Paper Example on Kindling the Flame in the Hearts of Millions

Introduction

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of those rare visionaries who have been successful both in their real-world and literary struggles. In the USA, his name has come to signify a man passionately working for the cause he holds dear, for the dream that can change the lives of millions of Americans. For King public speaking and writing became a means to achieve his elevated aims. Though he never viewed himself to be a writer, books with King's speeches, sermons and articles have managed to kindle the flame of genuine enthusiasm in the hearts of many readers. King is one of those authors for whom their craft is an indispensable and fully natural continuation of their passion for the subject they are writing about and, more widely, of their whole biography. For King, his life, writings, and political struggle are inseparably connected and probably this is what makes us perceive him as such an ultimately integral and charismatic personality.

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Setting

"I Have A Dream" is the most famous speech of Martin Luther King, in which he proclaimed his vision of the future, where white and black people would have equal civil rights. King made this speech on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. It was the most important moment of the American Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1968. In this expertly crafted speech, the setting unites four time and space levels: the actual moment of speaking, the present, the past, and the future. The actual moment when the speech was delivered was indeed a historical one. Over 250,000 people gathered on August 28, 1963, in Washington to witness this most famous anti-racist speech in the world history. Today, the Lincoln Memorial is one of the country's most iconic and popular attractions. King could clearly see the significance of the moment, which he underlined in the very first sentence of the speech: "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation" (King 1). In this one single phrase King ties together the present, the past and the future. Thus, the second level of the setting is the past to which King consistently alludes starting with the second sentence of the speech: "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation" (King 1). The great American is the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln. In 1863, he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and already in 1865, by the end of the Civil War, the United States Congress adopted the famous 13th Amendment to the Constitution, completely prohibiting slavery. This glorious past with its promising achievements is juxtaposed by King with the disappointing present. Though the slavery in the United States was abolished in 1865, the African-American population continued to be treated with disdain, especially in the southern states. Moreover, African Americans were harassed, humiliating, and attacked by members of racist organizations. By the end of the 1960s, every second African-American lived below the poverty line. Shameful segregatory inscriptions and tablets could be found everywhere - from the drinking fountains to the cinema entrance. There were 'black-only' places on the buses, and schools, universities, and even trains were divided along racial lines. In many restaurants and hotels, black people were simply not allowed. These sad realia were alluded to in the dramatic lines, which follow the mention of America's glorious past: "One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land" (King 1). Finally, the last level of the speech's setting is the imagined future full of hope for the black population about which King is dreaming. The year of 1963 marked the beginning of the end of the segregation policy in the United States. The number of those arrested at numerous demonstrations across the country went to the hundreds, and their struggle did not go unnoticed. The dream that King immortalized in his seminal speech was gradually coming true. The four levels of the setting working together in "I Have a Dream" create a historical continuity which integrates the speech into a wider social and cultural context, and helps it sound as urgent, topical and engaging today as ever.

Characters

Though the speech is not a piece of fiction and does not have any characters in the classical understanding of the term, there is one character which stands at the center of the whole text. It is the Negro, the generalized character embodying the suffering and the struggle of the black population of the USA:

"But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity" (King 1).

In his fight for his civil rights, the Negro has to face another generalized character -America (as a country, a nation, a culture and a set of values), the Negro's friend who has cheated and betrayed the black man, but still has a chance to change the future. "... America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds'" (King 2), says King, using metaphor and personification to make the complex historical conflict more transparent, vivid and relatable for the listeners. By using these two generalized characters in his speech King utilizes the powerful, persuasive and thought-provoking potential that fairy tales and fables possess. In such a way, he manages to make his speech relevant to the listeners coming from different social and cultural backgrounds.

