Martin Luther King gave his last speech, “I’ve been to the mountaintop on third April, 1968. He gave this speech at the mason temple in Memphis, Tennessee. The day that followed Martin Luther king`s speech, he was assassinated.
The speech does not contain a thesis statement. However, his speech has a certain focus. In his speech, Martin Luther King addresses several main ideas. He urges people to avoid fear, to become united, participate in economic actions, boycotts, participate in nonviolent protests, through civil rights struggle and challenges the government of the United States of America to live up to its responsibilities, by offering a just system to all people. In fact, at the end of the speech he talks about the possibility of his sudden death (Campbell and Huxman, 30).
The author clearly brings out the problem by preparing people for what he needs to tell them. Martin Luther King started his speech as a story, as a reference to his friend. He clearly states the state of the environment under which they operate on by thanking people for going to listen to his speech even after the warning. Through this, he prepares people for the important message he has for them. The presents the main problems, he wanted o address by dealing with each problem in its own context.
The author achieves the goal of his work encouraging the people, to fight harder by telling them about history, and after a good expression of the matters at hand, he brings out his meaning clearly for all to understand. Martin Luther achieved his goal by addressing the issues without vagueness. He addressed the issues directly. For instance, he openly and directly talked of the strike that sanitation workers in Memphis had engaged in, and the causes of the strike.
Martin Luther King achieved the goal of his speech effectively. He made sure that he addressed all the issues he wanted to address in an eloquent and clear manner. Martin Luther King used the strike as a reference to show that people had woken up against fear and forms of injustice that had gone on for a long period. Martin Luther stated that he had made a strange statement, but tried as much as possible to make the people he addressed understand what he said. Most of the time, in his speech, he reminded people that God would help them in their search for justice and rights. He put reference to encourage people to avoid fear and fight tirelessly for their freedom and rights.
Martin Luther King achieves the goal of his speech by addressing one issue after the other. Martin Luther did not jump from one issue to the next without making people understand what he said. In fact, in certain instances Martin Luther King quoted what other people against the revolution would say. For instance, he quoted what Bull Connor would say next about their movement. He would say, turn the fire hoses on. However, this would not deter them from reaching their goal (Campbell and Huxman, 148).
Martin Luther achieved the goal of his speech by encouraging people to be fearless and encouraged them to march strongly against injustices going on with peaceful demonstrations even, to the court for the injunction. Martin Luther King brought in history, to show people the strides that they had made over the past years and the proponents of a changed and a just government.
Martin Luther King used several evidences to support his claim. First, Martin Luther uses history to show people that the world has considerably changed from the time of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Aristophanes and Euripides to the early 1930s, where man grappled with bankruptcy problem of his nation. He also gave evidence concerning Bull Connor, and the sufferings he made people pas though. However, that could not stop them.
Martin Luther King uses the court injunction to show people the seriousness of the matter at hand. He uses the court injunction to show people that fear has no place in them and that the fight for their freedom and justice has began. Martin Luther used evidence from the bible to encourage people to go on. He used Amos from the bible, when he said, “let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” to show that man had the right to justice, which God shielded. He also used the Jerusalem to Jericho road terming it as a bloody pass. This reflected what the people had to pass through, in the search for their justice and freedom.
The author logically supports his argument, in a logical manner with an organised structure and coherent development. He does not break from one idea to the other then come back. Martin Luther King addressed each idea in its own right. He gave evidence that supported his arguments, each fitting at the right place. He started with the importance of true friends, went to the issue of fear, went to the issue of government injustices, went to the court injunction, and in the same manner to the threat of his life. He ended his speech by telling the people that they would reach the Promised Land even if they would not have him with them. All the sections make sense as presented because each section brings out a new idea and its supporting ideas or evidences. They helped bring out what Martin Luther King wanted the people to understand.
‘I`ve reached the mountaintop’ acts as one of the coherent speeches of all time. Martin Luther expressed his ideas eloquently, in that speech making people understand, what he wanted to tell them. His ideas followed one another in a logical and consistent manner.