Martin Luther King Speech Critical Analysis of Essay

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Martin Luther King Speech

Critical Analysis of "I've Been to the Mountaintop" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The last speech Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered has been popularly referred to as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech (). Dr. King delivered this speech on April 3, 1968 at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. Following this speech on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis. In this oration primarily focused on the concerns regarding the Memphis Sanitation Strike, Dr. King males a call for nonviolent protesting, economic action, boycotts, and unity. He further challenges the United States of America to uphold the ideals established in some of the most famous legislative documents posited that outline the principles of the right to protest and assemble non-violently, the right to the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom and liberty for all. Following is a critical analysis of Dr. King's last public speech as well as commentary with regard to the historical significance of this particular event.

Critical Analysis

"Something is happening in Memphis; something is happening in our world" (King, 1968, web). In examining Dr. King's speech on the eve of April 3rd, it is clear that his use of language was designed to be understandable to everyone who may have been in the position to hear the speech. His use of language was no so lofty that the 'common man' could not understand the message he was trying to get across; nor was it so grammatically incorrect, that scholars could not discuss and dissect it for the intelligence with which it was presented. That is, for many, the mark of a great orator: the ability to speak at such a level that the majority of individual's would understand. Further, Dr. King took the listener on a journey to mark the relevance of the occasion by articulating times in which he would live; when individuals had done remarkable things and stood in the face of adversity and were successful.

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He used these historical events to highlight the importance not just of responding to the Sanitation Strike in Memphis but also to bespeak the larger civil rights movement that he was intimately a part of.

We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people.

We are saying -- we are saying that we are God's children.

And that we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live (King, 1968, web).

In this speech, Dr. King continued to reiterate the importance of and the purpose for his call to action; again, attempting to ensure that the focus of the speech remained relevant to the situation at hand, while continuing to iterate the contextual framework of the struggles delineated between those compelled to continue the restriction of freedom and justice and those determined to secure freedom and justice at any cost. Although Dr. King used analogies and biblical references to highlight his point-of-view, he continued to bring the speech back to the Memphis Sanitation workers and the strike; chastising those in the media for focusing on some small scale violence that had transpired and attempting to dissuade the focus from the struggles of the sanitation workers, and the manner in which those in authority were addressing the situation. Some would argue that the use of analogies and parables may have been off topic and inappropriate for the group that he was speaking to; however, others would certainly argue that Dr. King was poignant and effective in speaking to the issue at hand but….....

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