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Rhetorical Analysis of I Have a Dream

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The speech "I Have a Dream," by Martin Luther King Jr., succeeds in illustrating the racist problems of the time, provoking the audience into feeling sympathetic as well as providing hope to the depressed African-American population. He builds his arguments brilliantly and persuasively by utilizing anaphora, metaphor and establishing ethos. First and foremost, the phrase "Now is the time" is repeated three times in three successive sentences in the speech. This repetition efficaciously delivers and reinforces the message that the speech is aimed to offer: righteous and immediate act is requisite at that time, when "the Negro is still not free", when "the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination" and that it is easily observed that "America has defaulted on this promissory note so far as her citizens of color are concerned". More specifically, the black Americans is still treated with severe racial prejudice and suffers from miserable lives. Therefore, "fierce urgency" towards drastic measures is of absolute magnitude in order to improve and resolve the alarming situation. As a result, King’s crucial idea, which highlights the utter significance of instant action, seeps into people's consciousness and gathers strength through the expressive repetition and emphasis. Additionally, this rhetorical skill also effectively ameliorates the presentation's rhythm, structure and flow. King's argument is also logically furthered by his skillful use of metaphor: "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial justice to the solid rock of brotherhood." Here, King compares discrimination as "the dark and desolate valley" and "the quicksands" while equality is referred to "the sunlit path" and "the solid rock". Unpleasant, dangerous and depressing images can be deduc

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