In This Article, We Have Some Important Questions And Answers From “I Have A Dream.” Some of the most important questions are answered.
Q.1. Consider Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream’ as a charter of freedom and equality for the black people of America.
Or,
In what sense is Luther’s speech, “I Have a Dream” a call for freedom and equality for the Black people in America?
Ans. ‘I Have a Dream’ is a famous speech, delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. In this speech, King called for racial equality and an end to discrimination against black people in America. Actually, it was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. Delivered to over 200,000 civil rights supporters, the speech is often considered to be one of the greatest and most notable speeches in human history.
The American Declaration of Independence’ promised freedom and equality for all its citizens. But even after almost two centuries of that declaration the black people still live a life of racial segregation and discrimination. America even fought a civil war from 1861 to 1865 between its Northern and Southern states on the issue of slavery with an aim to end that social malady. Lincoln urged the Americans in his famous “Gettysburg Address”, delivered in 1863, to welcome “a new birth of freedom” that was at the point of emerging out of the ashes of the Civil War’. He envisioned an America where freedom and equality would be guaranteed for all its citizens. But still Luther found no significant change coming into effect in the social structure of his country. This situation led Luther to make a call for freedom and equality for the black people in his America in famous speech, “I have a Dream”.
Freedom for the black people in America is the motto of King’s speech. He is addressing a large gathering of the Civil Rights activists demanding freedom for all Americans. He says that about a century ago, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln, the great president of America issued the Emancipation Proclamation providing the black people with the “great lights of hope” in giving freedom from the shackles of slavery. But the “long night of captivity” did not come an end for the black people in America. Black people were not free in the truest sense of term. Negroes are virtually living “on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”, and “languishing in the corners of American society,”
Luther, however, is not a man lost in frustration and hopelessness. He has a dream that one day his country will be an abode where the blacks and the whites will enjoy equal rights as the citizens of America. He goes on to say that he dreams of a time when the blacks and the whites will sit together at the table of brotherhood and will walk through the same roads of life. He hopes that a time will come when the Negroes will be judged not by the colour of their skin but by their merit. He envisions America as a “sweet land of liberty” for all its citizens and it will be a great nation on earth.
Alongside the demand for freedom, king also outlines the behaviour of the black people in action. With emphasis he says that they should not be violent and aggressive. They must make their demand in a non-violent way.
To sum up, King Luther’s speech, “I Have a Dream” is a powerful call for freedom and equality for the black people of America.
Q.2. What, according to Luther, are the ways of achieving freedom and equality for the blacks?
Or,
Why does Luther emphasise/lay stress on peaceful and non-violent movement for freedom and equality for the blacks?
Ans. King Luther’s famous speech ‘I Have a Dream’, delivered on 28 August 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was a clarion call for freedom and equality for the black people of America. The Negroes of America are now under the leadership of King Luther on the streets with their demand for freedom and equality but he advises them not to be violent while demanding their rights.
The American Declaration of Independence promised freedom and equality for all its citizens. But even after two centuries of that declaration the blacks still live a life of racial discrimination. They are now raising their voice under the banner of the Civil Rights Movement and the leadership of Luther has provided them with the right way of achieving their goals. The congregation of over 200,000 civil rights activists at the Lincoln Memorial, where Luther is delivering his speech, ‘I have a Dream’, is an effort to remind America of the fierce urgency of the demand of the Negroes. They demand things to change with a sense of urgency and without delay from the oppressor. They do not want to see slow change coming over time. They want to see significant change coming into effect immediately. King roars, “Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children.” Luther warns his audience that this urgency of “now” might have a forceful ripple effect, but that must not turn to violence and chaos.
Luther King urges the nation not to overlook and underestimate the legitimate demand of the black people. He warns the decision makers of America that this Civil Rights Movement is not going to an end soon. It is rather a beginning. From now on America will be a bed of unrest and revolt if the Negro people are not granted their citizenship rights. The blacks are appealing to the nation and it must listen to them for the greater interests of the country. At the same time king urges his followers not to take the ways of violence and aggression in achieving their goals.
King further tells his black community not to show violence and militancy that might lead them “to a distrust of all white people”. They should not show hatred to the whites, rather should build up a close relationship with them. Referring to the presence of many white Civil Rights activists at the Lincoln Memorial congregation, King tells his black people to go hand in hand with the whites so that they may be able to add more value to the struggle of the blacks. So King says, “We cannot walk alone”.
To sum up, King’s leadership qualities are quite evident in his speech. Being in the highest pitch of emotion, he could have easily incited his followers to be violent in gaining their freedom and equality but he did not do that. Rather he urges his people to be peaceful and non-violent in their movement and tells them that this will be the best way to obtain their rightful place in society.
Q.3. Comment on the oratorical qualities of Luther King’s speech, ‘I have a Dream’.
Or, Luther’s speech, ‘I have a Dream’ is a fine piece of oratory appealing to human heart- Discuss.
Ans. Martin Luther King’s speech, ‘I have a Dream’ is a master piece of oratory. The speech is a clarion call to the American nation for the rights of freedom and equality for the black people of America. The whole speech is full of power, energy and conviction. It proves the oratorical power, confidence and convincing skill of a great leader.
