Throughout American history, many speeches have been given to persuade Americans to live better and to improve our country and its citizens. No other speech has been more influential than the Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have a Dream speech. It convinced Americans, both white and black, to strive for equality and to change our laws to recognize the worth of every man. Martin Luther King used imagery as a main tool to make Americans realize our potential and to give equal rights to all citizens without segregation.
The imagery used by Martin Luther King Jr. was the main device used to persuade Americans to change. He continually states “I have a dream” and this causes listeners to actually think about what he is saying in their minds and it is very influential. It makes the people actually see how much better this new America would be like if they abandoned the segregations laws. He says “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” Imagine hearing this in a society that did not believe blacks and whites to be equal at the time. It is a new, stunning perspective of what he believes America should be like. The thought of sitting down face to face at the same table with a person of a different color causes listeners to think about how realistic this dream is. This speech was so effective because of the major tool of imagery that Martin Luther King Jr. used to well while addressing the people during the March on Washington.
This speech given by King was both ethical and it was immensely effective. It is one of the most influential speeches given of all time in my opinion. It persuaded the American people to live better but he did it in a very peaceful, moral way. He made people realize what they were doing was wrong and he brought about change in the way Americans live today. If not for this speech, we would still possibly be living in a hypocritical country that was not obeying its own laws and did not constitute God-given rights.