MLK RESPONSE
In Martin Luther King's, "I have a Dream", it is clear that the intended audience are civil rights representatives and, in general, protestors wishing to give their opinion to the public. How is this true? Luther states in the first sentence that he is "happy to be with [them] today in what will go down in history," of which shows that this rally is to hopefully motivate these demonstrators into influencing society for "real" change. In light of this, Luther references to the "Emancipation Proclamation" in the second paragraph as the use of anaphora ("one hundred years later") speaks a great distance as it highlights the fact that there are still "chairs of discrimination" (metaphor). Therefore, one can say that, within this historical context, Luther wishes for there to be equal freedom between whites and blacks. It is also worth stating that there is a definite tone of ethos in the speech as Luther clearly states the wrong doings of America, whilst also adding tinges of pathos here and there as it is evident that the passion-filled words (i.e. "the whirlwinds of revolt" (metaphor)) bring vibrancy to his speech that permits its influence to be reached even deeper into the minds of African Americans.
Furthermore, Luther also demonstrates an effective grasp over structure in the speech as each paragraph is never too long, allowing for better flow as the text has more air to breathe. With this space, each sentence is never too long, of which allows the reader to question whether these 'short but sweet' sentences relate to the historical context. What is meant by this is that society during the time had no change, where whites gave blacks a "bad cheque" (metaphor) and consistently used the reason of "insufficient funds" to defend their lack of progress. Due to this, the public was used to this 'jibber-jabber" of the government, and MLK's succinct and demanding statements illustrated that change can only happen with firm initiatives; as if it is easy to fix. On another note, Luther's style of using multiple anaphoras in the text is intentional as it serves as further support of short sentences, placing emphasis that the way to change is through direct action. Not to mention that, the use of personal pronouns ("we", "you", etc...) almost gives the illusion that Luther is just 'one of the people'; separating himself to what has been a failed government system.
Furthermore, Luther also demonstrates an effective grasp over structure in the speech as each paragraph is never too long, allowing for better flow as the text has more air to breathe. With this space, each sentence is never too long, of which allows the reader to question whether these 'short but sweet' sentences relate to the historical context. What is meant by this is that society during the time had no change, where whites gave blacks a "bad cheque" (metaphor) and consistently used the reason of "insufficient funds" to defend their lack of progress. Due to this, the public was used to this 'jibber-jabber" of the government, and MLK's succinct and demanding statements illustrated that change can only happen with firm initiatives; as if it is easy to fix. On another note, Luther's style of using multiple anaphoras in the text is intentional as it serves as further support of short sentences, placing emphasis that the way to change is through direct action. Not to mention that, the use of personal pronouns ("we", "you", etc...) almost gives the illusion that Luther is just 'one of the people'; separating himself to what has been a failed government system.
I liked that after every comment you made on his speech, you gave a rhetoric device used. I also agree with the purpose of the speech that you stated, in that there needs to be firm initiative taken for things to get better. To add on what you said about his spacing between each paragraph, I think he also did it to let the audience understand what he's just said and to place emphasis on certain parts of the speech. A inquiry I have is, "how dies he use repetition in the speech?". In relation to the title. Overall, it was really good.
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ReplyDeleteThis was a very coherent commentary that explicitly examined the significance of context. I especially liked what you said about the length of the paragraphs, as it showed great insight on your part and I completely agree with what you said about MLK being "one of the people." I think it would improve your essay if you could mention that anaphoras, metaphors and personal pronouns are rhetorical devices, but overall it was very good.
ReplyDeleteClear understanding of the ACTS framework is seen within the response, and the paragraphs are structured well. The argument is promoted well by including detailed examples from the speech, and further explaining MLK's use of rhetorical devices. As well, the context of the speech is related to background information from what was happening in the USA during that time period. Well done!
ReplyDeleteYou have gone into a great detail on the stylistic features and structure used in the text. You have backed it up with various evidence and have analysed the audience and purpose. Same as Nicole's comment on mentioning the stylistic features and refer it to rhetorical devices but apart from that I don't have any outstanding errors. Good Job!
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