Tyler Fabisiak

Mr. Girba/Ms. Link

English 1H Period 4

18 November 2016

Collection 2 Essay

Martin Luther King said in his very effective towards civil rights that, Freedom is never

voluntarily given by the oppresor; it must be demanded by the oppresed. People in this world

need to understand that what this quote says is true, freedom does have to be demanded and/or

worked for. There are various reasons and pieces of evidence that support why this claim can be

made, such as examples like Martin Luther King Jr. , Robert F. Kennedy, and Lolita. In these

texts there are point of views that will help my case that one must demand their need for

freedom.

Martin Luther King Jr. had to work for a very long time to get close to where his goal was to

not even reach it. In Kings I Have A Dream speech he states, So weve come here today to

dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense weve come to our nations capital to cash a check.

(King 48) This quote demonstrates that King had to get up and make a scene about the situation

just to get people to listen to him and so he could be effective. The quote displayed is very vital

because King was never given any slice of freedom ever, he had to stand up and do something in

order to just get a taste of what he wanted in the long run for African Americans. Another piece

of Kings speech says, Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical

force with soul force. (King 49) Here, MLK shows that no matter how much people pull others

down those others must get up and not stop fighting because if they do their freedom will never

be given. Throughout the quote, it shows importance because it ties into what was displayed
throughout this paragraph, that King had to fight in order to just get a taste of what his goal

ultimately was. With this said, we have to fight for the freedom that we want.

Kennedy told the audience, in his Eulogy for Martin Luther King Jr. , that we have to still

work for what King wanted. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to

understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has

spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love. (Kennedy CR26)

This is a quote where Kennedy states that we can keep going from where King left off and work

harder than ever to earn the freedom that he wanted as were dealing with a loss of someone who

was so moving towards all people. This is a vital part in the argument because, it gives a great

example of what is trying to be proved here. ...what we need in the United States is not

violence or lawlessness but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another,and a feeling

of justice towards those who still suffer within our country,whether they be white or they be

black. (Kennedy CR27) This shows that Kennedy is trying to express to the audience that, by

fighting non-stop and having conflict is not going to get this country to where we want it to go.

Also, it means that, the freedom that they wanted is not going to be just given them, so they need

to demand it and work for it. Based on these pieces of evidence, one can understand that people

do have to demand their freedom.

In the story, Lolita in Theran written by Azar Nafisi, Sanaz did not demand her freedom

therefore it was never granted to her. She doesnt walk upright, but bends her head towards the

ground and doesnt look at passersby. (Nafisi 82) Here, one can tell that Sanaz obviously isnt

walking with any pride therefore, not making a determined effort to get the freedom she wants.

This quote is a vital part in supporting the argument because it suggests that if someone is not

going to work for the freedom they want, then they are not going to get it. They were never free
of the regimes definition of them as Muslim women. (Nafisi 83) After looking at this quote it

can be suggested that since, none of the women had fought for or demanded their freedom they

were just looked at as Muslim women and will not be looked at as free individuals. It is

important to realize that this quote clearly states why one must demand their freedom.

Although this claim is very well supported, many could argue that freedom should be given.

People like those that do not know what it is like to work for freedom probably do not think it

has to be worked for. On the other hand, many do believe that it has to be demanded because of

the way Martin Luther King Jr. , Robert F. Kennedy, and Lolita expressed their opinions. In

conclusion, people need to face reality and fight for the freedom that they want if they do not

already have it.

 Work Cited

King, Martin Luther, Jr. I Have A Dream. California Collections, Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 9th Grade Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017,

my.hrw.com, Web.

Robert F. Kennedy. Eulogy. California Collections, Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 9th Grade Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017,

my.hrw.com, Web.

Azar Nafisi. Lolita In Theran. California Collections, Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 9th Grade Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017,

my.hrw.com, web.