Letter from Birmingham Jail Brief Analysis
‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ Rhetorical Analysis
Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was arrested and placed in Birmingham jail after leading a non-violent march to protest racism in the streets of Alabama- a highly segregated state at the time. There he received a newspaper containing “A Call for Unity,” which was written by eight white Alabama clergymen criticizing King and his movement’s methods; this prompted King to write a letter in response to the critics. Martin Luther King Jr. employs ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade and demonstrate to the critics and other readers the many injustices of segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. exercised the rhetorical method of ethos to present his credibility and why the critics and readers should believe in his words in his letter. He portrays his involvement and influence in the Civil Rights Movement by describing how he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and what the conference does. This provides the critics and readers with solid evidence of the congregations that have been created and are being created to end racism in the country. As well as showing the power Martin Luther King Jr. holds within the multitudes of these organizations. King also displays his credibility as a reverend by comparing himself to the Apostle Paul and how Paul “left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to far corners” (lines 18-21), just as King left his home in Atlanta in order to help the African-Americans who are being prejudiced against. Martin Luther King Jr. appeals to the critics ethos when he references how Adolf Hitler’s mistreatment towards the Jews was considered “legal” in lines 180-181. This shows that King has knowledge of the consequences of racism in history, which he then uses logos to further show the injustice of segregation. King establishes himself, using ethos, as force to be reckoned with. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was arrested and placed in Birmingham jail after leading a non-violent march to protest racism in the streets of Alabama- a highly segregated state at the time. There he received a newspaper containing “A Call for Unity,” which was written by eight white Alabama clergymen criticizing King and his movement’s methods; this prompted King to write a letter in response to the critics. Martin Luther King Jr. employs ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade and demonstrate to the critics and other readers the many injustices of segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. exercised the rhetorical method of ethos to present his credibility and why the critics and readers should believe in his words in his letter. He portrays his involvement and influence in the Civil Rights Movement by describing how he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and what the conference does. This provides the critics and readers with solid evidence of the congregations that have been created and are being created to end racism in the country. As well as showing the power Martin Luther King Jr. holds within the multitudes of these organizations. King also displays his credibility as a reverend by comparing himself to the Apostle Paul and how Paul “left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to far corners” (lines 18-21), just as King left his home in Atlanta in order to help the African-Americans who are being prejudiced against. Martin Luther King Jr. appeals to the critics ethos when he references how Adolf Hitler’s mistreatment towards the Jews was considered “legal” in lines 180-181. This shows that King has knowledge of the consequences of racism in history, which he then uses logos to further show the injustice of segregation. King establishes himself, using ethos, as force to be reckoned with. Martin Luther King Jr.