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Unit 02: Contribution Of World Leader
I Have a Dream
English II (C)
For Class XII (All Groups)
Short Question Answers
From Text Book Exercise
Q.1: How does Martin Luther King describe the current conditions of African Americans, despite the promises made a century earlier?Ans: Martin Luther King describes the current condition of African Americans in this way that they live a life of poverty although the country is a land of material prosperity. The Negros still are weakened and without power in the corners of American society.They find themselves an exile in their own land and they consider themselves the inferior being before the white Americans which is a shameful condition for the Negros.
Q.2: What does Martin Luther King mean when he says, "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice"?
Ans: In the era of 1960s, Martin Luther King means that it is appropriate time to leave the land of pessimism and say farewell the valley of desperation and separation for the struggle of racial justice in the American society. America is not the land of the white Americans and Negros are not the slaves of the white Americans. It is time to raise the voice against discrimination and racism.
Q.3: Why does Martin Luther King emphasize that the struggle for equality must be conducted with dignity and discipline?
Ans: Because Martin Luther King rejects violence and militancy in the cause of the struggle for equality. He does not support any measure which demolishes the Negors' struggle for equality in the form of physical violence. He does not approve of distrusting all white people in the solemn casue.
Q.4: How does the phrase "justice rolls down like waters" deepen the emotional impact of the speech?
Ans: This phrase that Martin Luther King declares that the struggle for equality and racial justice will not be stopped unless the system of a country moves smoothly on a right path and all the Black Americans must be treated equally throughout the whole country without any discrimination in the whole laud.
Q.5: What messaage does Martin Luther King connvey to his listeners through his speech?
Ans: He convey this message to his listeners not to give way to bitterness and hatred but to fight for justice in the right marnner with dignity and discipline and discouraging the options physical violence and militancy.
Q.6: What role does hope play in Martin Luther King's speech, and how does it influence the audience's response?
Ans: Hope plays a pivotal role in Martin Luther King's speech because the sense of optimism brings light to the audience in their desire to overcome challenges and achieve one's aspirations. The listernes are motivated by the norm of hope and the beacon light encourages the readers to visualize their dreams and strive for the better future.
Q.7: How does Martin Luther King use contrast between past injustices and future hopes to strengthen his argument?
Ans: King recalls the great American Abraham Lincoln who signed the Emancipation Proclamation which ensured the freedom of the African slaves but Black Americans are still not free because of racial segregation and discrimination. King praises the marvellous words 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness', of the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. This slogan leads the argument for the desire to overcome challenges and achieve one's aspirations and to visualize their dreams and strive for the better future.
More Short Question Answers
Q.8: How does Martin Luther King describe the condition of the Negros in the beginning of his speech?Ans: Martin Luther King describes that the Declaration of Independence appreared to be a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negros. He uses his anaphoric style of repetitive sentence like one hundred years later; the Negro is still not free, the Negro is still sadly crippled by the chains of segregation and discrimination, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty and the Negro is still weakened in the corners of American society finding an exile in his own land.
Q.9: Why is Martin Luther King not satisfied with the current situations for the Negro?
Ans: Martin Luther King proclaims that Negros will not be satisfied until they cannot get the rights to vote either in Mississippi or in New York. Further, he says that we will not be satisfied until 'justice rolls down like, waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.' He is not satisfied until the Negors mob turns out to be a larger one. At last, he is not satisfied until the black children got their dignity back from the whites.
Q.10: How does he use the literary device 'Anaphora' in his speech?
Ans: Martin Luther King uses the literaty device Anaphora in his speech in the form of the repetition of phrases at the beginning of the sentences. He uses anaphora such as one hundred years later, we cannot be satisfied, I have a dream, and let freedom ring from.
Q.11: How does he use the literary device 'Allusion' in his speech?
Ans: Martin Luther King uses the literary device 'Allusion' in his speech in the form of the past events without mentioning them explicitly. He uses several words and phrases from others' works or speeches. For example, the idea of constitutional rights as an 'unfulfilled promise' was suggested by Clarence Jones. The final passage from Martin Luther King's speech closely resembles Archibald Carey Jr.'s address to Republican National Convention. At last, King takes the line 'I have a dream' from activist Prathia Hall's speech at the incident of a burned-down African-American curch at the occasion of voter registration meetings.
Q.12: What is the significance of a song at the end of the speech?
Ans: Martin Luther King uses a song at the end to motivate the audience towards the nationalism. He says that his country is the sweet land of liberty and the land of Pilgrim's pride. He further mentions prominent mountainside throughout whole America such as Hilltop of New Hampshire, mighty mountains of NewYork, Snow-capped Mountains of Colorado and California, Stone Mountains of Georgia. Lookout mountain of Tennessee and molehill of Mississippi. He uses the device anaphora 'let the freedom ring' throughout the whole song.
Q.13: What are Martin Luther King's dreams related to the Blacks?
Ans: Martin Luther King has a dream that the sons of former slaves and former owners still be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood. He has a dream that the state of Mississippi will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. He has a dream that his four little children live in a situation where people cannot judge them by theft' color of the skin but by the content of the character. He has a dream that the Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
Q.14: How does Marin Luther King move away from the valley of despair?
Ans: Martin Luther King saves the Blacks from the dark valley of despair and hopelessness. He tries to be polite by calling them friends and convince them to face the challenges of life of today and tomorrow. He ultimately calls his dream is deeply rooted in the American dream He builds up his hope that one day the American nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.
Q.15: How many states and cities does Martin Luther King mention in his speech?
Ans: Martin Luther King mentions the following states and cities such as a Washington, New Hampshire, NewYork, Colorado California, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi. Alabama and Pennsylvania in his speech "1 have a dream".
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