martin luther king

He uses the style of black folk preaching so that it would help him to consistently communicate on a meaningful level with his audiences. .
             Repetition is a tool used in this speech to reinforce and to convey King's idea of freedom and equality to his listeners. He uses repetition by mentioning "One hundred years later" four times which helps his audiences to visualize the present state of the Negroes life. He uses graphic imagery in the phrases that follows "One hundred years later" to illustrate the suffering of the Negroes" life. The Negroes are still "sadly crippled" with the "manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination". King points out that even though Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation 100th years ago that stopped slavery, the Negroes are still not free from segregation and discrimination. The title itself, "I have a Dream" is use many time to reinforce the idea of freedom and to make African American believe in the success of their struggle. The word "dream" in the title gives his audiences the opportunity to hope for a better life. He uses the title and follows it with things that are personal and necessary in a person's life. For example, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". There are high possibilities that many of King's audiences were parents. By making references to children he is building up hope for parents to see their children's life free from segregation and discrimination. This is very effectual since it persuades his audiences to understand the importance of freedom, as it would bring equality to the coming generation. The first phrase of "I have a Dream" is added with the word "still". This creates hopes as it encourages his audiences to sense that the dream of freedom will not go away. It influences the audiences to think that even though they have suffered there is still a light of hope for them.