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.…
In his open letter "Letter From Birmingham Jail", civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. responds to a letter from white clergymen who criticize his "untimeliness" and "poor tactics". With the use of rhetorical strategies, such as elevated diction, anaphora, and an appeal to pathos, King effectively communicates the urgency for a nonviolent approach in order to eliminate…
“We have waited for more than 340 years for our Constitutional and God given rights” (King, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 3). Racial equality; something that black Americans along with white Americans have been fighting to get for far too long. Both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama want to see the black community get out from under the many years of discrimination and blatant racism that they have been subject to. In many ways we can see President Obama following in the footsteps of Dr. King’s teachings in the…
Written by Martin Luther King Jr., the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a paragon of persuasive writing that takes advantage of ethos, pathos, and logos in order to convince its readers to take MLK’s side during the American civil rights movement. The use of ethos defines MLK as a credible writer; the use of pathos appeals to his audience on a personal level; and the use of logos layers his arguments and claims with irrefutable reasoning and logic. By using all three techniques, MLK is able to hold the attention of his readers and persuade them to take his side in the battle against segregation.…
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”.…
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.…
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in April 1963, during the African Americans fight for equality. Martin Luther King Jr.’s claim was not just to reply to the eight clergyman who had called his demonstrations “untimely and unwise”, but also aim his justifications at a bigger audience of religious and secular beliefs. An audience that is black and white; therefore King is able to justify his reasons and tactics of beginning immediate action using nonviolent protest to everyone. Throughout his letter Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrates the use of ethos, pathos, and logos to help support his claim while also consistently referring…
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight Alabama clergymen under the confines of a jail cell in a Birmingham, Alabama prison. The letter stated his thoughts and opinions on the racial tension between the white and the black communities of Alabama. Martin Luther King’s letter was written as a rebuttal to the letter he received from the Alabama clergymen that stated the demonstrations, protests, and acts of civil disobedience of the Negro community were unlawful and should be put to a stop immediately. Martin Luther King replied by indicating that the blacks had a right to peaceful protests; they were simply trying to educate the community about the prejudices present in Alabama and to motivate a change. King incorporated the tree rhetorical strategies of ethos, logos, and pathos throughout his letter. In Martin Luther…
Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is one of the most well known documents in American history. King’s profound ability to articulate important ideas, values, concepts and Biblical perspectives made for some of the most powerful and inspirational pieces of American literature ever produced. One technique that King used in his public speeches and letters was his allusions to historical figures, the Bible and opposing congressmen. During the 60’s when cultural prejudice still held strong roots in Congress, it was King’s talent to inspire the public that revolutionized America’s racial injustices. King’s frequent use of allusions in his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail proved his intelligence and greatly attributed to his success and popularity during the 1960’s. His allusions demonstrated his referential capabilities while also making his messages readily relatable to the public.…
In the letter from Birmingham Jail, the author, Martin Luther King was able to compare his beliefs and philosophies with other fellow philosophers like Aquinas and Socrates, saying they are very similar but still different in their own way. The reason for that is, King wants to challenge the American society to look past discrimination and racism, and have racial equality. Despite that the clergymen are strongly against that dream King has for America and his people, he was able to express his opinion about the subject in his letter. Giving multiple evidence that the action he is taking is what he strongly believes is right in order for his dream to become a reality.…
In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he shows that nonviolence is the way to get the positive attention that his plight deserved. He believed that to use violence was negative on a couple of points. First, violence always gets negative attention. Second, violence was the way the Klu Klux Klan went about their business. He wanted to expose unjust laws and do it in a fashion that conveyed his beliefs without causing other problems. In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he is trying to convince his “fellow clergymen” (566) that his fight for the civil liberties is a just one, and that the march was a nonviolent one and one that was surely needed. Dr. King stated, “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny” (566). King is saying that it’s something that can no longer be ignored, that he can no longer sit on the sideline and be an idle observer. The black man has to take it to the streets. In this letter, Dr. King showed that nonviolence, direct action, and the ability to stand by one’s convictions are the right path.…
In the excerpt of ¨Letter from Birmingham Jail¨ Martin Luther King Jr uses many rhetorical devices that help make his letter emphasis more on the problem that many African-Americans were facing before and during the civil rights movements. In the the letter King uses techniques like repetition to bring more focus and meanings to his ideas, allusion to relate to an event that explains King's motivation, and pathos to bring the reader to feel what he feels through what he has written. An example of repetition that King uses is on paragraph 7 in“Letter from Birmingham Jail” it states “When you take a cross country drive… when you are humiliated day in and day out… when your first name becomes “nigger” your middle name becomes “boy”... and your…
In response, Martin Luther King composed a file that would put a stand the civil rights movement and also providing enduring inspiration to the struggle for racial equality. The “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” that Martin wrote strives to justify the desperate need for nonviolent direct action. The outright immorality of unjust laws together with what a just law is as well as the increasing probability of the Negro resorting to extreme disorder and bloodshed. Therefore, to his utter disappointment with the church who, in his opinion, had not lived up to their responsibilities as people of…
Assuredly, King spent a great amount of time doing research and using rhetorical appeals effectively to bring more power and potential to his writing towards the clergymen, since he was a leader in the civil rights movement it was necessary for him to do so. However, other appeals used by MLK in his, “Letter To Birmingham Jail,” may have been effective in his purpose of writing, polysyndeton and pathos were the most profitable ones to convey a strong sense of shame for the audience. While also making the effect of shame long lasting throughout his…
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail for an “unwise and untimely” protest against how blacks were treated in Birmingham, Alabama. When in Jail he received a newspaper that had a “ Statement by Alabama Clergymen”, in the article, it stated how they need to handle the racial problems in a different manner. They never directly mentioned King’s name, but they strongly wrote how they felt about the protest. When King saw the statement, he decided to reply. His whole goal in the letter is to explain to the ministers the reasonings behind the actions that took place in Birmingham. King addresses the Clergymen in a polite and professional manner. In the beginning he sweattalkes them, he calls them “men of genuine good” and he says normally he wouldn't have time to answer their questions, but because they are good guys, King will put the time in to get back to them. He says all this to get their attention, and to get…