Camille Zendzian

RA
IHAD - FC Draft #2
10/23/13
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s empowering I Have a Dream speech delivered on the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial, he persuades Civil Rights Activists to continue fighting until America is no longer
suffering from segregation with a contrast between a dark introduction of the social injustices and a
bright future with ensured racial equality where a Americans will be free at last (P 37).
Accompanied by an elaborate description of the violent journey Negros have struggled through,
Dr. Kings prospect of a bright American future builds the idea of equality for all men possible as a result
of the Civil Rights Activists perseverance. The author begins his speech with the collective pronoun
we (P4,10-12,13) to describe the dark past Negros have endured and then switches to the personal
pronoun I (14,18-25) when illustrating a hopeful future with equality between all races to empower
activists. He reminds the audience of the power they always had to achieve the deeply valued goals they
may have lost sight of by following a description of everything they have survived together with a
statement of their personal dreams for the future. King generates a sense of unity between himself and
his audience to build upon the empowering feeling he is crafting as a result of placing the pronoun we
throughout the beginning of the speech; he believes it will strengthen their actions by creating a
harmony as the activists work in a well-composed whole under his leadership. The author then switches
to the pronoun I as he lists the desirable aspects of a future only attainable with the continuation of
the audiences ancestors work toward universal freedom to inspire the spectators toward action. I is
able accomplish this as it is followed by imaginative descriptions of the violent past his peers ancestors
suffered through as well as reminders of their endless determination toward an America with equality
for all. The usage of I is strengthened when King speaks as a reverend, for it is a reverends duty to
speak the Word of God. This means the I statements do not only refer to King personally, but rather
tasks sent from the God a majority of the authors viewers looks up to. Dr. King is playing prophet to
unite his people under the similar religion they each hold dear to their hearts in order to personalize the
future he is speaking of for his audience. The personal pronoun does so by not only referring to God, but
also to all those who support the Civil Rights Movement; therefore, pronoun usage by speaking as the
audience instead of to them. Kings dreams are the same as those who follow him, so they need only to
unite and realize their strengths in order to abolish segregation in America. When King shifts to the
pronoun I, he repeatedly lists the optimistic ideals he and the Civil Rights activists share through the
hopeful connotation of their dream*s+ (P18-25). When he consecutively repeats the word dream,
the orator is provides his views with hope. Often, dreams are a persons deepest, unspoken desires; so,
when King expresses these dreams aloud, he helps the activists to realize how personal the goal of
achieving equal rights truly is to them. He purposely employs dream with its connotations in mind to
develop an endless perseverance in the activists with the intention of persuading them to fight until
segregation is utterly abolished. To increase the obligatory sense of achieving a future of equality, King
follows each repetition of dream with juxtaposition between the past oppression Negros have endured
and a future where all races see each other as equals. This follows the authors pattern of following a
description of the past with a telling of the future placed at the end of his speech; in doing so, King
finalizes his dream by ultimately filling his followers with a surge of power through the idea of the past
to see into the future. He gives them faith in themselves as well as in their cause. With this faith (P27)
in a God-given future complete with all their hopes and dreams, King anaphorically fills his activists with
the power to obtain their goal of a racially equal America. That phrase refers to a previous allusion made
to the Bible that declares the future will be what the Lord desires. He uses the allusion to empower his
audience with an appeal to their personal connections with religion by means of his authority as a
reverend to interpret the Word of God. King explains to the crowd that this faith in God will be a key
element in reaching racial equality to construct a sentiment of religious duty in the cause: he changes
the audiences attitude toward the Civil Rights Movement out of the deep emotional appeal of religion.
Another emotional perspective is approached via this faith *s+ contrasting ideas of the jangling
discords of our nation and a beautiful symphony of brotherhood in an antithesis following. The
author parallels the two opposites of discords and symphony with the intention of encouraging his
followers to work together in the unison of a symphony to succeed in obtaining equality by pointing
out the misconduct of their violent actions in the past. The antithesis causes the activists to reflect on
their anger which has led to their violence and pushed them farther away from their goals. Furthermore,
a symphony of brotherhood conveys to the audience the importance of unity amongst all men, black
and white, in achieving complete equality. With this phrase, King explains that the necessary harmony
cannot be achieved in America unless all citizens are included. He strengthens that idea with the
religious connotation of brotherhood when applied with faith. The Bibles presses men toward the
construction of a brotherhood amongst themselves. Therefore, the audience realizes their biblical duty
to fulfill Gods desires and believes they must achieve brotherhood between humanity to prove their
faith.