Reaction Paper-Nonfiction
Reaction Paper-Nonfiction
Tammy J. Murr
ENG/125
January 12, 2013
Kristine Fox
What is the Author’s Main Idea? In the course of this paper I will discuss what I believe the author’s main idea is. I will explain what the author is trying to convey to the readers and explain the strategies I think the writer used in conveying his ideas. I will illustrate the meaning of my paper with relevant quotes from the author’s work. I have chosen “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. to write about. This letter was written by King in response to a letter from clergymen of Birmingham, Alabama entitled “A Call for Unity”. King writes the letter insisting that the time is now for civil rights. Time is of the essence when dealing with the situation at hand.
What Idea is Author Conveying? King continually points out in his letter that direct action is the only way to show the oppressors that they are wrong in their actions. King stated, “…freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” The time for action is now. King speaks of just and unjust laws and uses quotes and references from history to back up his points. King points out that he, like all citizens, has the privilege of peaceful assembly and protest given to them by the First Amendment. In the letter we are reminded by King that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal”. It was illegal to aid a Jew in Hitler’s Germany but as a Christian, King would have aided them because it was a just thing. When King is speaking of the white moderate, he says the moderate agrees with the goal that you seek, but he cannot agree with the methods or direct action. King says the white moderate believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom. The white moderate lives by a mythical concept of time and constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.”
Tammy J. Murr
ENG/125
January 12, 2013
Kristine Fox
What is the Author’s Main Idea? In the course of this paper I will discuss what I believe the author’s main idea is. I will explain what the author is trying to convey to the readers and explain the strategies I think the writer used in conveying his ideas. I will illustrate the meaning of my paper with relevant quotes from the author’s work. I have chosen “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. to write about. This letter was written by King in response to a letter from clergymen of Birmingham, Alabama entitled “A Call for Unity”. King writes the letter insisting that the time is now for civil rights. Time is of the essence when dealing with the situation at hand.
What Idea is Author Conveying? King continually points out in his letter that direct action is the only way to show the oppressors that they are wrong in their actions. King stated, “…freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” The time for action is now. King speaks of just and unjust laws and uses quotes and references from history to back up his points. King points out that he, like all citizens, has the privilege of peaceful assembly and protest given to them by the First Amendment. In the letter we are reminded by King that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal”. It was illegal to aid a Jew in Hitler’s Germany but as a Christian, King would have aided them because it was a just thing. When King is speaking of the white moderate, he says the moderate agrees with the goal that you seek, but he cannot agree with the methods or direct action. King says the white moderate believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom. The white moderate lives by a mythical concept of time and constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.”