I Have a Dream

What is the best definition for the word “languished” as it is used in Paragraph 2 of the speech?

• Suffering from being forced to remain in an unpleasant place or situation

• Left alone

• Learning from a difficult experience

What is the purpose of the metaphor comparing the promise made to the American people to a bad check?

• To show that the reason that African American people are treated unfairly is because they don’t have money to support themselves.

• To emphasize that the American people have indeed promised freedom to the African American community and have not kept their promise.

• To show that the American government never keeps its promises, not even in economic situations

• To Illustrate the importance of keeping a budget and being smart about your hard earned money

What can you conclude from the first paragraph about Martin Luther King Jr.’s attitude about the “March on Washington”?

• He does not approve of such a risky demonstration

• He believes there will never again be an event like this one

• He worries that young people in the future will not know about the event

• He believes the demonstration is unprecedented in American history.

What is the best definition for the word “gradualism” as it is used in paragraph 5?

• The principle of policy of achieving some goal by gradual steps rather than by drastic change

• Philosophy. A theory maintaining that two seemingly conflicting notions are not radically opposed

• Biology. A tenet evolutionary theory maintaining that species evolve slowly and continuously over long periods of geological time.

What is the purpose of the metaphor comparing racial injustice to quicksand in paragraph 5?

• To emphasize to his audience that now is the time to fight for their rights because not taking immediate action will only cause them to sink further into social injustice

• To explain to his audience why he had given up on some aspects of his dream

• To tell his audience about the physical dangers of doing nothing

• To warn the white community that they too are in danger of injustice

What can you conclude about MLK’s attitude toward white people from what he says in paragraph 9?

• MLK has great difficulties not hating white people, but uses self-control to forgive them for what they have done

• MLK believes that white people are not intelligent enough to know what they have done wrong

• MLK wants to make sure that the African American community does not take their anger out on all white people because many white people have joined the fight for racial equality

• MLK does not blame any white people for the racial injustice that many African American people have experienced.

Based on what MLK says in paragraphs 11-14, when will the African American people be satisfied?

• They will be satisfied when there is racial justice and equality in all of America

• The African American people will never be satisfied.

• They will be satisfied when white people pay for what they have done.

• They will be satisfied when they can vote.

What is MLK’s purpose for the repetition of the phrase “we cannot be satisfied”?

• To emphasize the suffering and dissatisfaction of the African American people

• To be sure his audience understands that they should never be satisfied

• To let his audience know that their work is not finished

• To create a poetic feeling to his speech using rhyme and repetition

What can you conclude about MLK’s audience from what he says in paragraph 16?

• They already agree with each and every point that MLK makes

• They are giving up

• They have come from all over the country and all walks of life to see him speak

• They are mostly white people who have come to discourage MLK

Which is most likely the reason MLK specifically mentions Georgia, Mississipi, and Alabama as he describes his dream?

• These were the states in which many felt that it was impossible to overcome racial injustice

• These states were the most cooperative with the Civil Rights Movement

• These are the states in which MLK has lived and seen for himself

• These are the states in which most of his audience resides