On April 16, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to seven, white clergymen as a response to their criticisms of King’s approach to tackle segregation and other racial issues in Birmingham, Alabama. Coincidentally, King was also a clergyman—a clergyman with tons of influence as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization that has 85 affiliated groups. Throughout his letter, King’s use of allusions both of historical and religious significance supports King’s position as a highly influential and educated clergyman, provide the inspirations behind King’s strategy of nonviolence, and a strong ethos to criticize his fellow clergymen who act as bystanders. In the beginning of King’s letter, the first thing he does is to address his own credibility the seven clergymen questioned. After he revealed to come to protest in Birmingham, King immediately reference the prophets of the 8th century B.C. …show more content…
With this information, King noted that those Christians were all extremists in their own right and that that extremism is the form of extremists that King associates himself with. He even went as far as noting hat “Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness.” As result, King defends his methods of nonviolent protesting as a method Christians practiced for centuries and in the process accepted the label extremist, but on his own terms. This effectively rebuttals the clergymen’s arguments and distaste of nonviolent protests by calling them out on their hypocrisy for worshipping a deceased man who practiced the same strategies as King, but turning against him in a time where he needed their utmost
Martin Luther King uses many different types of appeal to prove his credibility to the clergyman. One of the types of appeals he uses to convince his audience is ethos. Ethos appeals a person through credibility. So in this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. has to establish his credibility in order for the argument to be convinced by his argument. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. uses allusions and first person plural pronouns in order to convince the clergyman of his credibility.
The letter of Birmingham jail written by Martin Luther King Jr remains one of the best-known texts of the civil rights era. Its success is due to the the efficient use of rhetorical devices that he used flawlessly as well as the way he positioned his claims, One of many of these devices was an allusion, where King presents associations with his text and religion where King presents associations with his text and religious figures and historical events that emphasize the theme he is presenting. An example of an allusion can be seen in paragraph 3 when King quotes “the prophets of the eighth century B.C.” and “the Apostle Paul”. , Figures are a very strong factor in this text. Martin Luther King Jr also known as King provided a comparison between
Academically prestigious pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., writes a letter response, from Birmingham Jail, addressing the criticisms pegged on him for nonviolent protesting from a public caution statement released by eight white religious leader from the south. Dr. King’s purpose is to inform the eight religious leaders and fellow Americans, as to why African Americans cannot “just wait” for the injustices occurring to their black community to pass on with time. In his letter, Dr. King uses biblical allusions, rhetorical devices, and precise diction to effectively establish his message and inform his audience. In the opening paragraph, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., makes it clear that he is not writing a response to insult or degrade the religious
Martin Luther King wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" not only to reply to criticism from clergymen, but to expose the racism in this city and promote his mission. King starts off his letter by writing about how he does not usually reply to all the criticism he receives, but he feels that this topic is too important to let pass by (King 331). King appeals to all aspects of citizens. By mentioning that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King ethically appeals to his audience by strengthening his character with experience and leadership skills (King 332). Another way King ethically appeals to his audience is by writing about the many occasions that African Americans have been treated unfairly.
Yet, despite such angst and disappointment, Dr. King expresses real love for the church and recalls the days when clergymen and Christian brothers refused to be bound by conformity or status quo. To see his fellow clergymen commend the police must have been salt in the wound for Dr. King and all the non-violent protestors. The commendation of officers who work to keep the same institutional injustices in place speaks against morality and justice no matter how disciplined they were in their policing. But yet, once again, the clergymen, the supposed moral leaders, miss this point. Dr. Kings disappointment in this particular section of his letter is palpable.
Picture this. On Good Friday, April 12, 1963, protester against inequality, Martin Luther King Jr., was arrested for parading without a permit. It is now April 16, 1963 and he sits alone in a Birmingham City Jail cell with nothing but a pen, some paper, and a solemn look on his face. In scraggly, but intent words, he writes a letter. He was writing to the church clergymen, determined to make them change their ways.
An orator from Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King – coincidentally achieving similar standards as his predecessor, Martin Luther, in the Civil Rights World – once wrote a letter, which is at times presented as a masterpiece of rhetoric and development. “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail’ was recognized as a genius retort to Alabama Clergymen, who wished for Martin Luther to leave Birmingham due to his “outsider” title and the “hatred and violence” his peaceful conventions have caused. Throughout his letter, Martin Luther develops a tone that redefines his argument, stabilizing it even, for his purpose – to challenge the ideas of the Clergymen who found his being in Birmingham nonbeneficial to the city’s already stretched-out line of racial tension – of refuting the Clergymen.
This will help set the tone for the rest of the paper. King additionally displays his credibility by mentioning that “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (King 1). This signals to the clergymen that King’s profession is similar to theirs and they logically should have similar ethical standards. King further drives this idea home at the end of the letter by voicing that he hopes to meet each of the eight clergymen, “not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother” (King
Let us hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not to distant tomorrow the radiant stars of…brotherhood will shine…with all scintillating beauty”. While the other clergymen desire to put down MLK and show him all that he does wrong, he comes back at them with love and unity, not to shame them, but to show them the truth and be an example. Dr. King appeals to emotions in his letter a great deal to convey to the clergymen how wrongly they are viewing the conflict. He lays it out for them in a way such that he can see how he and his family/ancestors is being treated and has been treated for a number of
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a lengthy letter called "Letter from Birmingham Jail," to respond to a public statement of concern which was expressed by eight white clergymen from the South. In this letter, King defends his action and also describes how his nonviolent direct action is an effective way to resist against racism and segregation. In paragraph 14 and 15 of his letter, King uses parallelism and historical allusions to emphasize the blatant cruelties that colored people faced which create pathos and to express his thoughts for obeying and breaking “just or unjust” laws. In paragraph 14, King connects with Pathos, when he shows examples of painful experiences that the colored people, including himself, felt.
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.
In paragraphs 33 to 44 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s response to “A Call for Unity,” a declaration by eight clergymen, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963), he expresses that despite his love for the church, he is disappointed with its lack of action regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Through powerful, emotionally-loaded diction, syntax, and figurative language, King adopts a disheartened tone later shifts into a determined tone in order to express and reflect on his disappointment with the church’s inaction and his goals for the future. King begins this section by bluntly stating that he is “greatly disappointed” (33) with the church, though he “will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen” (33). By appealing to ethos and informing the audience of his history with the church, he indicates that he is not criticizing the church for his own sake, but for the good of the church.
Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. The clergymen along with others are addressed in an assertive tone allowing them to fully understand why his actions are justified. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through King’s effective use of diction and selection of detail. Martin Luther King opens the letter stating that the clergymen are being “influenced by the argument of ‘outsiders coming in” consequently he explains the reason for him being in Birmingham. In the opening of his explanation he states the injustices occurring, relating it to the prophets of eighth century B.C.
JoAnna Guzman AP English Period 4 Mrs. Solis 5 February 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. letter “ Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a response to eight Alabama clergymen of 1963. The clergymen had accused King of being an “outsider” and interfering with the racial issues of the community of Birmingham. When writing in response to the eight clergymen from Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical device of historical and biblical allusions.
King was able to employ a number of persuasive devices when writing Letter from Birmingham Jail which only added to his own