Rhetorical Response – Letter from Birmingham Jail The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was composed on April 16‚ 1963 by Dr. Martin Luther King‚ Jr. from his jail cell‚ during his brief incarceration. Dr. King’s letter was written as a direct response to an open letter [which criticized his activity]; signed by eight white clergymen and published in the Birmingham News. Further‚ Dr King’s indirect audience was the United States (U.S.) White Moderate class. In his letter Dr. King made very effective
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In April of 1963‚ a newspaper released articles written by several clergymen criticizing Martin Luther King Junior’s most recent activities and stating that the activities were unwise and untimely. In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail‚” MLK addresses the clergymen’s concerns by explaining and justifying why his civil disobedience should be supported. To start off‚ MLK explains that he is in Birmingham because injustice is there. He defends his right to be there fighting for his rights. He then
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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
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Ethos‚ Pathos & Logos in Dr. Martin Luther King’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" LOGOS Logos is an appeal to our logic or reasoning. It is a presentation of the logical relationships between and the reasoning for a particular position. Simply stated‚ logos is the setting forth of the reasoning behind a position or action. In our scientific world‚ many times logos involves statistics. Dr. King appeals to our logic when he gives the reasoning for his statement "I have almost
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Society is locked up in the jail of racism‚ and Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X have the key to its freedom. Similar to society‚ Martin Luther King Jr. is locked in jail and uses his situation to write “Letter from Birmingham Jail”‚ a letter pushing for the end of racism. The other civil rights leader‚ Malcolm X‚ is building support to fight discrimination with “Racism: The Cancer that is Destroying America”. It takes a lot to convince people to think a certain way‚ let alone to act out on behalf
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Dr. Martin Luther King makes a response to an article published in the Birmingham newspaper about his activities in the city. He believed that the criticisms of the clergymen deserved an answer. This applies to the statement made in the beginning of his letter “My dear fellow clergyman.” Throughout the letter his serious and matter-of-fact tone made a deep impression on the reader so that empathy is created towards the African American community. The letter was based on a total of nine criticisms;
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Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes Ethos‚ pathos‚ and logos in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King uses rhetorical devices to help him embody his thoughts and emotions into his letter. At the start‚ he employs ethos when he states‚ “Dear Fellow Clergymen” (King 1). This implies that he is one of the clergymen‚ to whom who he is writing too. Within King’s “Letter”‚ he responds to charges and assumptions brought against him in the letter from Birmingham clergy a few days earlier in which they suggested
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Response Any article written by Martin Luther King is persuasive. By using the three elements of persuasion‚ ethos‚ pathos‚ and logos any article will effective convince the audience. In King’s letter from Birmingham jail and his “I Have a Dream Speech” used all arts of persuasion to effectively arrive at the point that was necessary for action. On the opposing subjective view‚ the Clergymen attempted to persuade the public using only one of the persuasive elements: logos. I believe that the most coaxing
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Dr. Martin Luther King‚ Jr.: A Master of Peaceful Protests and Persuasive Rhetoric To fully understand Dr. King ’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” you must understand what times were like when King wrote his letter‚ who Dr. King was‚ and the criticism that Dr. King faced. The 1950 ’s and 1960 ’s were turbulent times for African Americans as they fought for equal rights as Americans. Jim Crow laws in the South dictated where blacks could sit in a restaurant or on a bus‚ they excluded blacks from
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Martin Luther King Jr. was many things. He was a priest of a baptist church‚ a leader but most of all a civil rights activist. Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta Georgia in January 15‚ 1929 (biography). He was a main leader who helped end racial segregation. He also helped the Voting Rights act of 1965 (biography). Martin Luther King Jr wanted us to follow his dream. His dream was to be able to “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white
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