On September 18th, 1963, in the midst of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, four innocent children lost their lives. As they entered their church on this Wednesday, they expected nothing but love and prayers, however these plans were tragically interrupted. The KKK, due to the racial tensions of the day, decided to bomb the 16th Street Baptist Church. In response, Martin Luther King Jr., prepared a speech for the children, to recite at their funeral. The purpose of this speech was to honor Addie Mae Collins. Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Diane Wesley, the victims of the Birmingham church bombing of 1963, and to address the racial tensions of American society.
To begin, King Jr.’s details point out why the audience gathers in the …show more content…
By repeating the phrase “they have something to say” it communicates that the children’s death means more than simply leaving the earth. Their death symbolizes the need for change, they died nobly for a cause. Their death is a catalyst for change, they are speaking out for the ministers, politicians, African-American, and just all people in general, whom are all too scared to fight for what they believe. People must speak out of they want change to occur for example, if one wants to stop the “undemocratic practices of southern Dixiecrats”, they must rally against them. In this case, people need to speak out against racial inequality. After all, their death is the result of racial tensions of the time, and if people do not act immediately, the discrimination will continue on forever. Furthermore, the juxtaposition demonstrates the ability to find a positive in every situation, even if it seems impossible. By saying “to transform the negative extremes of a dark past into the positive extremes of a bright future”, it is reassuring the children’s families that this dark hour will not last forever. It helps the parents and family friends to see the positive in the situation, that the children died for a cause. While nobody can go back and change and prevent the horror that these children experienced, they can transform the future by using this example to push the …show more content…
Death is imminent, yet no one knows when it will strike. By adding “death comes to every individual”, King Jr. is attempting to calm the family down. He is directly addressing the family at this point in his speech and this quick one line, relaxes them. It doesn’t matter whether the death was now, or years and years down the road, it was still bound to happen. Everyone would still be at the funeral, with emotions running high, paying their respects. Moreover, the parallel structure stresses that death is more than nothingness, but rather a state of eternal bliss and significance. Most people tend to think that death is the end, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. They believe nothing of importance happens after the final breath, and this way of thinking is why one stays sorrowful after the fact. So, by him saying, “Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to a more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal”, it affirms that death is actually not the end. This structure reveals that death actually leads a man into greater, eternal opportunities in the heavens above. It also states that one is not simply forgotten after death, but rather elevated to a higher status and
To begin, King Jr.’s details point out why the audience gathers in the …show more content…
By repeating the phrase “they have something to say” it communicates that the children’s death means more than simply leaving the earth. Their death symbolizes the need for change, they died nobly for a cause. Their death is a catalyst for change, they are speaking out for the ministers, politicians, African-American, and just all people in general, whom are all too scared to fight for what they believe. People must speak out of they want change to occur for example, if one wants to stop the “undemocratic practices of southern Dixiecrats”, they must rally against them. In this case, people need to speak out against racial inequality. After all, their death is the result of racial tensions of the time, and if people do not act immediately, the discrimination will continue on forever. Furthermore, the juxtaposition demonstrates the ability to find a positive in every situation, even if it seems impossible. By saying “to transform the negative extremes of a dark past into the positive extremes of a bright future”, it is reassuring the children’s families that this dark hour will not last forever. It helps the parents and family friends to see the positive in the situation, that the children died for a cause. While nobody can go back and change and prevent the horror that these children experienced, they can transform the future by using this example to push the …show more content…
Death is imminent, yet no one knows when it will strike. By adding “death comes to every individual”, King Jr. is attempting to calm the family down. He is directly addressing the family at this point in his speech and this quick one line, relaxes them. It doesn’t matter whether the death was now, or years and years down the road, it was still bound to happen. Everyone would still be at the funeral, with emotions running high, paying their respects. Moreover, the parallel structure stresses that death is more than nothingness, but rather a state of eternal bliss and significance. Most people tend to think that death is the end, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. They believe nothing of importance happens after the final breath, and this way of thinking is why one stays sorrowful after the fact. So, by him saying, “Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to a more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal”, it affirms that death is actually not the end. This structure reveals that death actually leads a man into greater, eternal opportunities in the heavens above. It also states that one is not simply forgotten after death, but rather elevated to a higher status and