Martin Luther King Jr was a social rights activist. Many associate the name with the man who sought equality and change in this nation and who was so close but was sadly taken from this earth too soon. But his contributions and the work that he did for the equality of minorities is one that has gone down in the record books. In his most famous speech, "I have a Dream..." King's most successfully used rhetorical devices are anaphora and allusion.
King wants people to become aware that certain groups are being denied their god given rights and that it is his hope to see the day when people are no longer plagued by the injustices of others. One way he accomplishes this is through anaphora. He constantly repeats phrases and terms at the beginnings, middles and ends of his sentences to really drive his point home. A specific example of this is when he mentions that while slavery has ended, the discrimination of blacks has not. He repeats the phrase "one hundred years ago" for a few consecutive sentences and this is then followed by examples of what was extended o happen with the end of slavery but how that did not work out as planned. Building off of the repetition of this phrase and his mention of the past Kind also effectively uses allusion as another rhetorical device. As previously mentioned he references the past and more specifically President Lincoln who was the abolitionist of slavery. King cites the things that Lincoln fought for as an allusion to the current time period and how it was written into law years ago and still not abided by. His point in these references to the past are for people to be aware that these rules exist but are cruelly ignored out go ignorance and prejudice. He wants to see a better more inclusive world than that which he sees around him. Considering the fact that King went about his protests in a nonviolent matter it is understood why his words and speech would be so strong and use such powerful devices to get his point across.
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