Martin Luther King Persuasive Speech

Words: 1416
Pages: 6
Open Document
For years, rhetoric has been the mechanism used by many important leaders that made significant changes in our world. The purpose of these people was to use rhetoric as a tool to change the minds of millions of people about a specific idea. Nowadays, it is possible to observe this kind of persuasive speech in different contexts of our daily life such as politics. In fact, now that the United States is going through one of the most important social-political situations known as the presidential elections, it is possible to observe a great variety of speeches. There are six different candidates trying to convince society that they are the perfect leader to govern this country. To achieve it, they use persuasive speech. Each one of them has his …show more content…
A concrete example of an ethical speech can be the ones of the famous politician Martin Luther king. If we analyze many of his speeches we would find significant differences with the ones of the candidate Trump. To begin with, the use of values in order to convince was a hallmark of King's speeches. If he talked about a problem he would also come out with the solution, generating feelings of faith and happiness that will contribute to change the mentality of a society in a fair and positive way. For instance, there is one specific speech that is remembered for being one of the best speeches in history, titled “ I Have A Dream”, which was wrote in 1963. This one says, "Now is the time to make the real promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." ( King). As we could observe, this is a speech that reflects all the characteristics that define an ethical rhetoric. It is completely different from Trump speech in the way that he doesn't don't blame a group of people, or try to emphasize that one specific person is responsible for the problems the US has. His speech is based on moral values, in demanding racial justice and social integration. He talks by all and …show more content…
This is a factor that both, Aristotle and Booth, agreed is essential to have an ethical persuasive speech. It is clear that compared with King who based his speeches in real and concise arguments, Trump exceeds the limit of exaggeration and generalization to the point his speeches are considered lies. Although an occasional problem involved one, two or even hundred Mexicans, that does not imply that he has the right to generalize every person that migrates from Mexico to the USA is under that degrading characterization. According to Booth “Rhetoric is useful because things that are true and things that are just have a natural tendency to prevail over their opposites” (Austin 180). In other words, persuasion is effective and lasting only when it discuss topics that align with reality. This is the reason why even today all the ideas of Martin Luther Kings are still recalled because everything that he said was in favor of the reality of a conflict that existed against the African American race. Good persuasion is honest persuasion. Therefore, if this person is influenced by feelings of friendship or self - interest, that will make him lose a clear vision of the truth and have their judgment obscured by consideration of personal
Show More

Related Documents: Martin Luther King Persuasive Speech

Who Is Martin Luther King Persuasive Speech

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”. Martin Luther King Jr. is not the kind of person that will hide in the shadows and say nothing. He is the kind of person that stands up and speaks for the people that are silenced. The world has changed alot since he spoke up and gave people a voice. Once the people decided to speak up, things started to change and people saw that. It was not just the black community that joined the fight for equal rights, people of different…

Words 594 - Pages 3

Critical Response Essay Final - I Have a Dream

does ‘I have a Dream’ By Martin Luther King conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a persuasive speech, and for what purpose? ------------------------------------------------- I have chosen the question “How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose?” I have decided to analyse Martin Luther King’s classic Civil Rights Movement speech “I have a Dream” and how the structure of the speech creates a persuasive aspect for the audience…

Words 1005 - Pages 5

Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream,” is influential in its message and persuasive techniques. It uses logical and emotional appeal. It appeals to logic, or logo, by using facts about the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation. It appeals to ethos, or emotion, by using metaphors and repetition. Logical and Ethical appeal both uses literary devices and persuasive devices to convince the crowd of the message of the struggle for equality. “The I Have a Dream” speech…

Words 302 - Pages 2

Dr. Martin Luther King Research Paper

Communications Essay DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SPEECH “I HAVE A DREAM” Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15 , 1929 and died on April 4, 1968. He was born Michael Luther King Jr. but decided to change his name to Martin. Both Martin Luther’s grandfather and father were pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Martin Luther carried on the tradition and served as pastor from 1960-1968 (Nobel Prize, 1). He was a big part of the civil rights movement for his race…

Words 1417 - Pages 6

Pathos In Dr. Martin Luther King's Speech

three presented persuasive devices, i find pathos to be the most effective. Pathos is the device which appeals to the individual’s emotions. We are an emotional people, reverting more to the emotions than to the mind when making a decision. Authors who want to get their message to stick with the reader may use pathos. Pathos writing usually uses personal accounts of a circumstance. Some of the most influential speeches ever given have used the device pathos. An example is the speech given on August…

Words 303 - Pages 2

The Power of the Word Essay

October 2014 The Power of the Word Have you ever came across someone who is drastically more persuasive than most people? Perhaps because he/she applies stronger elements of speech, such as rhetoric and other literary devices, etc. To start things off, there were many individuals in history that stood out like sore thumbs when it came to factors such as being able to exponentially excel in things like speech and art and so on. Things that could actually make the deciding factor such as when someone…

Words 676 - Pages 3

Yes We Can Speech

contrast the speeches of Barack Obama (‘Yes we can’) and Martin Luther King (I have a dream). When we talk about 'language', sometimes we mean speech (spoken language), sometimes writing (written language).Do you think is there any difference between spoken language and written language? Of course, speech is spoken and heard, while writing is written and read. There are many types of spoken languages such as news report, interview, speech, debates and conversations. In the spoken word, a speaker…

Words 1038 - Pages 5

MLK v Essay

Juan Marquez Mrs. Natrin Period 2 11 March 2014 Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter to Birmingham Jail” vs. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” Throughout history, there have been several rebellious and brave humans that have risen to the occasion to support the rights of others. Two of these people included Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These two historical figures are well known for their contribution in advocating the rights of others. In MLK’s “Letter to Birmingham Jail”…

Words 727 - Pages 3

Mlk Mnt Essay

One of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speeches “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” was delivered back in April 3, 1968 to the people at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. In his speech, King was still strong in his fight to end racism and push forward as he shares his plans with the people of Memphis. Clearly, he is confident in what he is saying in his speech and can easily persuade his followers to listen and confide in what he is telling them. Instilling confidence and hope in his followers…

Words 1264 - Pages 6

Rev. Martin Luther King Essay

Richard L. Lucas III Dr. Arah 5/11/2015 Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929. He was the second child and first son of Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King. Two other children born to the Kings were Willie Christine King Farris and Alfred Daniel Williams King. Martin Luther King, Jr., began his education in segregated public school in Georgia. He skipped several grades in school and entered high school in the fall of 1942 at the age of 13. Because he skipped…

Words 1975 - Pages 8