😊 Here below listed are the important aspects about Unit One.

I.Theme

The Civil Rights Movement was a major movement in the 1960s. The racial conflict, deeply rooted in the American society, escalated in this period, and riots and revolts were quite common back then. This speech addressed this serious issue with Dr. King’s usual keenness and insight, but it differed from the previous King’s speeches in that the solution moves from the relentless fight for equality to the restructuring of the American society.

Despite his lamentation of the ghastly bias and ill treatment of the black, his approach to the problem is nothing violent. Love would be the best way to achieve the social restructuring. Love would be the ideal Dr. King dreams of to obliterate prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Love would be the panacea to all the worldly troubles. So where do we go from here? We should do what God intends us all to: to love, to care for each other, and we shall overcome.

II. Writing Style

Rhetorical devices are the most distinctive feature of the speech. Metaphors, antitheses and parallel structures are the predominant ones frequently employed. For specific examples, one can refer to the section NOTES ON THE TEXT for more details.

These different figures of speech are skillfully used by Martin Luther King, Jr., either to illustrate the miserable and dire living and social condition of the black people, or to state his political ideal, or to call on people to take actions. Hence, the form (rhetorical devices) here has perfectly fit into the content (central ideas) he intends to convey and spread, greatly reinforcing the theme as well as the impact of the speech.

III. Implications

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has touched on a very serious and important issue in the speech—racial discrimination in the United States. His vehemence and determination, plus the turbulent 1960s, adds to the influence and impact of this speech. On the one hand, his detailed analysis of this grave situation the black are in proves convincing; on the other hand, his solution to the ingrained problem appears idealistic. Love and restructuring the society are both something way beyond the power of the black, even the white.

Yet, his non-violent approach to the chaotic situation embodies his belief in and pursuit of peace and harmony, which serves as a perfect annotation to the dream he constantly mentioned in his famous speech “I Have a Dream”.