Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From A Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King JR was an activist who took part as a leader in the Civil Rights movement. This whole movement of his is emphasized on the idea that nonviolent actions be taken. Although he was a leader for the Civil Rights movement, he was a Baptist minister too which played a critical role in his movement. The whole idea of taking nonviolent actions was due to his Christian beliefs, and it’s demonstrated all throughout the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. In his letter, Martin writes to a clergyman where he finds out that his nonviolent protest movements have been accused of being “extreme.” Whenever he responds back to the clergyman’s accusation, he employs rhetorical strategies. However, not only are these rhetorical strategies being employed when he’s responding to the accusation, but they can be seen throughout the letter. At the start of
paragraph 22, he quickly clarifies of the disappoint he first had when the clergyman viewed his nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. He then continues stating that he stands in the middle of two opposing forces. One force being the hatred and bitterness there is, and the other force built up of complacency. These are both forms of pathos for the fact that an emotional appeal exists. For example, when he talks about the force of complacency he says, “Made up in part of Negros who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so drained of self-respect and a sense of “somebodiness” that they have adjusted to segregation.” In addition, the other force is a form of pathos too because he clarifies that there is resentment and hatred that lives. Another of Aristotle’s appeals that he uses is logos. Referring back to the resentment and hatred that there is, he provides evidence by bringing up one of the Black Nationalist groups – Elijah Muhammad’s Muslim Movement- that have sprung in the nation due the bitterness and hatred, and what is so close to promoting violence. In that same paragraph, last sentence a rhetorical strategy is being used and that is Hasty Generalization. Martin says, “Nourished by the Negro’s frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible “devil”.” This fallacy is defined as a person that is drawing a conclusion about a certain group based off of a small sample that is not large enough and that is exactly what Martin is doing in this statement. He argues that this movement is specifically composed of people that has lost all faith in America and has rejected the religion of Christianity and that have concluded that the white man is an irredeemable devil. However, he cannot conclude that all individuals of that movement have done exactly what that statement says. He continues to discuss his nonviolent actions in the next paragraph, and explains that if it wasn’t for the influence of the Negro church, nonviolence would have never been an integral part of their struggle and if the idea would have never emerged, the south would be without a doubt flowing with blood. In this statement Martin gives, he wants the clergyman to be aware that if it wasn’t for this philosophy that emerged, the South would be experiencing a tragic event. Martin, in a way, wanted the clergyman to ponder on his statement, and to realize for a moment that his actions are quite the opposite of an extremist. Martin’s movement are not causing a gruesome event, but implies what would occur if his movement would not have taken nonviolent approaches. He makes note in his letter that Negro’s have built up frustrations that should be released in non violent direct action, and he later makes clear in his letter that at first he was quite disappointed of being labeled as an extremist, but gains a sense of satisfaction from it. He uses an analogy to compare people who have also been an extremist. For example, he says, “Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”” Another analogy he uses to compare another person who was an extremist too was Abraham Lincoln. “And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.”” Apart from comparing individuals who were extremists too, he also incorporates logos by providing factual statements of what these people actually said. He speaks about other people who were extremists too. For example, Amos, Paul, Martin Luther, John Bunyan and Thomas Jefferson. After it’s recognized that he’s okay with being categorized as an extremist and not disappointed from it, he starts employing rhetorical questions following his analogy. Rhetorical questions provoke the reader to respond or to think, or to lead them to the next idea and Martin employs that in his essay.
For example, he says, “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?” In this situation, Martin uses the rhetorical question to provoke a time for thinking. This is classified as a rhetorical strategy because Martin isn’t trying to receive an answer from the clergyman but make him think about the question/statement. He wants him to ponder on the idea of what kind of extremists will they be. He also says, “Will be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice.” Furthermore, he wants to make the clergyman re think everything he has said on the activities going on in Birmingham, so he says a statement that he knows will definitely leave him in uncertainty. Due to the clergyman’s position, for being that of a religious leader, Martin says, “The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his
environment. In conclusion, Martin will always be a significant leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and be remembered for his nonviolent approaches. This letter signifies the real occurrence that was going on in Birmingham at the time, and explains in depth the Negro’s frustration and the positions they were in because of segregation and racial discrimination happening. However, he stands up for the accusation being directed at him saying that his nonviolent movements are those of an extremist. He makes notice of his disappoint at first, but then explains that he is fine being labeled as an extremist because so was other famous leaders. After reading and analyzing this letter, one is able to point out the rhetorical strategies being used by him, and break down in detail the message he was trying to get across from his letter.