Analysis Of Letter From A Birmingham Jail By Langston Hughes
While Langston Hughes questions his identity in his 1951 poem, “Theme for English B”, the piece closely relates to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” considering that both works relay the authors underlying values of equality.
King uses his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to promote the efficacy of integration and address the tensions present between races in the United States. After the courts failed to appease King by restricting his ability to hold protests in Birmingham, Alabama, he was sent to jail for conducting non-violent protests. While imprisoned, he mentioned that he is “cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states” and expresses that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” …show more content…
He continues on to mention that while sometimes white people do not want to be a part of black citizens, nor do the black citizens want to be part of the white citizens, they truly are. These lines are the underlying connection between King’s and Hughes’ work. Both authors are suggesting that while black and white people are different, everyone who lives in the same country belong together as one. The way that King lays his framework for the badly needed equality throughout the country mildly contrasts the views that Hughes addresses. While Hughes uses a rhetorical question to develop his idea of interconnectedness, King’s incisiveness throughout his letter urges his audience to jump right to his point, meaning King’s piece is a lot more clear-cut than Hughes’ work. Furthermore, while both writers emanate the same argument, the way that King proposes his message is with greater urgency compared to the passive way that Hughes relays his point. Even though the authors share the same argument in that the United States needs to, ironically, become united, the different methods that King and Hughes use allows for variances among the two perspectives.
While Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and
Langston Hughes’ “Theme for English B” use different styles to emphasize their rationales of social tolerance among races, the pieces closely relate to each other in view of the fact that both authors are fighting for the development of racial equality throughout the
King uses his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to promote the efficacy of integration and address the tensions present between races in the United States. After the courts failed to appease King by restricting his ability to hold protests in Birmingham, Alabama, he was sent to jail for conducting non-violent protests. While imprisoned, he mentioned that he is “cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states” and expresses that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” …show more content…
He continues on to mention that while sometimes white people do not want to be a part of black citizens, nor do the black citizens want to be part of the white citizens, they truly are. These lines are the underlying connection between King’s and Hughes’ work. Both authors are suggesting that while black and white people are different, everyone who lives in the same country belong together as one. The way that King lays his framework for the badly needed equality throughout the country mildly contrasts the views that Hughes addresses. While Hughes uses a rhetorical question to develop his idea of interconnectedness, King’s incisiveness throughout his letter urges his audience to jump right to his point, meaning King’s piece is a lot more clear-cut than Hughes’ work. Furthermore, while both writers emanate the same argument, the way that King proposes his message is with greater urgency compared to the passive way that Hughes relays his point. Even though the authors share the same argument in that the United States needs to, ironically, become united, the different methods that King and Hughes use allows for variances among the two perspectives.
While Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and
Langston Hughes’ “Theme for English B” use different styles to emphasize their rationales of social tolerance among races, the pieces closely relate to each other in view of the fact that both authors are fighting for the development of racial equality throughout the