A good command over the subject is a precondition for a remarkable speech. King’s command over the subject matter, he talks, is unquestionable. His subject mater is the racial segregation and discrimination, the black people have been undergoing ever since the independence of America. Luther has ransacked every possible corner to gather knowledge on the subject. He mentions the Constitution of America, the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation and refers to what is necessary to justify the rights of the black people. He is addressing the Civil Rights Movement activists. He is making a call for civil right for the black people of America. So he explores the historically as well as nationally important documents and shows how these documents have granted the rights of freedom and equality to all the citizens of America.
Luther has a command over not only the subject matter but also the language he uses in his speech. His language is lively and powerful in creating a forceful ripple effect in the mind of the audience. The language is poetic, full of rhetorical flourishes, not prosaic with scattered thoughts. He has deliberately chosen words that would stir the audience before him. He speaks in plain, simple and lucid language, but mostly emotional and poetic. By using a poetic as well as emotive language, he makes his audience pay full attention to him and accept his arguments.
Further, oratory is closely connected with the performance on stage. A good orator must be a good stage performer. Using repetitions, voice modulation, while pronouncing the words and phrases, raising voice up and down, and giving pauses at certain places and strategic locations are the qualities of a stage performer. Luther’s success in this speech comes from his tailoring it to doing a stage performance.
A good orator speaks with authority. Luther speaks to his audience in a tone of authority. Only a speaker with authority can speak in this voice. His voice expresses his self-confidence and courage throughout the speech.
To sum up, Martin Luther shows his supreme oratorical skills in his speech, I have a Dream’. It is the powerful expressions of his ideas and philosophies in a language that is highly convincing and persuasive.
Q.4. Consider the literary merits of Luther’s speech, ‘I have a Dream.’
Or,
Write a critical appreciation of Luther’s speech, ‘I have a Dream’.
Ans. ‘I have a Dream’ is a famous speech, delivered by Martin Lither King Jr. on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom.
The speech is famous not only for its historical importance but also for its oratorical excellence. His language is mostly poetic and he deliberately uses figurative language with a view to moving his listeners. His skillful use of symbols, metaphors, images, repetitions, allusions and other rhetorical devices make his speech an excellent piece of literary work.
Luther has a supreme command over not only the subject matter of his speech but also the language he speaks. He deliberately chooses evocative and emotive language to reach the hearts of his audience. He is gifted with the skill of persuasive and convincing speech to make the audience spell-bound. As an orator his speech is ornamented by logical arguments, images, and rhetorical flourishes.
Luther’s speech is full of metaphors. A financial metaphor “check”, he uses with great emphasis. The cheek here is a metaphor for freedom and equality that the American citizens were to be offered by their country. But in case of the Negroes, they were given a bad cheek by America and they failed to “cash” that cheek from the bank, because of “insufficient funds”, which is also a metaphor for civil rights. The bank here is a metaphor for America; it is also a metaphor for justice that America is to offer to its citizens. Luther uses many other metaphors here like island, ocean, valley, rock, summer, autumn, dream, etc. “Island” and “Valley” are metaphors for the desolate and lonely condition in which the Negroes of America live.
Luther also uses a number of symbols in his speech. “America” itself symbolizes black segregation and discrimination. “Lincoln” is a symbol of emancipation that he offered to the Negroes. “Light” is a symbol of hope, while “dark” a symbol of despair. “Dream” symbolizes the dream of the American nation, and again “the Negroes” symbolizes persecution and discrimination; they face in their own country.
Further, Luther’s speech contains many images. For example, he sees the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 by delivering the Negroes free from the bo of very as “a great beacon light of hope.” The phrase “long night of captivity” is an image of the Negroes as slaves. In fact, the whole speech is packed with images. Besides, Luther makes abundant use of allusions and repetitions in his speech.
To sum up, ‘I have a Dream” is a masterpiece of oratory. Luther’s literary excellence lies in his exclusive use of figures of speech which appear delightful to the audience or to the readers. By using a poetic and evocative language he has taken his speech to a height almost unattainable by others.
Q-5. What is Luther’s dream in his speech “I have a Dream” and how is it connected with the ‘American Dream’?
Ans. Luther King’s speech ‘I have a Dream’ envisions an America where the black people or the Negroes will be treated as human beings like the whites with the fundamental rights of freedom and equality offered to them. Luther dreams of a nation which will give up racialism as a criterion for the judgment of an individual’s position in the society. His dream echoes the ‘American Dream’ in the sense that it also aims at creating an America with equal rights and privileges for all its citizens, irrespective of caste, creed or colour, and thus establishing the Americans as a great nation on earth.
The fathers of America’s independence had a noble vision of an America where all its citizens would enjoy equal rights and freedom. So they declared all men being equal in America. This basic state principle was promoted by the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. But contrary to the dream of the fathers of America the nation was divided into two classes, the blacks and the whites. The blacks virtually became the slaves of the whites. Luther expects that a time will come when this racial discrimination will be eliminated from the American society. He says, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold those truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”. He dreams of a day when “the heat of injustice and oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
Historically, the Negroes in America had been deprived of their rights of freedom and equality. Even the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves did not bring about the optimal change. It provided the black people with the “great light of hope” in giving freedom from the shackles of slavery. Lincoln also dreamt of a nation with freedom and equality guaranteed for all its citizens. The Emancipation Declaration was like a “joyous daybreak” after a “long night of captivity”. But the ” night of captivity” did not come to an end for the black people in America. But after a century of the civil war and the famous “Gettysburg Address”, Luther did not find any significant changes happening for the black people of America.
To sum up, Luther’s speech offers many instances of despair, but it is full of optimism. His dream is rooted in an optimistic belief that one day America will rise up to its expectations.
