Discourse analysis essay:I have a dream by Dr.

Martin Luther King and Anne Roiphes

Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow
The author of the I Have A Dream speech is Dr. Martin Luther King, The purpose of
this speech is to help making change in both black and white citizens of the US during the
Civil Rights era. However, the premise of the speech is that the two sides of the
discussion must accept change in a non-violent way.
Anne Roiphe's "Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow" aims to convince the readers
that women must be equal to men, and not any less. comparison, Personal anecdotes, and
contrast are techniques Roiphe uses to create a convincing, strong essay.
Kings conveys many personal thoughts and experiences ; however, there is a strong
position taken against the crimes of white citizens . Kings position is very clear
through his speech. The style of the speech is mostly formal .The tone is both informative
and argumentative. Moreover, it is descriptive.Towards the ending of this speech, there is
a wave of pathos, as King talked about the brutality that the negro has experience and the
basic mobility of the negro who is unable to stay in hotels, find jobs, etc. Towards the
absolute close of the speech, King goes into a long discussion of a fair and possible
future, using an imagery of children playing together.
Roiphe begins her essay with a personal anecdote describing the horrable realization that
she married a man who was exactly like her father. This technique shows the essay as
informal and personal. Also, it is quite easy for audince to relate to personal experiences.
Another use of anecdotes in this article is to substantiate and support the main ideas.
After she attracts the reader's attention with the introductory anecdote, Roiphe starts
using contrast. The examples of contrast in the essay portray men and women as being
very different, especially morally. Roiphe uses contrast to illustrate the common the antimale attitudes women have, and in doing so, makes it clear that women feel that they are
less than men. Roiphe says, this is the wall between men and women. It is very clear to
the reader that equality between the two sexes will never exist as long as women continue
to feel that they are less than men. Roiphe makes a transition midway in he article from
contrast to comparison. She focuses on that women are not very different than men.
However, Roiphe leads her readers to logically infer that women must also be
responsible for the inequality between women and men . It then becomes clear to the
readers that the ". . . secret sense of superiority . . ." women feelings is what makes them
equally as over exaggerated as men.

Kings style is unusual and quit easy to understand. Overall, the speech is full of
rhetorical techniques. His words are deliberate and hopeful . He very much aware of his
audience, and he controls his choice of words . He used ethos and pathosin his speech.

However, King can handle his rhetorical choices very well.

the techniques Roiphe uses independently and together. comparison, Personal anecdotes,
and contrast. she also used logos in her article. Roiphe purposely used the techniques in a
planned way. This allowed her to create a specifically designed essay that was beneficial
in helping her present her ideas.
Both kings speech and Roiphes article conveys many personal thoughts and
experiences, it makes it quite easy for the audience to relate to both the article and the
speech.
Kings speech is mostly formal, with very little informality.The images and the ornaments
are heavily religious tone is both informative and argumentative. He also uses the
imagery of being behind a great leader, Abraham Lincoln. An individual could make a
case that such imagery is also related to ethos, since Lincoln was the father of the
Emancipation Proclamation. also using images of white and black children playing
together,and talking about the black people not finding jobs shows pathos.
Roiphes article is informal.Shortly after capturing the reader's interest with the
introductory anecdote, Roiphe starts using contrast. Using examples , However, Roiphe
makes a transition from contrast to comparison showing that men are not very different
than women through Logos.
King is well known for his work in Civil Rights during the 1960s. Moreover, since the
speech is given in the city of Washington, it is possible that it attempts to attract policy
makers and law makers who work and live in the countrys capital.The images and the
ornaments are very religious, reminiscent of a Sunday church sermon.
On the other hand Roiphes article was published in the magazine New York in 1972. She
begins her article with a personal anecdote describing her horrible realization that she
married a man who is exactly like her father, and then she carries on talking about
equality between sexes .

ENG 112 Jordan DISCOURSE ANALYSIS UNIT

Name: Norah Aldosary
Title or Description of Text: Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
Rhetorical Feature or Aspect
Genre: Type of Text or
Communication

Your Description/Evaluation/Analysis
opinion essay

(e.g. Advertisement, news article, scholarly

research article, poem, opinion essay, advice
column, persuasive speech, movie review,
etc. )

Communicator

Anne Roiphe , writer and journalist

(Author, Speaker or Writer)

General

Audience
(Intended Listeners or Readers)

Message or Content
(Information to be conveyed, including
Thesis/Main Idea)

convince the readers that women must be equal to men,

and not any less
Equality between men and women

Purpose
(Reason for communication; desired result or
effect)

Situation, Setting, or Occasion

1972, the magazine New York, after realizing she maried

a msn like her father, she had a further realiztion of the

unequality.
Textual Form & Features
(Organization & structure; style and tone;
vocabulary level, etc.)

Social Context
(Larger, more important social factors in
which the communication takes place)

Informal. Easy to read and relate to, well organized and easy
to follow
Publishing an such article in a well known magazine , shows
her aim to reach to readers who are more likely very well
educated and have higher seats in the socity.

ENG 112 Jordan DISCOURSE ANALYSIS UNIT

Name: Norah Aldosary
Title or Description of Text: I have a dream
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

Rhetorical Feature or Aspect

Genre: Type of Text or
Communication

Your Description/Evaluation/Analysis
Persuasive speech

(e.g. Advertisement, news article, scholarly

research article, poem, opinion essay, advice
column, persuasive speech, movie review,
etc. )

Communicator
(Author, Speaker or Writer)

Audience

Martin Luther King, Jr, leader in the African-American Civil

Rights
General

(Intended Listeners or Readers)

Message or Content
(Information to be conveyed, including
Thesis/Main Idea)

Purpose
(Reason for communication; desired result or
effect)

White and black people must accept change in a nonviolent way

help making change in both black and white citizens of
the US during the Civil Rights era

Situation, Setting, or Occasion

1963, Washington

Textual Form & Features

Formal, informative , he uses lots of metaphores , catchy

(Organization & structure; style and tone;

vocabulary level, etc.)

Social Context
(Larger, more important social factors in
which the communication takes place)

attempts to attract policy makers and law makers who

work and live in the countrys capital schince it was in
Washington.