In the long letter, Letters From Birmingham Jail, written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he clears up several misconceptions of the eight clergyman , and speaks out on inequality in the city of Birmingham and United State. King’s preferred audience in this letter is educated southern white males who hold power in their positions, however, King wants any audience that he can get. He wants to get his voice heard by as many people as possible because he knows that in a race struggle there is no one that is insignificant to equality.
The purpose of this letter is to confront the eight clergy men and their backwards views on the issue on hand. The issue that started this debacle between the eight clergy men and King, was when King organized a peaceful demonstration in the city of Birmingham. In response to this demonstration, police officers used force to arrest King and other demonstrators for failure to have a permit to parade. In the newspaper, the eight clergy men wrote about the demonstrations. In response to this, King wrote his letter to them.
In this letter King provides a very articulate and educated argument. He even quotes several sources including the bible and Socrates, without having any direct references. He talks in an even and calm manner, even though he has great passion for his cause. The restraint he has of not being sarcastic or belligerent is very admirable, and although he has a right to be angered since he is unfairly sitting in jail, he still talk with the upmost respect towards these eight men of power.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The letter written by Dr. King from the Birmingham Jail was addressed to his fellow clergyman, however when taken as a whole this writer beings to understand his audience is not limited to such a small ecclesiastic circle. In the letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King addressed multiple groups he felt contributed to the racial divide in Birmingham, namely the white majority, the Religious groups and the Moderate whites. Each group contributed to the racist climate through direct action, inaction or quiet consent.…
- 83 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is written to the audience of clergymen. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote this letter to respond to clergymen who had questions for him. Paragraphs 12-14 are the most persuasive and thorough. King uses many rhetoric mechanism and appeals. Throughout those paragraphs, there is an excessive use of: pathos, logos, ethos, metaphors, symbolism, direct addressment and parallel structure.…
- 68 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail was written on April 16, 1963 while he was incarcerated in the Birmingham City Jail. This letter addresses the criticism that a group of white men had thrown at him and his pro-black American organization about their non-violent actions against racial discrimination and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. He notes that he doesn’t usually respond to letters of criticism but he thought that they were “good willed people and their criticism was sincerely set forth.” King writes this letter to defend his organization's actions. King's letter talks about…
- 323 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Civil Rights advocate, Martin Luther King Jr., in his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’, discusses the cruelty and unjust consequences black people endure while acknowledging the inequity of their undying patience in chapter fourteen. King’s purpose is to address the atrocious situations that African Americans undergo in order to establish a strong argument while defending the importance of civil rights. King creates a different perspective for the clergymen. In addition, King adopts a skeptical and serious tone as he emphasizes the how distressing the unkind acts towards the blacks are in reality, allowing the clergymen to understand the ongoing problem.…
- 357 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
One of the most famous documents in American writing is the 1963 letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his jail cell in Birmingham. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in response to eight clergymen who had condemned his recent anti-segregation protests calling them “unwise and untimely” (1). Shortly before this time, slavery and segregation had been abolished. However, these laws were not enforced; African Americans were not not treated as equals, and nothing was being done to stop the inequality. King led movements to bring attention to the fact that these laws were not being implemented. Even though King led peaceful and legal protests, he was still arrested and thrown in jail for his actions. King’s letter had two objectives: to explain the anti-segregation movement and to defend the nonviolent actions which were the cause of his imprisonment. King watched as his letter began to fulfill its purpose; support for the African-American Movement began to grow .…
- 1445 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a formal response and rebuttal to an open letter written by eight, white clergymen. Dr. King tells the clergymen that he was upset about their criticisms, and that he wishes to address their concerns. His arguments are intuitively constructed with persuasive writing techniques. His eloquent use of the English language bolsters his credibility. King’s citation of biblical examples, that he feels identify with his situation and that of black Americans, is the most important writing technique he uses in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”.…
- 284 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetoric to persuade readers into supporting his cause. His letter addresses white men questioning his actions, though his message is for gaining supporters throughout America. Addressing the criticism of white men questioning and criticizing his recent behaviors, he begins explaining the motives behind his actions, their justification, and his next endeavors to rid America of its social injustices.…
- 185 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Throughout the letter, King made many arguments that were refutations to accusations made by the clergymen in their letter to him. King recognized the arguments made by the clergymen and for each argument he provided a strong counterargument. One of King’s counterarguments…
- 1146 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
In the excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s open letter, “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail” (1963), the author accosts his fellow black clergymen to cease their acts of apathy towards the social injustices against the African American community. The intended purpose of the text is to assemble powerful religious leaders to act upon society’s unjust treatment towards African Americans. Through the use of empathetic and hypothetical examples, imagery, and parallel structure, King composes a passionate, zealous persona in order to illustrate the urgency to rise above segregation, discrimination, and prejudice.…
- 94 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
During the Spring of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led about a thousand African-Americans through non-violent protests in the business district in Birmingham. Unfortunately, he and other top activists were thrown into jail by Birmingham police in retaliation and were treated under harsh conditions, as did all African-Americans. On the day of his arrest, the Birmingham, Alabama newspaper published The Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen called King’s activities “unwise and untimely,” calling for the community to renounce protest tactics that caused unrest in the community, to do so in court and “not in the streets.” King wrote back from jail arguing each point the clergymen wrote in their “public statement”. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, King writes point by point his reasons for coming to Birmingham and the actions he had committed and why he wishes to continue his fight for equality. King successfully employed the use of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos by arguing back on legal, historical, and political grounds.…
- 749 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
On April 16th, 1963, during the peak of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to a collection of clergymen in regards to his beliefs and protests. In his “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King aptly wrote to the clergymen about their concerns in a respectful manner, while maintaining his dignity and explaining his purpose. In order to validate his points, he first built his credibility, and from there flowed into a plethora of other strategies. His emotional anecdotes and insight are strong points in his letter, appealing to the clergymen’s sense of compassion and justice. The imagery that accompanies his writing creates vivid and horrifying scenes meant to encourage the reader to join King in his civil rights endeavors. Logically, King presents his values in a manner that becomes inarguable against, which furthers the persuasive value of his writing. His…
- 1284 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
In the article “Letters from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was a participant in a non-violent demonstration against segregation, subjects a response to a public settlement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. The occasion of the letter was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sentence to jail due to a non-violent participation in racial segregation. The letter was for people who were against him which were the eight white religious leaders. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted the…
- 673 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Throughout the first 21 paragraphs of King’s letter from Birmingham jail he develops the central claim of injustice in Birmingham. He justifies his claim by describing unjust laws and how the white moderate is hurting their cause and how the oppression that African-America’s faced in Birmingham. Creating these central claims, King emphasizes Birmingham’s cry for help to release them from the injustices.…
- 534 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The decision the clergy members strongly desired for King to rethink was continuing to conduct in non violent protests and promote civil disobedience. This was after King and his disciples had protested in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama. Martin Luther King through this letter absolutely justified his peaceful marches and proved there were are no other alternatives other than to protest. I can accept this argument because of his strong examples of accepted civil disobedience and identifying that there are no differences. These examples would be: the Boston tea party, Socrates, and Jesus Christ.…
- 277 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Dr. Martin Luther King makes a response to an article published in the Birmingham newspaper about his activities in the city. He believed that the criticisms of the clergymen deserved an answer. This applies to the statement made in the beginning of his letter “My dear fellow clergyman.” Throughout the letter his serious and matter-of-fact tone made a deep impression on the reader so that empathy is created towards the African American community.…
- 603 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays