Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 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. King establishes an emotional attachment between he and the reader, beginning with his belief that all Americans are connected to one another. What happens to one American happens to all Americans; we are bound to each other, we are united with one another, we are tied together
by a “network of mutuality” (King 1). After establishing this bond built from nationalism, King guilt trips the reader into being sympathetic for all the maltreatment he and blacks have endured. King provides vivid encounters of blacks being abused similar to a priest delivering a sermon; he does not list off specific examples, rather, he builds off each example onto the next, the words flowing together, creating a sequence