Question

List at least three example of racial injustice that king uses as effective support for his claim that African American are not free.

Answer 1

King uses word choice to contrast the racial situation in the country in the past and present to what is expected in the future. He uses negative words, like "captivity," "poverty," "exile," "persecution" and "despair" to describe the past and present lives of African-Americans. These words show that African-Americans have no freedom and are poor because of racial discrimination. On the other hand, King shows that there is hope for change in the future when he uses positive words, such as "freedom," "justice," 'faith" and "hope." With the positive words, he gives African-Americans hope that in the future they will be united with the whites and there will come an end to racial injustice and oppression.

Answer 2

To give the audience vivid images of what he is talking about, King uses metaphors that contrast the racial situation in the country in the past and present to the situation in the future. For instance, he uses the metaphor, "signing the promissory note" to refer to the promise given to all Americans in the constitution. The promise is that, all Americans would be guaranteed unalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. King uses the metaphor "a bad check" to refer to the unfulfilled promise in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The promise has not been fulfilled to African-Americans yet they are part of the American society. King also uses the metaphor, "a desert state" to refer to the state of Mississippi to show that it is the most affected with racial injustice. On the other hand he uses positive metaphors like, "table of brotherhood" to refer to the unity between the African-Americans and the Whites in future. King's use of the metaphor "the crooked places will be made straight" means that there will be equality in the future of the American nation. The metaphor, "an oasis of freedom and justice" is used to show that there will come a time when there will be no racial injustice in the state of Mississippi.