Rhetorical Analysis Of A Letter From Birmingham City Jail

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential civil rights activists and paved a path for many African-Americans in his lifetime. In “A Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, Minister and Civil Rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conveys the unequal treatments of African-Americans and how he and the African-American community are trying to change it. King Jr.’s Purpose is to explain how the African-Americans are working towards racial equality and to explain the racial inequality that is happening. He adopts a didactic tone in order to describe how poorly African-Americans are treated and how it needs to end. He uses a didactic and disgruntled tone, pathos and ethos, and repetition and listing. The overall tone of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter is a disgruntled and informative tone. Martin Luther King Jr. uses a disgruntled tone. You can see this tone with his word choice. For example he uses words such as “shameful, ugly, inhumane, and evil.” This shows how he is dissatisfied. You can also see his disgruntled tone in
uses rhetorical tools to get his point across. One rhetorical tool he uses is repetition. An example would be: “before the pilgrims we were here…before the declaration of independence we were here” “one day the south will recognize it’s real heros…one day the south will know…” Martin Luther King Jr. uses repetition to make his point memorable. He uses repetition to stand out to the audience and to take what he is saying to heart. Another tool he uses is listing. An example would be: “They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women” “push and curse Negro women and young Negro girls; slap and kick old Negro men and young Negro boys.” King Jr. uses listing to emphasize these important points. He lists off the inhumane treatment of Negros by police officers. He also lists off the hero’s the south will recognize in the old women who did not ride the bus. Martin Luther King Jr. uses all these rhetorical