Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech has become an icon of American public culture, its imagery and words profoundly influencing the civil rights debate. In The Rhetoric of Redemption Bobbitt applies Kenneth Burke's theory of guilt-purification-redemption in a close, critical analysis of the speech, developing and examining the implications of Burke's redemption drama in contemporary public discourse. He studies the impact of the speech over time, arguing that, while King's speech contains an inspirational vision of national redemption, it does so by omitting the real difficulties of overcoming America's racial divisions.

"This is a compelling book that productively advances Kenneth Burke's theories of symbolic action, guilt-purification-redemption, and the legacy of MLK, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech for civil rights discourse in this country. Wonderfully produced ... Bobbitt's arguments are consistent, well presented, and judicious." - KB Journal