“I Have a Dream” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(First reading – vocabulary & literary devices)
1. What was the occasion for this speech? ______
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Read the beginning of King’s speech, from “I am happy to join with you today…” to “…long night of captivity.
2. What metaphors does Dr. King use? He compares slavery to ______, the
Emancipation Proclamation to ______and slavery to ______.
Read the paragraph that begins “But one hundred years later…” to “… finds himself an exile in his own land.”
3. What is segregation? ______
4. What is discrimination? ______
Ø 5. What metaphors does Dr. King use? ______
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Read the following section which begins “And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition” and ends with “… that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.”
Ø 6. What metaphors does Dr. King use? ______
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Read the next paragraph: “We have also come to this hallowed spot” to “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
7. Why is “Now” capitalized? ______
8. What do you suppose “gradualism” is? ______
Ø 9. What metaphors does Dr. King use? ______
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Read the next section from “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment” ending with “The whirlwind of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”
Ø 10. What metaphors does Dr. King use? ______
______
Read from “But there is something that I must say…” through “We cannot walk alone.”
Ø 11. What metaphors does Dr. King use? ______
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Next, read from “And as we walk, we must make the pledge…” through "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
12. Where do you think the quote came from? ______
Read the paragraph “I am not unmindful…” to “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.”
Ø 13. What metaphors does Dr. King use? ______
______
Read “And so even though we face the difficulties of today…” to “that all men are created equal.”
14. Where do you think the quote came from? ______
Read from “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia” to “… join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!”
15. What do you suppose “interposition” and “nullification” mean in this context? ______
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Read from “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted...” through “knowing that we will be free one day.”
16. Where do you think the quote came from? ______
Ø 17. What metaphors does Dr. King use? ______
______
Read the rest of the speech.
18. What phrase does Dr. King repeat in this section? ______
19. Where do you think the first quote came from? ______
20. What is a “Negro spiritual”? ______
21. What does the ending mean? ______
22. What message did you understand from this first reading? ______
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