Rhetorical Analysis of I Have a Dream Speech, Letters from Birmingham Jail, and the Speech in the Virginia Convention (Essay Example)

As shown in the I Have a Dream speech, Letters from Birmingham Jail, and the Speech in the Virginia Convention, unifying through understanding one another is most effectively done by choosing the correct appeal based on one’s audience —  a technique that is fortified with the use of metaphors, biblical allusions, and word choice. An example of being able to effectively communicate one’s point by knowing one’s audience is seen in Martin Luther King’s I have a Dream speech, where he famously says, “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind Americans of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the 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 make justice a reality for all of God's children”(King). Here King is making a call to action in his famous “I Have a Dream speech”, which was made to fellow civil rights demonstrators. Using metaphors, King enhances his motivational speech to further empower the demonstrators. He skillfully compares the ‘dark and desolate valley of segregation’ to the sunlit path of racial justice — painting a clear picture of good and bad in the minds of the demonstrators. King understands that the demonstrators already support his cause, so he gears his speech to reaffirm their beliefs. He goes about this in a couple ways, one being grouping himself in with the demonstrators by bringing up their shared religious values and using terms such as brotherhood. When comparing his I Have a Dream speech to his letters from Birmingham jail, one can see a clear switch in approaches. For example, here is an excerpt from King’s Letters from Birimingham that also uses religion, but his approach in using religion is adjusted for his audience as he says “Just as the eighth-century prophets left their little villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown.”(King). In the first quote, King notably uses religion to bring himself and the demonstrators together — however in this quote, King uses religion in a different way. By equating himself to a biblically good figure, he is in turn implying that he is also good. In Letters from Birmingham, King’s purpose is to address the public and the public opinion of him — which is to say the least, not great. The public doesn’t understand his motivations and the importance of the Civil Rights movement, instead viewing his peaceful protests as a nuisance. Something understandable, comprehensible, is religion. By comparing his motivations to the motivations of someone like Apostle Paul, someone also drawn to freedom for all, King is able to not only solidify the goodness of his purpose, but to also clear the confusion surrounding his motivation. He, like Apostle Paul is motivated, compelled even, to spread the notion of freedom. In short, King switches in his imagery filled metaphors to showcasing his morals through biblical allusions. Writing a speech with a specific audience in mind is key because the audience is more likely to be attentive and resonate with the speech itself than with a speech that is not for them. A hostile audience needs the cold hard facts rather than a speech filled with anecdotes and sentiments. They do not care about the personal life of the speaker, especially if they are opposed to said speaker’s values. Being persuasive is all about knowing one’s audience and how to effectively, well, persuade them. Especially when arguing against injustice, one must be able to persuade the oppressor to get them on the side of freedom. Of course King isn’t the only one who takes his audience into account, nor is it only used for racial injustice. For instance, Patrick Henry uses imagery to strengthen his hatred for the British as shown when he says “Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love?” (Speech to the Virginia Convention). Patrick Henry is arguing to prepare for war against Britain, which was at the time, an unorthodox opinion. His main aim is to worsen the image of the British in the minds of his fellow colonists, his peers. Henry achieves this by using imagery to worsen the reputation of the British. By implying that their presence spreads darkness and ruin, he equates the British to something that will be damaging for the colonists. Henry’s overarching goal, is of course, unity. He wishes to prepare to fight Britain, but he needs a unified Virginia to do so. Even though Henry is presenting a controversial opinion, he is doing it to fellow peers. His audience do not disagree with him as a person, which is why Henry gets away with using metaphors and imagery that would otherwise be unhelpful, as talked about in King’s case. Instead he used his pre-established relationship with the audience as a foundation to build on the nuances of his point. Henry doesn’t need to take the time to change the audience’s image of him into something good; he knows that the audience knows that Henry is on their side. He effectively uses imagery by equating the British with war, violence, and darkness. But why do these speakers strive for unity, why are they trying to grow their cause? Why is it that through unity people can fight against oppression? Dr King mentions the need for races to come together to overcome racism, saying that the white demonstrators have “... come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.”(King). Without the racists changing, racism will still exist. This is what King means when he says that their freedoms are bound. In general, activists want to bring awareness to a new ideology in hopes that the public opinion will shift from the old harmful ideology. This is why unity is key; it takes a lot of people from all different backgrounds to think differently from societally enforced prejudices to create change. That difficulty ranges from persuading peers to prepare for war against an empire to persuading people to rebuild their moral compasses and become active participants in anti-racism. It is also key to know what is important to one’s audience — something that the speaker can make a connection with. Whether it’s just the cause itself or something like religion, making a connection with one’s audience is the key to unify. In addition, the way one makes the connection is important.