In "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Martin Luther King strives to justify the need for nonviolent direct action in order to end all forms of segregation and helping the civil rights movement. He wrote there are unjust laws and just laws. He believes segregation laws were unjust because it damages the personality and makes African American lives below the standards given to them by the Constitution. He believes just laws to be laws that are for everybody and it positively affects the group. He wrote this in response to his fellow clergyman's assertion that breaking the law is not how to achieve equality. King countered that one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. King writes this letter to persuade his clergymen to remain strong and keep fighting to end racism and prejudice.…
“We have waited for more than 340 years for our Constitutional and God given rights” (King, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 3). Racial equality; something that black Americans along with white Americans have been fighting to get for far too long. Both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama want to see the black community get out from under the many years of discrimination and blatant racism that they have been subject to. In many ways we can see President Obama following in the footsteps of Dr. King’s teachings in the…
Written by Martin Luther King Jr., the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a paragon of persuasive writing that takes advantage of ethos, pathos, and logos in order to convince its readers to take MLK’s side during the American civil rights movement. The use of ethos defines MLK as a credible writer; the use of pathos appeals to his audience on a personal level; and the use of logos layers his arguments and claims with irrefutable reasoning and logic. By using all three techniques, MLK is able to hold the attention of his readers and persuade them to take his side in the battle against segregation.…
In Martin Luther King’s letter, “letters from Birmingham Jail” he uses ethos and allusion to advocate for civil disobedience. He uses ethos by stating “I would agree with Saint Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all.” (Page 7) This shows ethos because it uses the credible source, Saint Augustine. By him being credible because he’s famous/well known, more people are able to understand and believe in what Martin was trying to suggest. He was trying to say by using this quote that that some laws are unreasonable and should not be followed if they are not fair or equal and do not help or protect the people. Another way Martin is able to advocate civil disobedience is his use of allusions. In the text it says “To put in the terms of saint…
Most people agree that bullying is unethical, hurtful, damaging and that schools should not condone it. Furthermore, some concede that schools should educate students about bullying, and the psychological harm bullying has on victims. For instance, according to stopbulling.gov kids who are bullied are more likely to experience depression and anxiety. Bullies should not be allowed to define what bullying is, nor should they determine how a victim should feel about being bullied. In the same way an oppressor is someone who gains from other people’s suffering or misfortune. Which poses the question, should the oppressor have a say on how the oppressed should feel about inequality?…
Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a response to Dr. King's follow clergymen criticism. The topic of Dr. Kings letters from a Birmingham prison is the nonviolent protest being done in Birmingham, Alabama in the fight for African Americans civil rights. Some clergymen, mostly white American men, believe the nonviolent protest Dr. King and African Americans were during was "unwise" and "untimely". The main argument Dr. King is making in the letter is the protest being done in Birmingham is "wise" and most important "timely". The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. Take for instance when the part of the letter when Dr. King talks about different men, both biblical…
In Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, he enhances his argument through the use of logos and allusion. MLK uses logos on page 6 when he states "Birmingham is the most thoroughly segregated city in the U.S." He is comparing Birminghams segregation to every other city in the U.S. He supports his argument with factual evidence. These facts make his argument more believable and reliable. MLK also uses allusion on page 8 when he states " We can never forget that everything that Hitler did in Germany was legal." He mentions Hitler to help support him in his argument by hoping that you will compare it to the segregation that was happening at the time and realize that the people participating in the acts believe it is moral or okay.…
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, written by Martin Luther King Jr., is a poignant reflection on how racial inequality was in the 1960s and the matters of handling it. Many aspects used in the letter to make it strongly written lead to the cause as to why it is so powerful for the reader. There are many considerations that are taken when reading a piece such as Letter from a Birmingham Jail in order to analyze the effectiveness of his argument. King is able to use rhetoric and other literary figures throughout the letter, ranging from the strong use of pathos to gaining the credibility from his specified audience with the reoccurring biblical references. Martin Luther King delivers a strong argument in the Letter from a Birmingham Jail with his use of rhetoric and magniloquence.…
Why was I arrested in Birmingham? Dr. Martin Luther King wrote this letter after being arrested and during his imprisonment in a Birmingham Jail for participating in a peaceful march without a city permit. This letter was created because of eight white religious leaders of the south expressing their concerns and cautions for his method of a nonviolent expression of inequality. The march was brought to light unfair racial practices against Negros. Since the founding of America, slavery has existed with slow improvements over time. The major improvements have been accomplished by peaceful public demonstrations rather than violent exercises. Dr. King believed in a peaceful approach to changing the minds of community leader’s was smarter than a violent physical exhibition that resulted in death, injury, and increased hatred and resentment between all parties. He had learned and experienced that meeting with community leaders to discuss and resolve problems resulting in…
Martin Luther King, Jr is a great black man who accomplished many things for the Negros. Martin Luther King, Jr is a pastor and head leader of the Christian church. At his time there was many racism going on against the Negros. Blacks would suffer from violence and discrimination from the whites. Colored people did not have the same rights as the American whites. For years, the discrimination and racism was going on. But a firm believer of freedom, Pastor Jr was determined to fight for equal rights for all the Blacks and put a stop to the discrimination. On the Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Martin Luther King, Jr, He creates an emotion of appeals in logos, ethos, and pathos. For example Pastor, Jr said, “when you suddenly find your…
2. In paragraph one, King states that he wants to address his audience’s statement “in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” He starts off like this because King wants everything to be peaceful and drama-free. In paragraph two, King said, “Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary.” This piece of evidence is explaining that he was there to take part in something nonviolent. This connects back to what he said in paragraph one because since this is a nonviolent action, he wishes for everything to be civil so everything can worked out as planned. This sets the tone as very calm and straight to the point because King means…
In April of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama. He was charged with parading without a permit. Before being arrested, he was there supporting and leading the African-American civil rights movement. King was a man of religion, education, and also a figure for the civil rights movement in the 1900s. One of the points he expresses in his letter is the difference between a just and unjust law, a morally right law compared to a morally wrong law.…
“Martin Luther King Jr is the best man alive He the only person who stood up for his rights.…
Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have…
For our honors portfolio this quarter we were required to read three documents. We, then, were quizzed over each of the readings. First, we read “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr., then, we read the transcript of President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, and last but not least, we read “Millennial Makeover” by Morley Winograd and Michael Hais. Furthermore, we had to read and analyze the documents because the quizzes required us to think deeper than the written words on the paper. I believe these documents are critical because they have shaped the government and our society today.…