Tuesday, January 17, 2012

"I have a dream"

Choose three of your favorite images from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech. Why do they resonate with you? Why do you think King chose them?

13 comments:

  1. The images I choose is flames of withing in justice,sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and poverty in the midst. They resonate to me because of how we r now. Even when we have equal people their is still racism and which it is a injustice. It shoes how poor our country is in for community. We are still segregated but just not as much as we were in the kings time. The king choose them what was wrong with the problem of racism or respect to people that have been mistreated.

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  2. Three images that resonate with me are; "drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred", "the bank of justice is bankrupt", and "the tranquilizing drug of gradualism." I like these three images, because I like each one of them for a different reason. Drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred means that the government showed bitterness to white people and hatred to black people. And that is a pretty vivid image to think about. The next one would be, "the bank of justice is bankrupt." I enjoy this one, because years later we are still fighting over racial and economic justice. "The tranquilizing drug of gradualism", meant that change was needed fast. Martin Luther was trying to warn people about the drug. The reason he chose them was that he was trying to prove a point. In the gradualism, he was warning people not to take time, but to act now. The bankrupt, he was telling people that we are fighting over racial and economic justice. The last one with the cup, meant that he felt that black people do not need to be discriminated against. Each one had a different meaning that helped in some way that is why Martin Luther chose these images.

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  3. Firstly, I chose the metaphor he used urging African-Americans not to "seek to satisfy the thirst for freedom with the cup of bitterness and hatred" because it shows his mastery of appealing to the five senses. Hearing him make that comparison left a bitter taste in my own mouth, and made me feel uncomfortable, 49 years later. I also chose his statement that "a land sweltering with the heat of oppression will become an oasis of freedom and justice" for similar reasons-- again, it made me feel a sense of discomfort, a sense of entrapment. Finally (this is a tad out-of-order), I chose the statement he makes that "negro's only social mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one" because it again leaves me with an almost palpable feeling of social entrapment and helplessness. Thank God this country has been freed of the crippling manicles of oppression and chains of segregation!

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  4. My First image i chose was " drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred". I chose think one because it reminds me of a bible scripture. This scripture can be found in Romans 12: 9-21 it says, "9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
    14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
    17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
    “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
    In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
    21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

    Using this scripture it supports MLK Jr. and his argument, because as sons and daughters of God we are called to treat hatred with good.

    Another picture that meant something to me was to stand on the rock of brotherhood. This quote also refers to God and how Christ is the solid rock we can stand on , because all other ground is sinking sand. My last and final image is, the island of poverty in the American sea of prosperity. The image that comes to mind is an island all alone in the middle of the ocean. I think King used this to show how little Africans are respected.

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  5. My three favorite images from Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech are, "the quicksands of racial injustice", "the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity", and "we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt". These images really resonate with me because of how brilliantly vivid the imagery is in these examples. When you read them you can really feel what Martin Luther King Jr. and other blacks were feeling at the time. These metaphors do not just describe what blacks were going through at this time. They paint a very detailed picture of how oppressed they really were. I chose these three in particular because they give me the most vivid mental picture out of the other metaphors. Even though every metaphor in the speech is amazing.

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  6. 1."...crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination."

    2."Rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice."

    3."With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. "


    The three metaphors I have mentioned above appeal to me the most. They all show a unique sense of imagery that makes the entire speech much more deep and relatable.

    Through his speech, he creates a picture of segregation and justice. These pictures in turn created certain emotions upon the audience. These things are definitely positives for King's speech. These are the kinds of things that draw out the emotion in people, and, since this was such an emotional issue, it worked undoubtably.

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    Replies
    1. In Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington D.C., three images really struck me instantly. The first metaphor Dr. King used was to describe the feeling of being a black person in America as "a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity". At the time, American industry was growing exponentially, but black people had no share in the abundance. They were just in the middle of everyone's success. A second image that grew on me was using money as a symbol for freedom. He says that "America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has been marked 'insufficient funds'". Money relates to everyone, so they can picture what it feels like to be promised something then never receive anything. The third metaphor that stood out was when he spoke not to "satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred". It means to not stoop low enough to hate others just because it's what they do; instead, he wants us to remain mentally tough and wait until civil rights are granted to all types of people. This speech is really moving because of his passion and language. I could really understand how he felt when speaking at the podium.

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  7. One of the metaphors MLK Jr. expressed that placed an image in my mind was "the dark valley of segregation" and the "sunlit path of racial equality." In terms with what he is explaining, I envision an African American walking through a dark alley alone, ignored by everyone. Then, when there's racial equality, he finds a path beaming with sunlight and everyone gets along. This metaphor just really made me understand and see how African Americans were treated everyday. Also the "lonely island of poverty surrounded by an ocean of prosperity" sends a similar message of being alone and suffering, but surrounded by more successful people.

    The metaphor that really stood out to me and created the clearest image was when MLK Jr. said that African Americans would "never be satisfies until justice roll down like water." This quote really makes me somehow feel and understand how African Americans felt. MLK Jr. wanted justice to break free and spread to everyone, flooding the world with equality and justice to everyone.

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  8. MLK Jr. was one of the greatest peaceful protesters of all time. One of his metaphors in his "I Have a Dream" speech was the one that stated "a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity". This image stuck with m,e because it reminded me of how large the African race was in that time period, and how little they were respected by the rest of America.
    Another image that stuck with me was the metaphor "satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred". This reminded me of myself. I used to think the only way to get back a someone and get justice was to be evil, and hate that person, and show them bitterness. But through growing in my walk with Jesus I have realized that joy and kindness is the only way to treat evil, and discrimination.
    The last image that stuck with me was the metaphor "the tranquilizing drug of gradualism." This metaphor tells me that you shouldn't just sit around and wait for change to occur you have to do something about it. You have to create change yourself. You can't be a "What if guy"(Mr. McGee) if you want to see something happen you have to influence what you want to happen, and have other people help you in that fight.
    Which is what MLK Jr. did.

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  9. Martin Luther King was a brilliant mind, and made a wondrous speech that day. His Speech was touching, and it gave me chills running through my back. He was a wonderful public speech, which only added to the marvelous speech. I admire that Martin Luther King jr. used the Emancipation proclamation to start off his speech. I think it worked perfectly in the context of the speech because he was mainly striving for freedom and equality among black men and women, and white men and woe. The emancipation proclamation was a fact and it was helpful it setting the scenic of the speech. it started off broad with the emancipation proclamation, so we could get some great points in. this was a great starting point, and I would use some type of fact like this to start off a great speech like this.
    The next key thing that I noticed and liked was he came back to the founding fathers after he was finished talking about the emancipation proclamation. He mentioned the bill of rights and recited a specific quote that stated, "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal". He used this and tried to convince the people that black me are men too, and there is no other difference between them. Later on in his speech, he touched upon how color should not matter but the character of the person should matter. I think that this ties in the Bill of Rights.
    The third thing that I liked about the speech was his, “now is the time", relation. He repeated the same words in the begging, and changed words at the end of the phrase, which brought a new meaning each time. Also each time he would repeat it, it built intensity. This was amazing. He did this with many other phrases. It really brought out emotion. I loved the way he spoke. His voice was in a rhythm, which built structure.

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  10. Martin Luther King was a great public speaker. He made the speech that changed the minds of everybody. Referring to slavery, from 1863 to 1963, and the Utopian-like society were three very important pieces to me.
    The Slavery was the first point he hit where he used the Emancipation Proclamation as an example. He noted the part about what should be freedom, yet, the colored were still being treated like slaves. Another point he used was the fact that 1963 should not be an end but a beginning. Here, he was saying that the year should not be the end of segregation but the beginning of racial acceptance.
    The Third point was hitting the nail right on the head. The idea of the Utopian society was both good and bad to the public. Mentioning this society made many people angry, both black and white. Some people say the reason he brought up this was because he knew he would be assassinated later in life but was willing to spread thoughts and ideas out to the public, even if the cost of it was death.

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  11. "Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds.'" This is the first image that stands out in Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech. The analogy seems spot on. Leading up to his image of a bad check, King refers to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence about how they promised all men equal opportunity. Equal opportunity that still has yet to present itself. The Declaration of Independence is the bad check, the "unalienable Rights" is the dollar figure, and the fact that this "check" was written out with nothing to back it up represents the rights all men were promised but not fulfilled. This analogy appeals to me because it is easy to directly relate each of the parts. Martin Luther King Jr. probably chose it for the same reason, and also because a bounced check would evoke the same emotions as being denied rights for all men but on a much smaller scale of course.
    Another strong point in the speech is the repetition of "Now is the time." Repetition is a powerful rhetoric because the audience will remember it. Repeating these four words is particularly strong because of "now." It motivates the audience. Which is what Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to do. He was inspiring the audience not to wait any longer for freedom and equality.
    No speech would be complete without a quote from the bible, "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream." Even if you weren't sure where this simile comes from, when in doubt relate it to the bible. King is explaining that all people of the nation will not be satisfied until justice is met. Even though these are two strong similes, that is not the only reason it appeals to me. The word "righteousness" does too. I feel like it is a powerful word that isn't used much and can appeal to people of all ages and time periods. This particular word can have a sense of formality and relaxed at the same time. King used this quote because it is from the bible and would appeal to his Christian audience as well as his own beliefs.

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  12. One of the main images from his speech that resonates with me is the one regarding the bank of injustice and a 'bad check'. This resonates with me because the picture in my mind of what he is trying to get across in his speech is so detailed because of the bank part as a whole. It directly states his argument, and you don't have to really even think. To me it is just that clear. The next main image to me in his speech is when he says 'righteousness like a mighty stream'. In this case the picture is not as clear but the image it paints in my mind however is something really powerful. Finally the last one that resonates with me is where he says 'drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred'. The way he says it the words used in this are so definitive, they are right to the point. Like pointed right at you so you understand immediately, so that you feel it. The reason why I think he used these is because they will stay with people, they won't forget, the idea will always be in their mind. This idea made the change that he and millions of others wanted.

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