“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is written to the audience of clergymen. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote this letter to respond to clergymen who had questions for him. Paragraphs 12-14 are the most persuasive and thorough. King uses many rhetoric mechanism and appeals. Throughout those paragraphs, there is an excessive use of: pathos, logos, ethos, metaphors, symbolism, direct addressment and parallel structure.…
In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, he uses an authoritative voice in his analogies, allusions, and ethical appeals that make his argument more relatable and compelling. In comparison, his authorial counterpart lacks the same confidence in his stylistic devices and ethical appeals making his argument weak and less…
About individual civil rights. In the ´Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King sorts to respond to the criticism of several clergy men since he believes they are “men of genuine good will”. In respond to what they said about their actions being “unwise and untimely”. King explains their delay in action due to the occurring events, back to back. They do not wish the media to copulate their actions with the events, because they are two separate things. After that explanation, King states what brought him in Birmingham. Injustice is what brought this man to the city. King states that Birmingham is the most segregated city in America. Simply because there are brutal police incidents. Bombings of Negro properties such as homes, churches than any other city. And colored people are treated unjustly in courts. Thus with these things happening in Birmingham, King went there to get justice for the oppressed, because he believes that their individual civil rights are…
In the letter, Martin Luther King strategically argues to the clergymen that segregation laws imposed on African Americans are nothing more than unjust and immoral. He supports this claim by using a method of comparison of current events to historical and biblical events. King states that there two kinds of laws. There are just laws and there are unjust laws. King argues that a just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God, and an unjust law is out of harmony with the moral law. King’s argument is valid because he is right about the differences between just and unjust…
Civil Rights advocate, Martin Luther King Jr., in his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’, discusses the cruelty and unjust consequences black people endure while acknowledging the inequity of their undying patience in chapter fourteen. King’s purpose is to address the atrocious situations that African Americans undergo in order to establish a strong argument while defending the importance of civil rights. King creates a different perspective for the clergymen. In addition, King adopts a skeptical and serious tone as he emphasizes the how distressing the unkind acts towards the blacks are in reality, allowing the clergymen to understand the ongoing problem.…
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.…
Martin Luther King Jr., born on January 15, 1929, fought for the injustices of his brothers and sisters throughout his life. While being an active activist, Martin Luther King was imprisoned to Birmingham jail due to his participation in a nonviolent demonstration against segregation and discrimination in Alabama. During his sentence, he wrote a letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” to counter the criticisms of his actions from the clergymen by claiming that “An unjust law is no law at all”(par. 12), “Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice…
In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discusses whether or not African Americans have the same opportunities and equal rights as whites do. Then, King further explains the daily struggles and dilemmas that African Americans have been going through for such a long time and that change is essential. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos. King also uses historical, biblical, and literary allusions to support and further his argument. Dr. King begins with ethos and logos by discussing how nonviolent protests are perfectly legal and are lawful acts. He states that he is imprisoned in Birmingham because, "injustice is here," (King 332). This appeals to ethos because it is morally and ethically…
On April 16th, 1963, during the peak of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to a collection of clergymen in regards to his beliefs and protests. In his “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King aptly wrote to the clergymen about their concerns in a respectful manner, while maintaining his dignity and explaining his purpose. In order to validate his points, he first built his credibility, and from there flowed into a plethora of other strategies. His emotional anecdotes and insight are strong points in his letter, appealing to the clergymen’s sense of compassion and justice. The imagery that accompanies his writing creates vivid and horrifying scenes meant to encourage the reader to join King in his civil rights endeavors. Logically, King presents his values in a manner that becomes inarguable against, which furthers the persuasive value of his writing. His…
In a "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, King addresses the issue of inequality of citizens in existence in American society and the need for moral responsibility regarding human dignity. The issues of inequality addressed by King in his letter are still prominent in American society today; no longer mandated by law, but by the mere existence of custom and racism.…
Through Martin Luther King Jr.’s 39 years of life, he impacted millions across the globe with his letters and speeches. For most of his life, King used his strong ability with words to inspire and call people to action in many cases. King’s words were so moving because no matter black or white, King understood the issues people experienced daily. I believe Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was so impactful because of the way he persuaded people why civil disobedience was necessary and what caused him to break the law with his strong use of ethos, logos and pathos, and by answering the concerns of the people.…
Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a response to Dr. King's follow clergymen criticism. The topic of Dr. Kings letters from a Birmingham prison is the nonviolent protest being done in Birmingham, Alabama in the fight for African Americans civil rights. Some clergymen, mostly white American men, believe the nonviolent protest Dr. King and African Americans were during was "unwise" and "untimely". The main argument Dr. King is making in the letter is the protest being done in Birmingham is "wise" and most important "timely". The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. Take for instance when the part of the letter when Dr. King talks about different men, both biblical…
Martin Luther King’s response to the charges made in the letter from the clergymen can be said as a livid tranquil retort; well from my perspective it is. In his letter, written in when he was in Birmingham jail, he counters these charges by putting his statement of them. he was put in the jail because he was a partaker in a nonviolent protest for the opposing of segregation. This letter contradicts the charges that the clergymen mentioned in their letters claiming, for example, that the demonstrations that they go through are “unwise and untimely”. King refutes the statement of them being untimely by mentioning the that the new administration should be bothered about this case as much as the current administration was being bothered. This…