Name Name Essay #2 Power of Equal Opportunity Few people are able to give a speech as eloquently as Martin Luther King Jr. or write a paper with the same power of persuasion as Andrew Carnegie. These two men are able to illustrate similar points through completely different eyes. King is an African American and came from a middle-class family and grew up during the 1930s and 1940s. Carnegie, on the other hand, started out poverty-stricken and was able to make a fortune through ‘opportunity’ in the mid-1800s. King and Carnegie both wanted our society to move toward a state of equal opportunity, but each expressed their views to the public, in a different context, in an attempt to conjure feelings that would in turn cause a reaction and provide a solution. At first glance King’s speech and Carnegie’s paper have little in common. Their writing styles are on opposite ends of a broad spectrum due to their background and upbringing. Carnegie uses logic in his speech and is very formal and structured. His writing style reflected his lifestyle, he was a straightforward businessman and who was able to appreciate simplicity and get straight to the point. Carnegie clearly communicates with the reader by listing some examples of ways to distribute ones wealth then following with his views on the subject and examples. “Leaving wealth at death for public uses… is only a means for the disposal of wealth”(Moser, 164) shows how Carnegie sets up his argument and carries it through. King, as opposed to Carnegie, uses an appeal to ethos in his speech and he uses literary techniques to emphasize his points. Through his sermon –like speech King was able to draw emotion out of his listeners, he came from a long line of ministers and in pursuing that career he mastered the art of preaching. When King said the words “Let freedom ring”(Moser, 197) he was using the literary technique of allusion to invoke Patriotic feelings from within his listener. King also alludes to the Gettysburg address, an important speech in which Abraham Lincoln gives concerning the civil war. Lincoln hoped that with the end of the civil war would come a rebirth of our nation where opportunity is provided and equality is favored. King was still fighting for the development of these ideas 100 years later when he gave his speech at the Lincoln memorial while literally and symbolically standing in Lincoln’s shadow. Although King used powerful symbolism and allusion in his speech Carnegie’s persuasive tone presented a message just as strong as King’s message. With equality in opportunity our nation would be given a greater chance to succeed and utilize its talents. Opportunity is “ a good position, chance, or prospect for advancement”(dictionary.com) and should be regardless of wealth and ethnic background. Carnegie was a self made man, he was able to rise up out of poverty and succeed. He believed that with the right opportunities others could rise like him. So, Carnegie feels we should contribute some of our money toward providing opportunities so that those who deserve to succeed are given a greater chance. Carnegie stresses that when certain people are given an opportunity they do not waste the chance they were given but use it to attain a greater gift than money, “help those who will help themselves” (Moser, 165). That gift being “helped in body and mind…improve the public taste…improve general condition of people”(165). King presses for equality in the opportunities among different races in his speech. He proclaims, “Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children” (Moser, 195). King wanted to see a change, no longer should his people (Negroes) be “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (194). During Carnegie’s time and King’s time, although our Constitution says all men (women) are created equal, rarely were different social classes and races treated equally. Carnegie and King were both compelled to befriend a fellow group and work toward equality and opportunities. Like King’s speech, Carnegie’s paper was written to inform our nation of the inequalities that exists and produce a reaction that would bring us closer to equality. Carnegie suggests using ones fortunes toward recreation, art and public institutions as ways to provide opportunities. Public parks, zoos and walking trails are all forms of recreation that Carnegie is talking about. These areas would be free for everyone and a place where all nationalities could unite and play. King was able to relate to these ideas, he felt that we should no longer be segregated. Art is an opportunity you cannot take away, the feeling or message will remain with you. Art is created regardless of color or economic situations and may only be influenced by ones environment. It allows interpretation and understanding and is able to unite people through a common understanding. Lastly, public institutions, such as, libraries, schools, museums and churches should be set up to allow all social classes and races to expand their minds. Unfortunately during the 1890s Jim Crow laws still existed making public institutions, such as schools, segregated. King and Carnegie pushed toward similar institutions that would allow equality to exist. Even though Carnegie discussed economic issues as opposed to King’s racial issues, many of these problems are intertwined. It is hardly coincidence that the majority of poverty stricken US residence are African American. Wealth was written 26 years after the civil war during a time of restoring social class and racial equality. This point is rather intriguing because Carnegie started out in the lower class and used the opportunities given to him to work to the top. Therefore Carnegie was able to relate to many of the lower class African Americans, just as King could relate to all persons who are discriminated against. In King’s speech he recited over and over again the words “Let freedom ring” and our constitution grants all citizens of the United States certain freedoms. These freedoms are our “rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Moser, 195). In King’s time, Jim Crow laws still existed, which enforced segregation. King’s words now take on a new meaning and should be changed to “let opportunity ring”. Carnegie insists that the upper class should use their good fortune to raise others up. He wrote “those worthy of assistance seldom require assistance”(165). It is rare that all citizens are given an equal chance, but our freedoms are now equal. Let equal opportunity and equal rights prevail. Works Cited Albin, Kira. Rosa Parks: The Woman Who Changed a Nation. Published Interview. 1996. http://www.grandtimes.com/rosa.html Lexico Publishing Group. 2003. www.dictionary.com Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site Interpretive Staff. “Jim Crow” Laws. 1995. http://www.nps.gov/malu/documents/jim_crow_laws.htm Moser, Joyce and Ann Watters. Creating America Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ; 2002.