King's usage of the generalized Negro character is somewhat reminiscent of the classification of black characters in fiction introduced by Sterling A. Brown in his essay "Negro Character as Seen by White Authors" (1933). In this canonical study the author outlines seven main stereotypes present in the majority of books: 1) the Contented Slave, 2) the Wretched Freeman, 3) the Comic Negro, 4) the Brute Negro, 5) the Tragic Mulatto, 6) the Local Color Negro, 7) the Exotic Primitive (Brown 327). These stereotypes eloquently speak about the racial bias which the black population had to overcome both in the social sphere and in literature. Yet, King's character meaningfully does not fall within any of the categories. In this way, King shows that the old stereotypes have outlived themselves and need to be disposed of.

Dialogue

Though the speech does not contain any explicit dialogue in the way it addresses important figures of the past and the present, as well as engages the audience into an imaginary discussion, it can be said to include fragments of imaginary dialogue. The very concept of speech is designed so that Martin Luther King shares his dream with his comrades. This dream becomes a common vision, and the people begin to believe in it. In addition, King addresses his speech not only to the audience gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, but also to the leadership of the country, to people who make crucial decisions. This fact dictates the particular logical structure of theses in the speaker's speech. "There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights" (King 2), he says, referring to his comrades to designate their sense of identity with the protest movement, on the one hand, and appealing to their opponents to force them into negotiations in order to avoid turmoil, on the other.

There is also one more level of dialogue in the speech. On this level, King addresses issues that have been a bone of contention at one time or another. In such a way, he offers his repartee in the wider social dialogue that is happening on a larger time and space scale. For example, King mentions Alabama Governor George Wallace, who was an ardent supporter of segregation policies. He accused Washington of interfering in the internal affairs of the state and not recognizing the laws adopted by the US Congress. In particular, in 1962, he opposed the adoption of black activist James Meredith into the "white" Mississippi university, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court on his enrollment. By mentioning George Wallace, King offers the countries authorities to proceed with the discussion.

Plot Action and Sequence

One can observe two parallel plot developments in the speech. The first one is the plot revolving around the speech's generalized characters. The Negro has suffered much and has come to cash a check. The Negro confronts America that has gone back on the promise of freedom and equality. The climax of this plot is the moment when King describes the present as a turning point in the Negro's struggle which nonetheless should not cross the line of violence:

"But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." (King)

Another plot is centered around the character of the narrator who speaks up against the injustice still thriving in contemporary America. The highest climactic point of this plot is the moment when the narrator juxtaposes the hardships the black population has been through and the beautiful dream the future will make come true: "And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream" (King). These two plots closely intertwine in King's speech allowing it to unfold both in the public and private dimensions.

Theme

The theme of the speech is closely related to its famous title. The phrase "I have a dream" is repeated eight times. Martin Luther King paints an ideal picture in which people of all races in the United States are equal in their rights and not subject to discrimination. He was a strong believer in nonviolent resistance, his ideas being very similar to Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and almost contrary to the radical ideology promoted by Malcolm X and the Black Panther movement on the whole. Inspired by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, he called for fighting for equality in peaceful ways. And although King's death shook his supporters' faith in the effectiveness of non-violent resistance, King's principles formed the basis of the American democratic dream.

Literary Critical Reviews

King's speech is considered to be one of the best speeches in history and was recognized as the best speech of the 20th century (according to a list compiled by Professors Stephen E. Lucas and Martin J. Medhurst who asked 137 leading scholars of American public address to recommend speeches on the basis of social and political impact, and rhetorical artistry) (Eidenmuller). "I have a dream" won critical acclaim and general admiration as soon as it was uttered by King. It came to be seen as the ultimate highlight of the march. James Reston of The New York Times wrote that the "pilgrimage was merely a great spectacle" until King's turn (qtd. in "'I Have a Dream' Speech"). James Baldwin later expressed his sentiments about the speech in the deeply heart-felt words: "we stood on a height, and could see our inheritance; perhaps we could make the kingdom real" (qtd. in "'I Have a Dream' Speech."). But if earlier critical responses focused on the historical role of the speech and the profound effect it had upon the audience, the later reviews started taking into consideration its outstanding literary qualities. In her 2013 review, Michiko Kakut...