[GPC-ENGL] Technical Review of a Historically Important Speech

Assignment:

An exercise for evaluating effective writing techniques by providing a technical review of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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This speech is not an attempt to sway opposing viewpoints. It is, instead, a vision statement and direct call to action for individuals already on board with the ideal of racial equality. This is a masterful piece of rhetoric, written to be delivered with all the passion and fire a Southern preacher can bring to pulpit. As I read through the speech again and again, I find myself even more deeply in awe of this work. I have always held the greatest respect for Dr. King’s message and feel that this work is the crowning achievement of his talent for inspirational speechwriting.

Verbal cues such as “fifty score years …” hearken directly to a famous speech made by the very man he lauds for ending slavery, a man popularly acknowledged as one of the country’s greatest statesmen. By using terminology and phrasings that echo Lincoln’s address, Dr. King psychologically lends to this speech the authority of that author and his vaunted political position.

Early in the speech, Dr. King calls to the hope of emancipation’s promise, and then dashes it soundly with words that paint a most desperate but highly generalized picture of situations “then” and “now”, thus giving listeners a rally point for the call for action that is to come. He sprinkles words associated with discomfort in places to bring forth the discontent that the listener should feel if they disagree with (at the time) current legal policies and uses concepts of light and water to reiterate concepts related to hope, faith, and burdens eased.

Dr. King states intent of the founding fathers as uncontestable fact, even though no man alive at the time the speech was written could have first-hand knowledge of the words bandied about during the drafting of our governing document. Stating the viewpoint in this way sets all further arguments on a foundation that can make opposition seem unduly unreasonable when attempting to present arguments for their interpretation. This is a very common tactic in political speech writing, and this use of it is remarkably well-phrased.

He uses big words, words that many people in his audience might not fully understand. This has the potential to alienate some listeners, as this is the language of the establishment, not of the common man. It is the manner in which Dr. King delivers his speech that keeps the listener personally invested. Not only does this lend additional authority to his delivery of this speech, it also provides a direct example of his corollary message of community improvement through self-improvement. It encourages trust from “the common man”; trust that Dr. King is educated and on-par with the people who can legislate the changes his audience would like to see.

He restates the plight in a way that the listening Everyman can easily relate to, starting with “bad checks” and cashing in on what is owed, continuing with the urgency of immediate action and attention, and following with a vision of negative consequence if the hoped for objective is ignored, even speaking of impending revolution if the call for national justice is overturned.

At this point in the speech, Dr. King turns from third person (“the Negro”) to mutual first person (“we” and “my people”). The speech is at a turning point as he takes the focus from what is owed to the greater community to what that self-same community must avoid if they wish to win the objective. He has stirred up the masses, empowered them with faith in his belief and their own effort, and now needs to remind them that the goal cannot be accomplished if they allow themselves to be provoked to violence. Dr. King is aware that his message faced heavy opposition and that the movement toward equality would be crushed outright if his listeners could not hold true to the idealized vision.

Three simple sentences within the book ends of “cannot”, “must”, “cannot” reiterate this point. Bookends, or the sandwiching technique, are another powerful tool in the hands of effective parents and political speechwriters alike. When properly used, this technique can drive home a speaker’s message as firmly as iron spikes into rail beds. He verbally demonstrates many activities that must become universally unacceptable if the end goal is to be achieved, situations that must be universally overcome. He solidifies the community by giving so many broad examples and gives his listeners further opportunity to relate to his message – to call it their own – by calling out state and city names, locations in which many of his listeners do business and live.

Dr. King then begins the part of this speech that thrills my word-loving soul. He uses another technique of reiteration (repeatedly starting sentences with the title phrase) to bind together his conceptualized victory conditions and to drive home the group unity of his listeners. Phrases become shorter as he delivers song quote and follows it up with another round of location identity. Vocal tone and strength are key here as he brings the speech to its climax.

He closes this brilliant work by restating the ideal, the message of tolerance and universal brotherhood and peaceful fellowship that stood as the hallmark of his life’s work. Dr. King grounds his closing by quoting another work of “victorious faith”, leaving his audience pumped up with positive feelings that should carry them forward in seeing the great work done.

Had Dr. King’s speech been a letter instead, it would likely not have as deep an impact. It would surely have been more conversational, more direct thought from one person to another instead of being a compilation of rhetoric and inspirational tools. It is appropriate to believe that the passion of his message – the deep belief he held and preached in the promise of this ideal – would shine through had it been “just” a letter, but the message delivered would likely be one much more personal, much more relevant to the situation of a single life, than the speech stands as given.

Had Dr. King’s speech been a magazine article intended for publication in that era of our country’s history, the message would surely have lost most, if not all, of its intended meaning. The message would have been diluted by the media prejudices and policies of the time, or parceled out in chunks to inflame or terrorize the “right-thinking” political majority.

On the morning the speech was given, I think Dr. King must have gone through and thought many of the things anyone else does on mornings of important presentations. Breakfasting with his wife and speaking fondly with his friends, checking his pockets to ensure that he had everything he would need – his speech notes, a sermon-delivering luck piece, etc. It gives me pause to think of this great man doing such ordinary things as asking Coretta, for the hundredth time, if his tie was on straight or to hurry with her hair so they would be on time. It lends a feeling of realism and poignancy to the impassioned crescendo delivery that just feels right for me.

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The only work directly referenced in this post is the audio and text copy of the speech at the instructor provided link (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/Ihaveadream.htm). All conclusions and opinions regarding the technical qualities of this speech, as stated in this post, are entirely my own.

