Background
The following essay illustrates the development of a multiple-source literary analysis. The short essay explores the literary style of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., drawing upon brief quoted passages from his works.

The plan of the paper reflects the traditional "thesis-support" essay with an introduction (in this case, the first three paragraphs, closing in the thesis statement), a body, and a conclusion (the last paragraph).

Note the punctuation of the quotations and their incorporation into the paragraphs and sentences as either direct separated quotations, direct integrated quotations, or as indirect quotations (paraphrases). All three of these types of references to primary sources must be documented by source and page number.

The Sample Essay

Student Name
English 2006
Date

"I have a dream," says Dr. Samuel Proctor, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Rutgers University. "All the little children--you hear everywhere you go: 'I have a dream.' All the little children repeating that speech. It's become like the ‘Star Spangled Banner' or the ‘Pledge of Allegiance.' It's entered our culture." And so it has: "I have a dream" has become one of the most memorable phrases of the twentieth century. Of all the many speeches delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on that hot, steamy day of August 28, 1963, no other remarks have had such an impact as those of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His words reflected then, and continue to do so now, the deep sense of pathos in the plight of African-Americans throughout the United States, a socio-economic and political context rooted in injustices orchestrated by unfair, discriminatory practices that were designed to intimidate and dominate the nation's African-Americans behind a veneer of social and political platitudes accepted as givens by others in the same society. Those easy assumptions Dr. King challenged in his reflections on the African-American's experience to that time.

What set apart his remarks from all the others that day, however, were elements of style--an oratorical style--that Dr. King had honed in speech after speech for years. He was, in fact, a much practiced orator. A comparison of almost any set of his remarks reveals the key to the dramatic sense of pathos that still accent his works for readers today.

The distinguishing features of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s style which so personalize his works are his rich allusions, figures of speech, and parallelism. These three rhetorical elements dominate his writings, and a study of their use in Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," sometimes titled "Why We Can't Wait," and "I Have a Dream"--delivered in the same 1963 season of discontent and nationwide protest--help us better understand the focus of the Civil Rights agenda of the period.

When white ministers protested the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's decision to pursue "non-violent" but "direct action" in Birmingham in April 1963, Dr. King, in his written response, drew widely upon Biblical, theological, and historical references in the development of his defense. Always believing that the fundamental justification for "direct action" was to be found in Christian scripture, Dr. King cites both Old Testament and New Testament references supporting his claim that "there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience" ("Letter," 294). He notes, "It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar because a higher moral law was involved. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks, before submitting to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire" (294). In defense of the charges that SCLC protests "precipitate violence," Dr. King asks, "Isn't this like condemning Jesus because His unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing devotion to His will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?" (295-296)

While his most memorable address is punctuated with such poignant themes as "We can never be satisfied," "with this faith," "let freedom ring,' and the famous "I have a dream," Biblical references punctuate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Lincoln Memorial speech later the same year, adapting parallels from Biblical references to the contexts of African-Americans in the 1960's. If the plight of the American black has precedent in Old and New Testament authority, the Lincoln Memorial address clearly establishes hope for African-Americans in the same source. The "American dream" for which Dr. King still professes faith is "deeply rooted" in Judeo-Christian scripture. "I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places shall be made plain, and the crooked places shall be made straight and the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." The dream is more than a vision for Dr. King, however, for it is tied inextricably to his faith in the promises of Biblical scripture and prophesy.

To his ministerial detractors in Birmingham, Martin Luther King, Jr. positioned himself firmly within the mainstream of evangelical Christian thought: as the divinely-inspired word of God exhibits precedent for "direct action" up to and including, as may need be, even personal sacrifice, so must the African-American find his or her own destiny in an essentially Biblical struggle. If that struggle is perceived by some as extremist, then it is so, according to Dr. King, on the highest of moral ground. "Was not Jesus an extremist in love--'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.' Was not Amous an extremist for justice--'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.' Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ--I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus"'("Letter," 297).

"Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "I Have a Dream" are two exemplary declarations of one of the most important social voices in twentieth-century America. If established tradition prevails, early every spring, young school children throughout the nation and college students in literature and composition courses will rediscover the hauntingly familiar refrains like "Let freedom ring" and "I have a dream today!" Hopefully, from a recitation of these popular motifs, these young people will come to realize the broader bed of ideals on which they rest. In his letter to his ministerial colleagues, Dr. King reminded them of the long tradition of the church's conceptualization of justice: A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust (293).

In the name of eternal and natural law, Dr. King joined in the long train of reformers, dating in the American and Western tradition to Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience, to the Continental Congress's "Declaration of Independence," and John Locke's apostrophe to democracy, his "Essay on Civil Government." Dr. King's words still urge us all to sharpen our sensitivity to universal law that makes each of us "free at last."

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "I Have a Dream." A Testament of Hope.
San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1986. 217-220.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham City Jail." A Testament of Hope. 
San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1986. 289-302.

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