Martin Luther chose his words very carefully, creating a sense of pathos in his audience. He used words such as freedom, victory, and rightful place. I certainly assert that all people across all types of society would fight for those. These idealistic words create a dream that is shared by his entire audience. However, the words would have less of an impact if not for his use of pauses. Dr. King spoke slowly and with great passion, making his words sink in and become that much more significant to his audience. One quote Dr. King used that stood out to me: If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy. This quote is effective because he is saying that he would like to live long enough to see America change. But ironically, Dr. King is assassinated just the day after the speech is delivered. This quote explains that no
t just he wants to live long enough to see the country change, but all blacks would like to live long enough to see the country change.
Upon starting his speech, Dr. King immediately dives into the issues that he planned on addressing. He explains how he would want America to be by using metaphors such as: I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch Gods children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And despite its magnificence, I wouldnt stop there. The sanitation workers were the lowest of the low, mocked as walking buzzards, King acknowledges the difficulties of the sanitation workers. King immediately elevates them by including them in a great sweep of history and implicitly linking them to the biblical Exodus, making them Gods chosen people.