Argument Technique in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech

Question 1

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

Revolt · Accepted Answer

to condemn the insincerity of his critics’ advice

Question 2

You suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children.

Revolt · Accepted Answer

to emphasize his personal connection to segregation

Question 3

In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist.

Revolt · Accepted Answer

distinguish himself from those who break the law.

Question 4

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. How does King support this claim?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

by describing nonviolent direct action as a peaceful middle ground

Question 5

I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Revolt · Accepted Answer

to establish his professional credentials

Question 6

Read the excerpt from “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime—the crime of extremism. Why does King use this allusion?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

to suggest the moral significance of his cause

Question 7

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake.King uses this allusion to

Revolt · Accepted Answer

forge a connection with familiar figures of faith.

Question 8

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”Just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.Why does King use this allusion?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

to emphasize the morality of his cause

Question 9

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice.Why does King use this allusion?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

to appeal to his critics’ intellect

Question 10

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Revolt · Accepted Answer

by describing his own experience with waiting for civil rights

Argument Technique in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech Answers

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