First Phase : 50 Objective Questions & Answer

1. Who delivered the speech “I Have a Dream”? Ans: Martin Luther King Jr.
2. When was the “I Have a Dream” speech delivered?
   Ans: August 28, 1963
3. Where the speech was delivered?
   Ans: Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
4. What event was the speech a part of?
   Ans: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
5. What document does King reference as a “beacon of hope”?
   Ans: Emancipation Proclamation
6. How many years after the Emancipation Proclamation was the speech given?
   Ans: One hundred years
7. What does King say the life of the Negro is “sadly crippled by”?
   Ans: Manacles of segregation
8. What metaphor does King use for America’s promise to African Americans?
   Ans: “insufficient funds”
9. What does King say they have come to the nation’s capital to do?
   Ans: Cash a check
10. The Author Advactes-
    Ans: non-violent struggle
11. What does King urge the people to avoid?
    Ans: Physical violence
12. On what plane must they conduct their struggle?
    Ans: High plane of dignity and discipline
13. What new militancy has engulfed the Negro community?
    Ans: Marvelous new militancy
14. What does King say will not pass until there is freedom?
    Ans: Sweltering summer of discontent
15. What biblical allusion does King use for justice?
    Ans: Justice rolls down like waters
16. From what mountain does King want righteousness to flow?
    Ans: Mighty stream
17. How many times does King repeat “I have a dream”?
    Ans: Eight times
18. Martin Luther King Jr was born on –
    Ans: 1929
19. My children will not be judged by the………?
    Ans: colour
    20.Nobel Prize for peace was given to Martin Luther King Jr in?
    Ans: 1964
20. What does King say freedom must ring from?
    Ans: Every village and every hamlet
21. How many states does King mention for freedom to ring?
    Ans: All fifty states
22. What song does King reference in his dream?
    Ans: My country ’tis of thee
23. What does King say will rise from the dark and desolate valley?
    Ans: Stone of hope
24. What does King call the Negro’s legitimate discontent?
    Ans: Sweltering summer
25. Who signed the Emancipation Proclamation?
    Ans: Abraham Lincoln
26. What year was the Emancipation Proclamation signed?
    Ans: 1863
27. What does King say the Negro lives on?
    Ans: Lonely island of poverty
28. What does King say surrounds the Negro?
    Ans: Vast ocean of material prosperity
29. What does King urge: “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness”?
    Ans: Yes, to avoid bitterness
30. What is the “whirlwind of revolt” according to King?
    Ans: Negro’s revolt
31. Nigroes are the former…….of America?
    Ans: slaves
32. What police brutality does King mention?
    Ans: Against Negroes
33. What does King say about Georgia’s highways?
    Ans: Negroes cannot enjoy
34. What does King reference from Amos?
    Ans: Let justice roll down like waters
35. What Nobel Prize did King win?
    Ans: Nobel Peace Prize in 1964
36. Where was King born?
    Ans: Atlanta, Georgia
37. What degree did King earn from Boston University?
    Ans: Ph.D.
38. What movement was King a leader of?
    Ans: Civil Rights Movement
39. What assassination ended King’s life?
    Ans: April 4, 1968
40. What does “manacles” symbolize in the speech?
    Ans: Chains of segregation
41. What is the “promissory note” in King’s metaphor?
    Ans: Constitution and Declaration of Independence
42. What does King say the bank of justice is?
    Ans: Not bankrupt
43. What does King want to rise from the prodigious hilltops?
    Ans: Sunlit path of freedom
44. What crooked places does King want made straight?
    Ans: Crooked places
45. Martin Luther King Jr. has….. Children
    Ans: four
46. From what does King want freedom to ring first?
    Ans: Lookout Mountain of Tennessee
47. The “bank of justice” Is?
    Ans: bankrupt
48. What state has “snowcapped Rockies of Colorado”?
    Ans: Colorado
49. What does King say will be transformed into an oasis?
    Ans: Lone island of poverty

Second Phase : 10 Short Type Subjective Questions Answers

1. Who delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech and when?
   Ans: Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the speech on August 28, 1963. It was part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
2. What historical document does King reference at the beginning?
   Ans: King references the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln. He calls it a great beacon of hope for millions of Negro slaves.
3. What metaphor does King use for America’s unfulfilled promises?
   Ans: King uses the metaphor of a bad check marked “insufficient funds.” This represents the broken promise of equality in the Constitution and Declaration.
4. Why does King say it would be fatal for the nation?
   Ans: It would be fatal to overlook the urgency of the moment and underestimate the Negro’s determination. This could lead to prolonged discontent and revolt.
5. What does King urge the civil rights movement to avoid?
   Ans: King urges avoiding physical violence and satisfying thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness. He advocates nonviolent resistance.
6. What biblical allusion does King use for justice?
   Ans: King alludes to the Bible (Amos) saying, “Justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” This emphasizes moral imperative for equality.
7. How many times does King repeat “I have a dream”?
   Ans: King repeats “I have a dream” eight times. This repetition builds rhythm and emphasizes his vision of racial harmony.
8. What does King dream for his four little children?
   Ans: He dreams they will live in a nation where they are judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. This highlights equality.
9. From how many places does King want freedom to ring?
   Ans: King wants freedom to ring from every village, hamlet, and all fifty states. This symbolizes nationwide unity for justice.
10. What is the pledge King mentions at the end?
    Ans: The pledge is to march ahead for freedom and never turn back. It commits to nonviolent struggle until equality is achieved.

