In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was presented the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. His acceptance speech was very influential and inspiring, as it included many strategies which helped build his main argument. These include repetition and his use of the rhetoric device pathos.
In the beginning of his speech, Martin Luther King Jr. states, “I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice. I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeking to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40 houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation.” This is an example of pathos, as it gives examples of events happening in real life that are extremely sad. I think that this would have helped the audience to realize that they needed to change their ways and that this indifference needed to end.
Later on in his speech, Martin Luther King Jr. begins to speak about things that he refuses to accept. He does this by repeating the phrase “I refuse” multiple times to add emphasis on his argument. He states, “I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction.” This portion of his speech shows how strong Martin Luther King was and how badly he fought for equality, which supported his argument throughout the course of his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.
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