Rhetoric & I Have a Dream

King mentions the writers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in lines 19–20 because they

• faced poverty and discrimination.

• issued promissory notes to United States banks.

• believed in equality of rights for all.

• eliminated slavery.

King makes a comparison between a promissory note and the

• Gettysburg Address.

• impending debt crisis.

• Declaration of Independence.

• Emancipation Proclamation.

As people struggle to obtain justice, King warns them to avoid

• writing bad checks.

• police brutality.

• trials and tribulations.

• hatred and violence.

King notes in lines 69–70 that civil rights activists are sometimes asked, “When will you be satisfied?” What does he say will satisfy African Americans?

• peace and freedom

• a Constitutional amendment

• justice and righteousness

• creative suffering

King says that his dream

• occurred while napping on a New Hampshire hilltop.

• included Abraham Lincoln and the Governor of Alabama.

• is rooted in the American dream.

• became a nightmare of nullification.

What is the meaning of this metaphor from lines 115–116: “every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low”?

• There will be equality.

• The mighty shall fall.

• Racists will live in slums and ghettos.

• The sweltering heat of oppression will cool.

When King says that “we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood” (lines 122–124), he is illustrating the transition from

• inequality to justice.

• noise to music.

• disagreement to persuasion.

• interposition to nullification.

The phrase “let freedom ring” comes from

• the Declaration of Independence.

• the Emancipation Proclamation.

• a dream.

• a song.

Inextricably means in a way that is

• difficult to understand.

• unlikely to end.

• impossible to separate.

• lacking a purpose.

If you default, you

• forget to cash checks at the bank.

• take responsibility for your actions.

• succeed at a difficult goal.

• fail to repay a debt.