Rhetorical Analysis Of I 'Ve Been To The Mountaintop'

Decent Essays
"I've Been to the Mountaintop"? Was one of the most influential speech in united state history delivered by Martin Luther King Jr On April 3, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, In his inspiring speech he talks about the unfortunate reality of society. He was able to deliver powerful messages of peace through the analogy and different similarities that people could easily relate to. The main emphasis of his speech was that African Americans should have equal rights and privileges as their white counterparts. Dr. King's unbelievable speaking ability and Gandhi type(nonviolence) persona has influenced the United States to celebrate differences in humanity. This speech also explains, how the King Jr is telling the government, and the people of the

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. was a great civil rights leader, which led a revolution to end racial segregation in the 1950’s and 1960’s (World Wide Entertainment, 2007). King was instrumental in many social and political changes that improved the lives of black people in the United States. King was able to create social change among his supporters by reacting to violence and discrimination with non-violence. He had studied the work Mohandas Gandhi and embraced the concepts of civil disobedience as way to end conflict. King realized his congregation and supporters did not fully accept or appreciate Gandhi’s philosophy of Satyagraha or civil disobedience so he decided to integrate Gandhi’s political strategies with the strong Christian believes of his people.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Dr. King aligned the past, the present and the future intending to end his speech with hopes and promises of a change that was to be conducted with peace and equality, in perfect harmony to humane relations. Martin Luther King through his speech moved a crowd of 200,000 people; his assembly of words and rhetorical strategies managed to advocate humanity in the face of social color blindness. His words still live and continue to inspire thousands…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Martin Luther King Junior’s last speech I’ve Been to the Mountaintop hadn’t only given hope to people who were treated badly because of their skin color, but also, led to people becoming more accepting to African Americans as well as empowering others listening to the speech not to quit the fight of social…

    • 54 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    As I sat in the crowded Sycamore Banquet dining area, I was unaware of what to expect as this was my first MLK Jr. celebratory dinner at Indiana State. The keynote speaker Clayborne Carson gave a highly inspirational speech that left me pondering the thought he brought up within his speech which was the concept of what is the next step. MLK meant for us to answer this question, but here it is forty-eight, almost forty-nine years later and we have yet to seriously attempt to answer it. We have become accustomed to poverty, violence, wars, political corruption, etc. Another key concept of Dr. Carson’s speech was what King would think if he was still alive today, would he be content with where we are or would he be disgraced with our…

    • 133 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    This speech addressed problems facing the Negro American. His well-articulated speech is one that focused on a better tomorrow. Dr. King’s vision of a united America is one that is still sought after today. Dr. King is quoted saying “America has defaulted on this promissory note” “This note…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    His family, though the same religion as Dr. King, was targeted by numerous racist groups, and his father and uncles were murdered by white men by the time he was six-years-old. Their childhoods shaped their mentalities completely. Dr. King saw the world and social change with optimism. He had faith America could and would band together, would meet love and social harmony as an equal nation under God. He understood humanity’s inherently evil nature, but he never lost his assurance or his faith.…

    • 1294 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    First, Dr. King talks about how human freedom has been a long time coming, but the world has finally reached the point where people everywhere are demanding that their rights be respected. Oppressors are recognizing that that might just be a good idea. Then he talks about the matter at hand, the Memphis sanitation strike, urging the audience to remain unified in their commitment to nonviolent activism and reminding them that nonviolence achieved great victories…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mlk's Dream Speech

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    intelligent words to gain attention of listeners. “... and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering.” The amount imagery this quote gives to listeners is incredibly amazing. MLK uses God in I’ve Been to the Mountaintop to show that everyone was God’s child, regardless of their race. This shows imagery because MLK is talking about how so many people are not literally suffering, but instead hurting from the words of the whites.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “Hills Like White Elephants,” the readers follow a couple’s conversation as they wait for the train. While following this conversation the reader will see the barriers and deterioration the couple goes through. There are stages in a relationship that are based off of communication, which is called interpersonal relationship. Throughout this story, the readers will get to witness the couple pass through a few of these stages. Communication is key to building a strong relationship and comes to show that it is a vital part in human life.…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How the 2008 election affected African American History in this country. On november 4, 2008 the election had taken a great turn in of events, the history of the African American history. Our newly elected president is a black man for the first time ever, and the forty-fourth. President Barack Obama was elected by 192 more electoral votes than Senator John McCain of Arizona.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    And if it can change a nation, it can change a world.” Dr. King here gives us the reminder of the importance to how powerful as individuals we can be. And how silence is just as powerful. How one voice can change a nation, how a voice like his changed a nation. And how one voice can leave a nation in its desolate…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I watched a video of Martin Luther King Jr's discourse that was lost and distributed on January 20, 2014. His discourse occurred in a lodging in New York City on September 12, 1962 and it honored the 100th commemoration of Abraham Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The video showed his composed discourse alongside the sound. I think the video was taped before a live gathering of people on the grounds that you can hear a few individuals applauding and he recognizes an executive and Governor Rocafeller and a brief delay exist because of somebody changing out the tape disc. Dr. King talked about social liberties and common freedoms, for example, subjection, imbalance, and foul play.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s was a dark and unpromising time. African Americans were not able to perform simple tasks like getting a drink of water, unless it was designated for “colored” people. In this speech Martin Luther King proposes his overall goal of inspiring change through nonviolent protests. The tone of this speech is rather informative, appealing to ethos. In contrast the speech also has argumentative qualities, appealing to the audiences senses of emotions and passions.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Dr. Martin Luther King was a very intelligent man, who was the definition of a Real Man. He was an average man, who like to play pool, and get his hair cut, however, I felt like I wanted to personally express gratitude towards him for making strides for people like my grandmother and grandfather, and of course for me. This man fought a never ending battle against POVERTY, RACISM and MILITARISM. He sacrificed his family’s life as well as his for the rights of those who lived in poverty, or faced racism to be equal. He was inspired, and used the brilliant strategies to fight “Jim Crow” by enlisting the strategies of two men.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In his speech “Impasse on Race Relations,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached nonviolence and peaceful protest to a group of Canadian college students. His arguments, although clear and logical, are now outdated. Black Americans and white people no longer “collaborate for human dignity.” Dr. Martin Luther King was a very wise man. I, along with anyone, could tell that he was intelligent as I read this speech.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays