Moreover, it is the poor and the helpless mainly who are falling prey to this war game. His first reasons are all about practicality. In Dr. Martin Luther Kings speech Beyond VietnamA Time to Break Silence (1967), Dr. King asserts that the war in Vietnam is totally immoral and has far reaching negative implications not only for Vietnam, but for The United States and the rest of the World as well. Issues have been resolved because now the draft is less common because more people volunteer for war so the poor are not forced. You are free to use it to write your own assignment, however you must reference it properly. In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech Beyond Vietnam-A Time to Break Silence. In the speech, King argues against American involvement in the Vietnam War and explains why he cannot remain silent. King argues that all people are created equal and directly challenged the outdated and abhorrent views that upheld the false flag of racial superiority among White Americans. King spoke for the weak that did not have the voices to speak for themselves; for example, he represented the poor. Please note that while we value your input, we cannot respond to every message. If he had not shown knowledge of the background of the war, it would be easy to dismiss his other pleas as lofty religious ideals. Furthermore the Kings parallel structure clarifies and highlights his intent by building up to a more important point. For example, this quote personifies war as being an enemy. If it is, let us trace its movements and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us. Through the emotional, destruction of America's effort to support the war, King's powerful use of diction talking the loss of desire and new lives causes the audience to feel sorry for the poor of America. How about receiving a customized one? King uses emotional words and descriptions to capture the audiences attention and convey the injustices caused by the Vietnam War. In short, this makes the audience more inclined to listen to the rest of Martin Luther king Jr's speech, as well as setting the bottom line that the Vietnam War creates devastating problems for everyone. King Jr makes a strong statement against war and his speech successfully evokes compassion and sympathy for the poor and the weak in both Vietnam and America. Martin Luther King Jr. Src: Pixabay Read a rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr's Beyond Vietnam: Time to break silence. The Braveheart speech, while famous for being powerful, is very different from another powerful speech, the one from Dead Poets Society. On April 4, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr., an enormously influential civil rights activist, conveys his indignant and hopeful thoughts regarding the Vietnam War, in his speech "Beyond Vietnam," by utilizing biblical allusion, anaphora, and use of diction. He notes how essential it is to break silence before all hope is lost. In his speech addressed to the laymen and clergy at Riverside Church he used pathos, logos, imagery, and an argument shift to list the reasons why America should withdraw their troops, and to create sympathy within his audience. Since an autopsy is only done on dead creatures, King is saying that eventually, the soul of America might die. The imagery paints a dark picture in the audiences mind. With an urgent tone, he repeats the phrase, we must speak (4), several times. To further strengthen, the credibility of his argument and question the morality behind the war, he says, Since I am a preacher by calling, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision. Martin Luther King Jr is an African American preacher and civil rights activist that along with every other African American male and female in 1976 was waging a war in America for their not-so-natural born rights. Furthermore, such a vivid picture will linger permanently in the audiences mind, which will make them think about the terrible outcome in the future. Dr. King says, Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their governments policy, especially in time of war (3). Overall, Martin Luther King Jr. eloquently argues against the United States involvement in Vietnam through his use of parallelism, diction, and imagery. King makes the nation appears as hypocrites because Americans pretend to fight as a united nation whereas segregation is among the same schools, the same neighborhood, the same country. submit it as your own as it will be considered plagiarism. May 4, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/the-speech-beyond-vietnam-a-time-to-break-silence-by-martin-luther-king-jr-rhetorical-analysis/. Likewise, during this time period, America [put little effort into] rehabilitation of its poor creating an even harder life for them (Source A). Which of your works would you like to tell your friends about? His choice of diction and use of imagery help him deliver his point effectively in a manner that impresses both the audience's heart and mind. His pleas are first to the audiences sense of logic and their immediate concerns for their own country. requirements? Luther starts off by explaining that Vietnam heavily takes away valuable money of the US. In his argument, King mounts a multi-pronged attack on America's participation in the Vietnam war and also gains people's sympathy for the Vietnamese. In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" speech was a powerful and eloquent call for peace and justice. He proves that the government has been manipulating the poor when he writes, It was sending. A few lines after, King writes about the injustice the African-American community has faced, by stating, We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem. To further show to the audience how his community has been suffering from the war, he uses a comparison statement between the facts to illustrate how freedom has been hard to attain. May 4, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/the-speech-beyond-vietnam-a-time-to-break-silence-by-martin-luther-king-jr-rhetorical-analysis/. There were many reasons why so many Americans were against the war. Right at the outset, King involves religious figures to establish the credibility for his reason and to prove that war was improper and inhuman. Both religion and society condemn war and even popular religious figures have stood up to speak against it for the toll it takes upon human lives and for it is against the spirit of humanity and brotherhood. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war(8). This is an obvious and extremely effective argument, especially among a group of Christian church leaders. This comparison is very sobering. Rhetorical Analysis of MLK's Speech "Beyond Vietnam" December 22, 2016 By Richcoca PLATINUM, Canoga Park, California More by this author Widely known for his work in the Civil Rights Movement,. 663 Words; Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. America is overlooking its own poor and pouring resources into a war which does not offer any political, economic or social advantage. Favorite Quote:What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975.The nation as a whole began to uproar over the war and the major consequences of the war. Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Beyond Vietnam 534 Words | 3 Pages In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam-A Time to Break Silence." In the speech, King argues against American involvement in the Vietnam War and explains why he cannot remain silent. For instance, he does when he depicts the, Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. The image of death, as powerful as it is, becomes amplified when Martin Luther King associates the injustices of segregation with the Vietnam war. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and Stokely Carmichael all had quite famous speeches that took a stance on racial inequality. Dr. King plainly states his purpose near the beginning of his speech. By claiming that the United States, "the greatest purveyor of violence," prefers, "massive doses of violence to solve its problems," King effectively establishes the U.S. government as the pervasive wrongdoer. We try to make TeenInk.com the best site it can be, and we take your feedback very seriously. An Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr's Beyond Vietnam Martin Luther King Jr. builds an argument to persuade his audience that American involvement in the Vietnam War is unjust. Additionally, by constructing an optimistic view on the civil rights situation during that time period and immediately refuting it, King is able to establish a strong sense of, Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. However, the persuasiveness of his speeches does not come solely from his ability to connect with his audience's emotions but from an extraordinary ability to reason and validate his point. It allows them to imagine what might happen if America were to keep fighting in the war. He uses metaphorical imagery, powerful diction,and symbolism to create an impact on the audience. You may use it as a guide or sample for Widely known for his work in the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr eventually also gained momentum in the anti-war movement against the war in Vietnam. Overall, the effective use of various rhetorical strategies is what makes the speech so valuable. On April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in New York, MLK delivered "Beyond Vietnam" , which created a different perspective on the Vietnam war, in which is a negative thing. The line, "For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent," demonstrates how King uses parallelism. Beyond Vietnam: A Rhetorical Analysis . Later, he mentions, I am a preacher by calling, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision. (King). His passionate tone flowed through these strategies, increasing their persuasive power on the people and encouraging them to follow/listen to his message on racial injustice. While pathos elicits an emotional response from the audience to make them more accepting of Kings ideas, repetition structures the speech and emphasizes key ideas for the audience to take away from listening. These arguments work because they point out that even though the war is not happening on our soil, it is having a devastating effect here, especially in poor areas where people cannot afford to be hindered any more than they already are. King uses personal anecdotes, elaborate word choice, and reliable facts to persuade his audience of the injustice of the war. He spoke at Riverside Church in New York City, a venue that had a history of hosting progressive speakers and thinkers. This makes the irony explicit and that Vietnam being a smaller and weaker nation was being made to face injustice which it never deserved or desired.