Third Phase : 10 Long Type Subjective Questions Answers

1. What is the central theme of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and how does he use historical references to support it?
   Ans: The central theme is the urgent need for racial equality and an end to segregation, envisioning a united America. King supports this by referencing the Emancipation Proclamation as a “beacon of hope” signed 100 years earlier, yet unfulfilled, and the Constitution’s “promissory note” of freedom that returned as a bad check. He contrasts America’s vast ocean of prosperity with the Negro’s lonely island of poverty, urging immediate action. Through these allusions, King invokes America’s founding ideals to shame the nation into honoring its promises.
2. How does King use metaphors in his speech to highlight racial injustice?
   Ans: King masterfully employs metaphors to vividly depict injustice, such as America giving Negroes a “bad check” marked “insufficient funds,” symbolizing broken promises of equality from the Constitution. He describes the Negro’s life as “sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation,” evoking chains of slavery persisting in modern form. The “sweltering summer of discontent” contrasts with an “invigorating autumn of freedom,” portraying ongoing oppression as stifling heat needing cool relief. These images make abstract discrimination tangible, stirring empathy.
3. Explain the significance of repetition in King’s speech and give examples.
   Ans: Repetition, especially anaphora, creates rhythm, emphasis, and emotional power, making the speech memorable and persuasive. King repeats “One hundred years later” to underscore unfulfilled promises since emancipation, building frustration. “We cannot be satisfied” lists injustices like police brutality and ghetto isolation, rejecting complacency. The iconic “I have a dream” is repeated eight times, each envisioning harmony—like children of all races joining hands in Mississippi. “Let freedom ring” from states evokes a nationwide chorus of liberty.
4. What does King mean by “unearned suffering is redemptive,” and how does it relate to nonviolence?
   Ans: By “unearned suffering is redemptive,” King means that enduring injustice without retaliation purifies the cause and exposes oppressors’ moral bankruptcy, leading to redemption for society. He draws from Christian theology, where innocent suffering transforms evil into good. In the speech, this ties to nonviolent resistance: Negroes must suffer segregation’s pain but respond with dignity, not violence, to win sympathy and justice. King warns against bitterness, urging struggle on a “high plane of dignity and discipline.” This philosophy fueled the Civil Rights Movement, turning lynchings and beatings into catalysts for laws like the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
5. Describe King’s vision of America in his dream and its biblical influences.
   Ans: King’s dream envisions an America where racial barriers dissolve: his children judged by character, not skin; former slaves’ and owners’ sons sharing brotherhood in Georgia; black and white children linking arms in Alabama and Mississippi. Freedom rings from all states, transforming ghettos into oases of freedom. Biblical influences abound, like valleys exalted and mountains made low from Isaiah, symbolizing leveling inequalities. Justice rolling “like waters” from Amos underscores divine mandate.”
6. How does King address both despair and hope in his speech?
   Ans: King balances despair with hope by first cataloging injustices—segregation’s manacles, poverty’s island, unsatisfying conditions—to evoke righteous anger. He acknowledges the “whirlwind of revolt” and sweltering discontent, validating pain without despair. Then, hope surges through his dream: a nation rising from “dark and desolate valley” to a “stone of hope,” with sunlit paths of freedom. Repetition of “I have a dream” shifts tone to optimism, imagining interracial harmony.
7. Why does King emphasize nonviolent protest in the speech?
   Ans: King emphasizes nonviolence to maintain moral high ground, avoid alienating allies, and align with his Christian Gandhian principles. He warns that satisfying freedom’s thirst via “cup of bitterness” or “drunkenness of violence” would derail progress. Instead, the struggle must rise to “dignity and discipline,” redeeming unearned suffering. He pledges never to turn back but conduct revolt creatively, nonviolently. This counters critics fearing chaos, positioning civil rights as redemptive. Nonviolence exposed brutality—like in Selma—winning public support for legislation.
8. What role does the audience play in King’s speech, and how does he engage them?
   Ans: The audience—250,000 marchers, including whites—is King’s partner in the collective fight, urged to return home knowing “we are on the way.” He engages through rhetorical questions like “When will you be satisfied?” provoking reflection. Direct address—”Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama”—personalizes the call, assigning missions. Repetition builds communal chant, fostering unity. Biblical and patriotic allusions connect shared heritage, while vivid dreams invite visualization.
9. How has the “I Have a Dream” speech impacted history?
   Ans: The speech galvanized the Civil Rights Movement, pressuring passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act banning segregation and 1965 Voting Rights Act. It elevated King’s global stature, earning the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. Culturally, phrases like “content of their character” became equality touchstones, inspiring anti-apartheid and LGBTQ+ fights. Added to National Recording Registry, it educates generations on nonviolence. Though challenges persist, it symbolizes hope, quoted by presidents and activists.
10. Compare King’s use of patriotism and religion in the speech?
    Ans: King weaves patriotism by invoking Lincoln’s Emancipation, the “magnificent words” of Declaration and Constitution as a promissory note, and “My country ’tis of thee” reimagined for all races. This claims America’s ideals for Negroes, shaming hypocrisy while fostering national redemption. Religion infuses moral force: biblical calls for justice “like waters,” valleys exalted per Isaiah, and redemptive suffering from Gospels. “Glory of the Lord revealed” universalizes equality as divine.