out - shadow a flawed reality with a dream that deserves to be reality, is extremely effective in getting his point across.