Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail

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. Martin Luther King opens the letter by addressing to his “dear fellow clergymen”, which leads onto the reader knowing the audience and how it will affect the tone of the letter. King constantly brings up their argument in order to counter argue what they have been saying about his activities against segregation. Moreover, there are the constant remarks made that
show he is directing towards their original statement against his actions. These statements would appear frequently in the beginning of the paragraphs in order to set the basis for what the paragraph will be arguing. For example, there was an instance in the first sentence of paragraph 19 where he mentions exactly who he is talking to when referring to the generalized category of clergymen. King states he is speaking towards his “…Christian and Jewish brothers…” Mentioning the audience is very essential to the letter because understanding whom the audience will allow the reader to understand why some of his statements would be so effective towards his argument. The beginning of Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the first sentence to be exact, states exactly why Martin Luther is writing the letter to begin with. The sentence states that the situation at hand is a statement made by the clergymen where they called his present activities “unwise and untimely”. This prompts King to find the purpose of writing the letter, which is mainly to refute the clergymen’s statement. In the beginning of most of the paragraphs, the sentence will start off with “You…” or “In your statement…” These introductory sentences will specify on a detail of the statement the clergymen made and lead into his dispute onto that specific facet. Furthermore, with the reason now set down for King’s dispute, he would enforce why he disagrees with the statement with the strong use of logos, ethos, and pathos. All in all, it becomes clear that the purpose of the letter would be to explain his side of the story as to why the actions against the discrimination are done when they are and why they are necessary for the city of Birmingham. Letter from a Birmingham Jail elaborates a great deal on how the Negro population is being affected from the segregation. Martin Luther King goes on to explain how Birmingham is the most segregated city in the United States, but police brutality is known in every corner of the United States. This identifies that the continental U.S. was caught deep in the plaque of segregation. Moreover, King goes on to explain that the country, known as a country of freedom, is not advancing in social equality like third world countries in Asia and Africa. In this time period, this country was seen as corrupt when regarding segregation and the severe discrimination the Negroes had. Martin Luther King greatly emphasizes this in order to get a more effective argument of why he chose his actions over any others. In its entirety, the argument in this renowned letter by Martin Luther King, Jr. supports the claim effectively that he is elaborating on. The claim that is the backbone for the letter is based off the fact that he believes the actions he is making with others are perfectly justifiable. King supports this claim completely by his use of rhetoric, such as ethos, pathos, logos, anaphora, and so on. In the letter, Martin Luther King is able to gain his credibility by his use of biblical reference, get sympathized for with the examples of harsh discrimination experienced, and use logical evidence in order to have a well-rounded and convincing point in his argument. The constant use of repetition and anaphora is able to emphasize even further the point he is trying to get across that is based off the claim. King’s argument of having reasonable actions is heavily filled with the support of what he sees on a daily basis to the Negroes of America and with the beliefs he has regarding religion and other logical viewpoints. Martin Luther King greatly supports the argument of why what his actions are should not be categorized as “unwise and untimely”.
With the elaborate illustrations written out in Letter from a Birmingham Jail, he is able to obtain credibility, sympathy, and the ability to make logical remarks to defend his reasoning. Many other aspects incorporated into the letter allow for a better understanding of his choice of words. For example, the audience being mentioned allows the reader to understand why the use of biblical reference and mentioning facts about the churches in Birmingham. Knowing the society during this time period would be essential to understanding the cause of the letter as well. Altogether, Martin Luther King Jr. is very effective in delivering his point of view in the letter to his fellow Christiana and Jewish
brothers.