Thank you for your consideration of this review.

Sharon Yarbrough

Freshman, Georgia Perimeter College

[GPC-ENGL] Formal Introduction w/ Location Description

Our very first assignment for this course is to write a formal letter of introduction that gives information about our interests and career, as well as our educational goals. After the personal bits, we are to include a five-sense description of our immediate environment at the time our letter is written. The instructor's name and my student email address are omitted, for purposes that are likely obvious.

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Dear professor and classmates:

Good morning to you! My name is Sharon Yarbrough. I am a mother of four and a first-year, non-traditional student at Georgia Perimeter College. In support of my career goal of an active psychiatric practice, my educational goal is to earn a doctorate in Clinical and Behavioral Psychology with a course focus of mid-to-late childhood and early-teen development.

The company with whom I am currently employed is a prestigious mergers and acquisitions firm in north Metro Atlanta. My role as Executive Secretary to the President is both stressful and rewarding as I assist the various partners and principals of our company. Outside of corporate America, I work with several personal clients as a Small Business Consultant, specializing in artist website portfolios, copyediting/consumer testing/trade show marketing for the independent gaming industry, and the organization of NPO charity events and educational outreach endeavors.

This letter is written at a business office. My desk is on the first floor of our building, in the reception area and around the corner from the president’s office. The furniture in our foyer and reception area is all heavy, polished woods and cushiony stuffed leather. The walls that surround me are a soft golden shade with white molding, as yellow is the favorite color of our owner. On the walls are several pictures in gilt frames depicting various leisure activities of Victorian-era aristocracy. The pictures are serene, in sharp contrast to the “Go get ‘em!” hustle and bustle of our 9-to-5 office.

Sounds that come to me are the quiet and rhythmic ticking of a black and gold analog clock on the wall above my desk, the hum of our network printer in the copy room, and the sound of traffic as it passes on the busy street outside our office complex. From upstairs, I catch the hint of jovial laughter as brokers discuss an article they read online.

To my left is our main conference room and, on the far wall of that conference room, a tall window with open blinds. I observe through the window that the day is dim and the bushes are a lush late spring green. Their leaves move with a strong breeze, and it makes me crave to be outdoors, to feel and smell the fresh morning breeze, to have an open-air gazebo for an office instead of a closed building with only plastics and laminates under my fingertips and regrettably stale air to breathe. With a smile, I add that little gazebo to my mental checklist for an ideal office for my future practice and return, mood lightened, to the business tasks at hand.

I have enjoyed this exercise, and I look forward greatly to our future correspondence.

Sincerely,
Sharon Yarbrough
Freshman, Georgia Perimeter College

My Career Goal

In chatting with a very dear friend, this whole career goal thing really came together for me. I was able to distill it into the following:

A private practice as a Behaviorial and Clinical Psychiatrist with a focus in mid-to-late childhood and early teen development. (Or maybe just Psychologist if I decide I can't deal with the math/science it will take to dispense necessary drugs.)

My goal is to see if it's actually possible to instill functioning and permanent life skill, problem solving, and emotionally-balanced coping mechanisms during a life development period where it can become more "ingrained" instead of "habit learned".

Rather like a Life Coach kinda thing (as overhyped and faddish as that particular profession title currently is), but for kids, because my personal hypothesis is that if you can make it happen then, they will grow up to be more successful, more productive, and far less likely to put themselves through the angst and drama we've all been through.

My anthropology class this last term and what I've been dealing with personally is what rooted the goal for me. Mankind has done some truly horrible things over the aeons. That's not something that can be undone by any single Kid Psych Doc, but snowballs do become avalanches and it would be awfully nice to know I had even a tiny hand in actually making the world a better place.

[GPC-ANTH] Discussion Topic for Chapter 16 - Roadblocks to Global Sustainability

Discussion topic for Chapter16

What values and human cultural ideals stand in the way of rational decision making that would ensure the survival or sustainability of the world more or less as we know it today?

Student Response

The values and ideals most likely to prevent rational decision making regarding our future survival are those of ethnocentrism and the push for industrialized globalization. Nowhere is it more evident than in the way that developing countries are pushed to comply with “modern Western” agricultural practices, even in the face of scientific proof that those very methods deplete the land of its capability to produce food stuff of nutritive substance.

We, to mean world leaders and multinational megacorporations, require adherence to practices that leave the individual farmer (or herder) without a real increase in monetary wealth, as they are forced to adhere to ever-increasing demands for new equipment or chemicals so their product meets “industrialized standard”. These requirements are costly, often causing the farmer to have to go into debt to meet them or risk losing any subsidies they might be receiving.

Modern doesn’t always mean “better” in cases like this. Yes, we have immediate access to technological devices that allow us to communicate across the globe almost instantly. Yes, we have cars that allow us to work at further distances from our home. But do these things actually increase the quality of our lives in the long-term? Rarely, does the benefit outweigh the cost. We – in our superior modern lifestyles – pollute the atmosphere every time we get into that car to drive to that fast food joint to pick up convenience foods that pollute our bodies, the food having been raised on land that must be artificially made viable for renewable growth, with chemicals that pollute our water supply when it rains.

And that’s just one example. To achieve existence in harmony with our environment, we will need to put aside the belief (taught in childhood) that everything “modern” is better. We need to look to other cultures and to take a good hard look at our own, to determine how we can adapt toward a globalized culture without destroying the planet (and its peoples) in getting there.