A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Letter From Birmingham Jail

Within accordance to Kenneth Robert Jenkens’s novel, The Wilmington Ten, Khalil Gibran Muhammad’s Introduction in The Condemnation of Blackness, Stanley Nelson 's The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and Damon Davis and Sabaah Folayan Whose Streets?, the interpretation of African Americans being treated unfairly within the court system is clearly portrayed. From the aspects of having an unfair trial, to police brutality, to even murder, racism is a problem that has been going on for various years, that just continues to happen. The Wilmington Ten were a group of teenagers who were wrongly incarcerated in 1971.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a very empowering speech in August 28, 1963 and an informative letter in the margins of a newspaper on April 16, 1963. Dr. King took his time to speak out for every African Americans rights, that made him known as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. The speech that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wrote “I have a Dream” gives a pathos feel, building ups emotions towards real equality for each and every person, and not just separate, but equal living conditions. It also gives a logos appeal. The speech also called for Civil and Economic Rights.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in 1954. He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. He died in 1968. Dr. King wrote 2 famous works, “Dream” and “Birmingham” and each had a different audience and purpose. Both works utilizes the persuasive techniques of pathos in “Dream” and logos in “Birmingham.”

1. Ethos, Logos, and Pathos are important aspects in Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The meaning behind Ethos is to appeal to ethics, which means convincing readers of the author’s credibility, meanwhile Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is used in literature to convince readers of an argument by getting their emotions involved. Last but not least, Logos is the appeal to logic and is used to persuade readers using a force of reason. These terms are important in MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail because the foundation of the letter is built upon ideas of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos and parallelism frequently throughout “Letters from Birmingham Jail,” to persuade the clergyman to support his actions in the civil rights movement. One example of King’s use of pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions by showing King’s confidence in his endeavors. “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham; even if our motives are presently misunderstood... Abused and scorned through we may be, our destiny is tied with the destiny of America.” (Page 9)

In King’s letter, he states, “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” Funny thing is he had lots of time to think about and write this letter. He wanted this letter to encourage and bring up a people that will start a revolution. He needed something, that special something, that would ignite the fire that had somehow died out. His Letter from Birmingham Jail was the match.

Rhetorical devices are a use of language that is intended to have an effect on its audience. Either to persuade them or to make them see something from their own view, like metaphors, or rhetorical questions. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he uses several rhetorical questions and metaphors. That was used to help people understand how he feels about the resistance to racism but in a  nonviolent way. Furthermore he was trying to express his thoughts about what had happened but he was doing it in a civilized non violent or forced manner.

Martin Luther King, Jr. uses metaphors to make his argument in “The Letter To Birmingham Jail” by saying things such as “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait.” He refers this quote to when the people were being perilously brutalized by police officers. They were kicked, cursed at, and treated awfully, however. I believe one reason Martin Luther King uses metaphors in his writing to show you more detail and give you a visual of what he is saying in his pious mind. Martin Luther King, for example, uses metaphors to show detail when he talks about little girls not being able to go and play on the playground with other white children.

Another Black man was robbed of his dignity and as a parting gift given his exit from this world. Question: when will the message sink in? What’s the message? “Remember who you’re dealing with.” Years ago, my cousin and I was in downtown Detroit at this bar now called Red Bird but in 1997 it was Marilyn’s on Monroe.

Communication is a very important part of human lifestyle, as it allows for an understanding between people. I make a conscious effort to communicate the same to everyone in order to show that I do not have to change for any particular person. However, I would not talk to a close friend or family member the exact same way as I would a teammate on the baseball team. For this reason, I believe in the necessity of transforming communication styles according to your relation to people. There is a clear difference between communicating professionally and casually.

King uses rhetoric in The Letter of Birmingham Jail to advance his purpose powerfully. King writes this letter as a response to the eight clergymen that indirectly target his actions and state false accusations. These eight clergymen do not understand the rationale King advocates throughout his non-violent protests, therefore King retaliates by writing a letter. This letter uses rational tone throughout to get these eight men and even more so the public to understand the purpose of his activist movements.