"Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand's of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood" (King 617). That is one of the profound statements I read in the essay, "I Have a Dream," written in August 1963, by Baptist minister, civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. That quote sets the scene for the rest of the essay, by giving a hint of his thesis. King was not a violent man by any means. He avoided violence at all costs. His prayer for fairness has become very famous, and may have been what saved the rights for the African Americans. King's main idea in this essay was that everyone should be treated equally. There should be no discrimination, there should be an end to segregation, and everyone should live together in peace and harmony. I will show the different ways that he expresses this in his essay through the writing styles of word choice, the use of examples and italics, and repetition.
King's vivid use of word choice helps the reader to really imagine what life would be like during those times. It almost frightens the reader, making them appreciate that they live now in a land of freedom and equal opportunity for everyone. There are several times that this element of style is used throughout the essay. One example of word choice is the line, "Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice" (King 616).I would like to focus on two parts of that line, first starting with the word "seared." Why did King choose to use the word "seared" instead of torched, scorned, or burned? Perhaps it was to show just how badly they were treated, it was as if they were engulfed in flames sometimes, they were parched, not just a quick burn, they were seared. The next part of the phrase states, "Flames of withering injustice." The way this line reflects the author's thesis is that the injustice that the African Americans were feeling was like a fire they could not escape.
