Beyond Vietnam A Time To Break Silence Analysis

“Beyond Vietnam-A Time to Break Silence” is an article written by Martin Luther King Jr himself. King is effectively able to convey his point about his topic by using rhetorical devices such as logos, ethos, pathos.

On April 4th, 1967, at Riverside Church in New York, a speech was given and the silence was broken. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech was given to persuade everyone into believing that american involvement during the Vietnam War was wrong. Throughout Martin Luther King Jr’s speech he builds a very strong argument, against american involvement during the Vietnam War, by using different writing appeals and elements.

Martin Luther King Jr uses repetition, concrete diction, and tone in his speech to distinguish between the ways someone acts, gets treated based on the colour of their skin and the ways that they feel. In his speech, King says “I have a dream” and “let freedom ring” a lot to show repetition. He also uses concrete detail when explaining how the blacks no longer want to be disrespected or be under their discriminating rules. King’s final way of expressing himself is through tone, he changes his tone when saying what him and his people want. The purpose of this speech is for people of all colours to understand that King tried to spread a message that he wanted a better community without racial discrimination and rights for black people.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the most influential people of this century. People remember King for his humanity, leadership and his love of his fellow man regardless of their skin color. Through reading King’s writings and speeches, that changed the world, one can learn that his values of integrity, love, truth, fairness, caring, non-violence, and peace were what motivated him to greatness. One of his less known speeches is “A Time to Break the Silence”, this speech was different than most of King’s speeches; the theme of this speech is not civil rights movement, but Vietnam. King addresses the war in Vietnam and he gives reasons why it should not continue.

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech “Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break Silence” (1967), Dr. King asserts that the war in Vietnam is totally immoral and has far reaching negative implications not only for Vietnam, but for The United States and the rest of the World as well. Dr. King’s purpose is to make the church leaders he is speaking to aware that the time has come for them to speak out loudly in opposition of the war in Vietnam. He offers many practical reasons for the opposition, as well as spiritual and moral reasons. He then outlines the history of the war in Vietnam, showing that he is not simply preaching about religious ideals. He also makes an

War is often seen as a sensitive and debatable topic and one of the most controversial wars to have ever been fought was the Vietnam War. In Lyndon B, Johnson’s “Speech on Vietnam (September 29.1967)” and Martin Luther King’s speech, “Why I am opposed to the War in Vietnam” we are offered two different perspectives on this matter. While Johnson provides reasoning on why we should fight the war, it is King’s speech that shows a more compassionate side to Vietnam that I agree with.

The primary purpose of Dr. King’s eloquent and dramatically delivered speech is that of persuasion. King’s claim is the Negro people are still not free one hundred years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This warrant is supported by King’s effective emotional appeal to his African American audience. He supports this with the following: "but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” This is emotional because after one hundred years of oppression, the African American community has still not achieved their cultural and economic potential according to King. He is endeavoring to persuade his audience, fellow minorities and

When King begins talking about the hardships African Americans went through he uses repetition to show the severity of segregation in the city of Birmingham. “...when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers...when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters…” By repeating the

In his speech he says, “/ […]/ Negro / […]/ finds himself in exile in his own land.” Not only does that phrase show his sympathy on Negros and their unfair treatment, but it acknowledges his audience’s emotions and leads them to have compassion towards those that do not have equality. Another example of pathos that he uses in his speech is to have emotional words to capture the hearts of his listeners such as, “shameful” “sadly crippled” “chains of discrimination” “guilty” and “hatred.” Dr. King uses these words in his speech to motivate and inspire his audience to have their voices heard in order to stop segregation. His use of pathos influences his audience/readers to make a stand for their

In the past years the discussion of Vietnam War, is one that still is every more common among scholars of American Society, common not without controversy. The controversy surrounding the Vietnam War often is centered in U.S. mentality of playing “savior “ and appearing to be only great, while not owning up or recognizing their faults. There is a common belief among many people that the remembering the vietnam war is no longer important. Those who hold this belief, also believe that the there is no reason to harp on a war that doesn’t matter to the united states and its people. This paper strives to challenge this belief that the war is no longer important and demonstrate why it is vital we remember the Vietnam war. First, this paper will examine a document from Modern History Sourcebook, entitled, Program of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Vietnam, dating back to January 1962. We will examine to see how this document from the Vietnamese still provides value or information to our understanding of what is happening in today’s society. Then the paper will examine a Speech delivered in April 1967, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., entitled Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a man widely known throughout the world for being one of the most influential people standing up to racial discrimination, but he didn’t make these changes overnight. In the passage, “Heeding the Call” by Diana Childress, some of his role models and past experiences were described. These things all helped shape him into the man he was and without them he probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did.

Martin L. King Jr. gave a speech on April 4,1967 called “Beyond Vietnam- A Time to Break Silence.” His point was that America should not be involved in the Vietnam war. Martin L. King Jr., civil rights activists and preacher, gains favor of his audience through using first hand experiences as evidence, careful reasoning, and powerful word choice.     The relatable examples Martin L. King Jr. used were persuasive because they were first hand experiences.

Martin Luther King Jr’s, “Declaration of Independence from War in Vietnam” speech shows different tones through the speech including: enraged, candid and uplifting. MLK Jr., expresses his feelings towards the Vietnam War. He knows that the war was fighting for something in Vietnam, but they can’t even make it happen in their own country.

Before Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “Beyond Vietnam--A Time to Break Silence” speech, the United States has been gradually improving its equality between people of different races. Even though the abolitionists ended slavery, racial segregation still was apart of the American culture; African Americans were “separate but equal.” Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to the issues of the discriminatory tendencies of America and argues that blacks are not equal. Although Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to resonate peace, he uses the violence in Vietnam to bring forth the issue of racism in America by comparing Vietnam and America and using selective word choices that evoke emotions of inequality and hypocrisy.

1. A year to the day Martin Luther King was assassinated, he spoke out against the Vietnam War. April 4th 1967 at Riverside Church, in New York City, King delivered “Beyond Vietnam”. Although the “I Have a Dream” speech is his more recognizable speech, “Beyond Vietnam” was extremely controversial. King, realized could not talk peace if he was addressing American government oppressive imperialism. King knew that the same black men that the government was denying rights, were being sent to die, fight and kill people who were struggling for the same rights. King could not preach non-violence at the American homefront and keep quiet as Vietnamese villages and children were being destroyed. One of King's closest advisers, Stanley Levison, warned