In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I’ve been to the Mountaintop,” which is addressed to Memphis, Martin Luther King Jr. starts off and begins to talk to the audience as if having a conversation rather than giving a formal speech. In this informal conversation he has with the audience, he is able to bring together the audience, gaining support from the listeners. He uses the everyday scenarios and his personal life experiences in his speech to talk to the audience at a personal level. He pictures the almost-perfect America when he states, “I would take my mental flight by Egypt (Yeah), and I would watch God’s children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather, across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, on toward the Promised Land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn’t stop there. (All right).” After, he continues to talk about the extent to which he still has hope for America in changing its views on prejudice. And when he talks about the mountaintop, I think that he is referring to not just the equality of all races, but the unity of the nation when he mentions the mountaintop.

Martin Luther King Jr’s statement “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” is very powerful. It creates this image of a man at the top of a mountain, overlooking the world beyond him. Mr. King claims he has been to the mountaintop and explains that he has seen the “promised land” from up there, a world where everyone lives in peace and equality. In reality, it’s not possible for Mr. King to have seen this world of equality because it simply hasn’t truly existed yet. However, this metaphor instills a sense of hope that there will be peace and equality in the future. Mr. King continues to admit, that he doesn’t know if he, himself, will make it to the promised land, but he isn’t concerned because he is confident in the fact that they, as a people, will eventually get there. I think that this is what makes Martin Luther King Jr so powerful- his motivation is truly for the good of the people.

This idea is really important to consider while we write our argumentative essay. In order to get anything accomplished, we must show numbers and more importantly, our people must be determined and optimistic in order to push for our goal. In order to accomplish this, we should follow Mr. King’s method of establishing a sense of hope by ensuring our goal will be accomplished in the future, whether we are here to share the accomplishment or not.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Martin Luther King Jr. protested against how little African American sanitation workers make. He said that to be successful in gaining equality in the world, people must do nonviolent acts. He said that only though nonviolent acts will people be heard. He supported boycotts and said that if people worked together to protest against the injustice that African Americans face, they will eventually be heard whether industries wanted to hear it or not. In addition, he brought up the First Amendment rights that he believes should apply to everyone in America. At the end of his speech, Martin Luther King Jr. said that he is not afraid of death, which is an interesting aspect to me. He said, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life–longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. (Yeah) And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. (Go ahead) And I’ve looked over (Yes sir), and I’ve seen the Promised Land. (Go ahead) I may not get there with you. (Go ahead) But I want you to know tonight (Yes), that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. [Applause] (Go ahead, Go ahead) And so I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything; I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. [Applause].” I think the mountaintop he refers to is the sight of peace and justice, which isn’t easy to achieve in a world of struggle and misery. This interesting aspect of his speech strongly showed how passionate Martin Luther King Jr. was about achieving equality and peace in the world. It was almost as if it was his fate to give out this speech to inspire others in his nonviolent protests because he dies the day after he gives this speech. What makes his statement so powerful is that he said he’s happy because he knows that peace will eventually come and that is why he is not afraid to die.