One of the best speeches that marked the fight for equality and democracy is the speech of Martin Luther King "I Have a Dream". The words of this speech have become worldwide known and can be applied to every injustice that exists in every nation and race. The second speech that was also held at the March in Washington in 1963 was the speech of John Lewis. He was a young man, at the time, and the words in his speech were not so carefully chosen as the words in the Speech of Martin Luther King. For this reason, the speech of Martin Luther King is more effective and has a stronger impact of the audience.
When comparing these two speeches, it can be noticed that the speech of John Lewis is shorter and not so eloquently presented. In his speech, John Lewis speaks in simple sentences bringing out the individual examples from the lives of African-American who have undergone racial injustice. "What about the three young men in Americus, Georgia, who face the death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest?" (Lewis). In his speech, Lewis also used short sentences without any figures of speech such as metaphors and symbolisms. His sentences were simple and plain. He used sentences like, "The revolution is a serious one", and, "All of us must get in the revolution" (Lewis). In addition to this, Lewis criticized politicians and the current political state of the USA whereas Martin Luther King did not mention any politician. The avoidance of the names of political leaders made this speech effective and eternal and applicable in any political context. One might say that Lewis was still young without enough speech experience and this may be the reason why his speech was not as effective as the speech of Martin Luther King.
The thing that placed the speech of Martin Luther King is not the frequently used phrase "I Have a Dream", but carefully chosen words and the effect that they had not only of African-Americans, but on everyone who had the opportunity to listen to his speech. The words are filled with empathy and emotions and through his calm voice he managed to touch the hearts of everyone. The speech was filled with figures of speech and in this way he made stronger impact on the audience. For example, at the beginning of the speech the first sentences vividly depict the history of African-Americans and their burden of slavery, "One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination" (King). Subsequently, he follows with metaphors such as "lonely island of poverty". It might be said that this is poetry. He does not state about that specific period is American history, but through his speech one can see the past and future. However, the thing that has the biggest impact in his speech is the sensation of hope that Martin Luther King gives to listeners. There is not a word of hatred that is mentioned in his speech, but words of hope and faith in the existence of American Dream prevail. Through this speech many can look into the future and with the words, "My country 'tis of thee, sweetland of liberty, of thee I sing"(King) people compassion with every African-American and every person who has been taken from his rights to freedom.
The speeches of Martin Luther King and John Lewis marked the beginning of the new era of democracy in the USA. They were among the pioneers of the speakers whose words were heard by hundreds of thousand people. The modern politicians look up to the speech of Martin Luther King and try to find the same energy to gather people who share their goals. However, since then, a few has managed to do the same. It is my belief that their cause is not worth for protesting and that the goals that Martin Luther King and John Lewis had were the goals worth for fighting and unfortunately dying.
Cited work:
Lewis, John. "The March of Washington". Webspinner. 1963. Web. 24 March 2016. http://www.crmvet.org/info/mowjl.htm
King Luther, Martin. "I Have a Dream". 1963. Web. 24 March 2016. https://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
