ENG2602 PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT.

ENG2602 PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT. ENG2602 - Genres In Literature And Language. In this speech, Indira Gandhi focuses on the inequality in life caused by race. She addresses the racial problems we have experienced in society and talks about Martin Luther King’s dream of having a world where race / colour is not an issue. In this essay I will look at the linguistic strategies and features used in order to persuade the reader / listener. This speech appeals to the general public as well as political leaders as she draws our attention to those who need us most and those Dr. King cared about, “Dr. King’s dream embraced the poor and the oppressed of all lands.” She wrote this speech to appeal to political leaders to not judge men by their financial status, colour or their social background, but to stop the wars and live in peace amongst others. She wants persuade us to follow Dr. King’s dream and all live in peace, “That is the most effective and lasting tribute that we can pay to Dr. King.” She uses linguistic features in order to let the reader realize she wants us to live this dream. The use of emotive language can be seen throughout the speech. “He spoke of the right of man to survive and recognized three threats to the survival of man - racial injustice, poverty and war.” No one wants to just survive in life, as surviving is not living, this appeals to the reader that something needs to be done, she then follows this up with the mentioning and emphasising by using a hyphen of three threats to our survival. This catches the reader’s attention because “racial injustice, poverty and war.” are some things that any right-minded person would like to avoid as much as possible. She also tells us that the road to equality will not be an easy one, “There may be setbacks in our fight for the equality of all men. There may be moments of gloom.” Yet she assures us that it will be worthwhile, “But victory must and will be ours. We can also see the use of repetition of words to appeal to our emotions. The word “spirit” is used to tell the reader that although Dr. King has died, his dream and wish for humankind still goes on and we should strive to achieve it. She talks about “the lamp of affluence which was held aloft by science”, to emphasize the importance the world has placed on science, they spend endless amounts of money without even thinking of giving to the poor but always chasing the next invention and discovery. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :01:34 GMT -05:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH ANDREAS JACOBUS VAN TONDER 3 The two oxymorons in paragraph two is used literally by the speaker to give emphasis of what is needed to get rid of what is wrong and they are complete opposites, “Only through truth can untruth be vanquished. Only through love can hatred be quenched.” Furthermore to place emphasis on the goodness of Dr. King she compares him to influential figures of history,” This is the path of the Buddha and of Christ, and in our own times, that of Mahatma Gandhi and of Martin Luther King.” The connotation of, “bondage anywhere” tells the reader that we are bound to our situation if we do not change. She emphasizes the restrictions we face by the use of alliteration “fully free.” To pull the reader into the speech and get them to back the speaker’s argument, she uses inclusive language like “we ourselves”, “All of us”, “But victory must and will be ours.”, etc. To emphasize the dream of togetherness that Dr. King had for humanity she uses a simile within a comparison in which we are compared to flowers in a garden and although we are all different colors / races we should be in peace and all strive to look at the sun or the future, “His dream was that white and black, brown and yellow would live together as flowers in a garden with their faces turned towards the sun.” The personification in the expression “living fact.” Makes us realise that this is a problem we have to deal with even if we don’t want to care. Indira Gandhi has made decent use of the linguistic features to touch the readers’ emotions and persuade them that even with today’s technology and science we still have the major issue of inequality and have a far way before we can solve this problem. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :01:34 GMT -05:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH ANDREAS JACOBUS VAN TONDER 4 Section B Question 3 The poem, “The Old Woman’s Message” by Kumalau Tawali, is about a dying old woman, pleading to see her sons one last time before she dies. In this essay I will analyse the poets’ use of poetic devices, diction, structure, etc. to make a point about the speaker’s lament.