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Compare I Have A Dream And Martin Luther King

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Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential figures of the American civil rights movement. Famous for his prowess with words, King was known for writing powerful texts throughout his life. Two of his most famous compositions were his “I Have A Dream” speech and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. Although King uses many styles of writing effectively, his writings with pathos are the most prominent. Since “I Have A Dream” uses more pathos than “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, “I Have A Dream” is more effective at inspiring change. King's “I Have a Dream” speech is arguably one of the most famous speeches in American history. It’s popularity and influence would mostly be attributed to Kings excellent use of pathos throughout the speech. Although both logos and pathos can be found in “I Have a Dream”, the lines containing pathos are much more poignant. For example, possibly the most famous line from Dr. King's speech says, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they …show more content…

Although Dr. King was also a gifted speaker, the way in which one is familiarized with the writings has little to do with their effect on the reader. King uses simpler language in “I Have A Dream” than he does in “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, so, even if he had given both texts as speeches, “I Have A Dream” would still have had a greater impact because more people would have understood it. In addition to that, the purpose of “I Have A Dream” was to inspire the general public to make a change in society, unlike “Letter From Birmingham Jail” which was aimed at a much smaller audience. “Letter From Birmingham Jail” uses mostly logos language, which is harder to turn into a powerful speech than

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