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The Rhetoric of Redemption Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1992 The Rhetoric of Redemption: A Development of Kenneth Burke's Theory of Guilt-Purification- Redemption and Its Application to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech. David A. Bobbitt Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Bobbitt, David A., "The Rhetoric of Redemption: A Development of Kenneth Burke's Theory of Guilt-Purification-Redemption and Its Application to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech." (1992). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5372. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5372 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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University MicroHms International A Be" & Howeii information Company BOO Nortti 3 e?eb Roaa AnnAfbot Ml4 8 1 0 6 1346 U S A 313 761 4 700 8 0 0 531 0 6 0 0 Order Number 0302890 The rhetoric of redemption: A development of Kenneth Burke’s theory of guilt-purification-redemption and its application to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech Bobbitt, David A., Ph.D. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1992 Copyright ©1993 by Bobbitt, David A. All rights reserved. UMI .100 N. Zeeh Rd. Ann Arbor, Mi 4K10b THE RHETORIC OF REDEMPTION: A DEVELOPMENT OF KENNETH BURKE’S THEORY OF GUILT-PURIFICATION-REDEMPTION AND ITS APPLICATION TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.'S "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication by David A. Bobbitt B.S., The University of Tennessee, 1976 M.A., Memphis State University, 1986 M.A., The University of Iowa, 1988 August 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................... iv ABSTRACT .................................................. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 Overview of the Study ........................ 1 Statement of the Problem ..................... 2 Review of Relevant Literature ............... 9 Methodology .................................... 14 Organization of the Study .................... 2 5 Significance of the Study .................... 2? Notes ........................................... 29 2 AGENT AND SCENE ............................... 30 Agent--Intellectual Influences .............. 30 The Scene--March on Washington .............. 40 Note ............................................ 60 3 ACT .............................................. 61 Audience and Response ........................ 61 Redemption Drama .............................. 64 Dramatic Alignment ............................ 69 Pentadic Ratio Anlysis ....................... 71 Guilt ........................................... 74 Notes 8 5 4 PURIFICATION AND REDEMPTION ................. 86 Purification ................................... 86 Victimage and Mortification ................. 89 Transcendence .................................. 96 Change, Movement, and Dramatic Catharsis ... 117 Redemption 12 3 5 METAPHORIC ANALYSIS ........................... 127 A Brief History of the Theory of Metaphor ., 128 The Interaction Theory of Metaphor ......... 138 The Second Persona ............................ 144 Metaphoric Clusters ........................... 146 Metaphor in "I Have a Dream" ................ 148 Conclusion ..................................... 167 CHAPTER 6 EVALUATION OF THE THEORY OF GUILT-PURIFICATION-REDEMPTION .............. 172 Critique of Burke's Theory of Guilt .......... 17 3 Modes of Purification .......................... 180 Guilt-Purification-Redemption as a Cultural Form ........................... 18 8 Conclusion ....................................... 198 Note ........ ..................................... 200 7 EVALUATION OF "I HAVE A DREAM" AND ITS LEGACY ............................... 201 "I Have a Dream" as a Cultural Icon ......... 201 The Message/Form of the "Dream" Speech ..... 204 The Civil Rights Consensus Versus Black Power ........................... 206 The Shortcomings of This Message/Form ....... 218 The Legacy of "I Have a Dream" ............... 223 Consequences of a Rhetoric of Assimilation .. 227 Conclusion ...................................... 242 Note ........ 244 8 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ........................ 245 Conclusions ..................................... 245 Suggestions for Further Research ............. 247 Concluding Remarks ............................. 251 REFERENCES ................................................. 254 VITA ........................................................ 268 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my thanks to my dissertation director, Dr, Andrew King. His suggestions and comments on the manuscript have made this a far better dissertation than it otherwise would have been. The many hours of conversation he spent with me discussing my ideas for this study are greatly appreciated. The value of his encouragement and support has been immeasurable. The enthusiasm and interest he has shown throughout this project have gone far beyond what would normally be expected of a dissertation director. I would also like to express my gratitude to the other members of my dissertation committee. My initial interest in the study of the rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr. was encouraged while doing course work under Dr. Harold Mixon. In his respectful and gentle demeanor he is a model of scholarly professionalism. I would also like to thank Dr. Kenneth Zagacki for allowing me to do study under his supervision on the rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr., and for his diligent reading of my work. His comments and suggestions have greatly improved the final product. I would also like to thank Dr. Donald Ragsdale, Dr. Edward Henderson, and Dr. Earl Cheek for serving on my dissertation committee and for providing many helpful comments and insights, iv The majority of the research for this project was conducted with the resources of the Troy H. Middleton Library at Louisiana State University. The courteous and professional assistance of its staff was greatly appreciated. X would also like to thank the staff at the Mississippi Valley Collection of the John Willard Brister Library at Memphis State University for their assistance with the use of that collection of materials. Finally, I would like to especially thank Danny Bellinger and Bruce Keys of the King Library and Archives at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia. They were extremely helpful in assisting me with locating material valuable to this study. v ABSTRACT This dissertation presents an exposition and development of Kenneth Burke's theory of guilt-purification- redemption (also referred to as the "redemption drama"), and then an application of that theory through a critical analysis of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech. King's speech is treated as the "representative anecdote" of the moderate wing of the first phase of the civil rights movement. The speech became an authorizing text on race relations and provided the movement with an articulation of its logic and narrative form. Usually Burke's theory is seen as positing two primary modes of purification of guilt: victimage and mortification. This study develops aspects of the victimage/mortification family of purificatory modes not previously considered by Burke or Burkean scholars. It also identifies and develops two other categories of purificatory modes --purification through rhetorical transcendence and purification through images of change, movement, and dramatic catharsis--which have received little attention from Burkean scholars. In
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