1. Rhetorical Device Writing Assignment:
Pick one of the speeches (FDR or MLK)
Choose a quote from that speech to illustrate a rhetorical device
Explain how the quote illustrates or exemplifies the rhetorical device.
Explain how this contributes to the overall theme/message of the speech

2. Rhetorical Device Writing Assignment:
MLK
Quote: 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. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

3. Rhetorical Device Writing Assignment
3. Explanation / Interpretation:
King uses the phrase “one hundred years later” to repeat and stress the idea that many years have passed and progress has not occurred. Racial inequality still exists. Parallelism occurs here because the grammatical construction and wording are similar in the beginning of each sentence.

4. Rhetorical Device Writing Assignment:
4. Explain how this contributes to the overall
theme/message of the speech:
The rhetorical device of parallelism is used for emphasis. By repeating the idea that One hundred years has passed, (and yet we still are experiencing inequalities) King emphasises that the ideal of equality is still a “dream” and not yet a reality

5. Rhetorical Device Writing Assignment:
Put it all together:
Martin Luther King, Jr. uses parallelism in his speech to connect important ideas and to emphasize his key theme of inequality.
In the opening moments of his speech King states, “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. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” King uses the phrase “one hundred years later” to repeat and stress the idea that many years have passed and progress has not occurred. Racial inequality still exists. Parallelism occurs here because the grammatical construction and wording are similar in the beginning of each sentence.
Ultimately, King utilizes the rhetorical device of parallelism for emphasis. By repeating the idea that One hundred years has passed, (and yet we still are experiencing inequalities) King emphasizes that the ideal of equality is still a “dream” and not yet a reality.