Analysis of "Letter From Birmingham Jail"

Every Individual comes to a point in their life when he or she must take a stand for what he or she believes in. For some, this may mean coming to the defense of other people, for others taking a stand could mean holding firm to beliefs or morals. In any case taking a stand is part of the human experience. Realizations, reformations, revelations, and revolutions have been brought forth in history because a dauntless individual stood firm for what he or she held to be true. Martin Luther King is famous for his daring counter-cultural beliefs and for being a man who truly made a stand in his struggle to gain civil rights for black people. A genius of the art of persuasion, King uses tremendously effective emotional appeal by engaging his audience’s patriotism, love of family, and auditory senses. King begins his emotional petition by using the audience’s patriotism as a utensil of influence. King writes “The Nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet –like speed toward gaining political independence but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” Few nationalities in the world surpass Americans in ostentatious patriotism; it is this attitude that makes Kings patriotic imploration highly effective, but the most profound phrase in King’s appeal is “but we”. Falling on American ears “but we” is an unpleasant pair of words. With only two words it is implied that in some form or fashion “we” as Americans are not measuring up to other Nations, “we” as Americans are failing in some way, “we” as Americans must somehow fulfill our inherent duty to our nation by correcting the error that “we” have made. Through the pronoun “we”, king evokes a sense of urgency and duty-bound obligation as a concerned patriot to make a change. The question “What can be done?” arises from King’s freshly tilled ground of emotion, as he sows the seeds of solution in the now fertile soil of his audiences