Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Martin Luther King Jr. faced many challenges during his life. One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation. What King discloses in his essay, “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” displays how the laws of segregation have affected African-American’s. In this essay, King also brings up why he is justified in his preaching about the separation of African-Americans and white people. He uses the rhetorical appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos numerous times throughout his essay to relay his argument about the laws of segregation and the African-Americans that are being cruelly treated.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay, “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” truly conveys his devotion for wanting equality for African-Americans. Like the title of his essay describes, King is sitting in his desolate prison cell while he is writing, “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” While he is in his cell, he reflects on many things. For instance, King states on paper what he
The definition of ethos is that it is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or creditability of the persuader. King is the persuader in, “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” and states plenty of information to assure his creditability. An example where King is appealing to ethos is when he writes in his essay that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King goes on further to explain that the Conference is an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and that the organization has eighty-five associated organizations across the South. He also explains that he and several members of his staff were invited to Birmingham to partake in a non-violent direct action program if that was what was necessary for Birmingham. From this information, King is a creditable persuader in his