Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Not only was his knowledge and eloquence as on orator a key factor in him being the phenomena that he is today but it is also his perseverance that helped him gain respect. Through the trials of being incarcerated for trying to peacefully fight for basic rights, he endured and managed to continue to fight; that is until he was violently and viciously taken out. This letter is a prime example of the affect people can make through words. This letter did after help draw national attention to the civil rights movement in Birmingham which was one of the most segregated cities in the United States.

King’s, Letter From Birmingham Jail defended the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. He wrote the letter to respond to the criticism from eight white clergymen. Similarly, he uses many of the same rhetorical devices that he uses in his speech, which are antithesis, analogies, and a repetition of words and phrases. Just like his speech, King also uses a variety of antithesis in his letter from Birmingham Jail. One of the examples of an antithesis from King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail is “ This Nation cannot survive half slave and half free.”

Martin Luther king wrote the letter from Birmingham jail and discuss the biggest issues in the black community of Birmingham. In order to justify his desire for racial justice and equality, martin Luther king uses knowledge and potential thoughts given toward to his letter transcending to his people and the churches and he made very important valid statement that gave his audience and open mind and to encourage American society desegregation and having equality among all Americans with no stratification according to racial differences. His letter addresses the American society, political and religious community of America. King uses metaphors saying “ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning

While contained at Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an open letter encouraging and defending a nonviolent approach to dealing with racism. Martin Luther King Jr. being known as a public figure who has impacted the way America as a whole treats African-Americans. Having lived through a time when his rights, as well as every person of color didn’t match to their fellow Americans, he felt the need to advocate. The letter has been considered as one of the best argument pieces, persuading and convincing many, due to diction and usage of rhetorical strategies.

There was not any room for patience, only for change. Another captivating speaker is reputable Martin Luther King whom enticed a mass public with influential persuasive language. The iconic “I Have a Dream Speech” delivered at the March on Washington—same march John Lewis presented his speech—utilized a somewhat different approach. King’s speech depicted the life that was yearned for by so many.

A “letter from Birmingham Jail” is regarded as one of the most notable examples of rhetoric argument in American history, this letter was written by Martin Luther King in April 16 1963 as a response to “A Call for Unity” an open letter written by eight clergymen critiquing King’s peaceful movement calling it “unwise and untimely.” Martin Luther King confutes this eight clergy men by masterfully rebutting his opponents’ claims through a skillful use of different modes of persuasion: ethos, pathos and logos. This rhetorical paper will meticulously review these mentioned rhetorical appeals. An effective attempt of persuasion should begin by the persuader stablishing his authority in order to achieve credibility and empathy.

He was their voice. Throughout the “letter” Dr. King demonstrated pathos by engaging his readers of the struggle of being an African American descent. Dr. King starts off by letting his readers know that he was confined during the time of the letter was written and he was addressing the eight clergymen who called his action of a peaceful protest “untimely and unwise”. (King Jr., p. 645) However, he continues to explain his reason for being in Birmingham by saying that injustice was present and he could not just sit in another state and watch it;” Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

King shows Ethos in his letter by writing back to the clergy men who had objections against King’s protest in Birmingham. They basically called him an outsider but by establishing his credibility, King shows that he is in fact an

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, author Martin Luther King, is letting the clergymen, white moderate, ministers, police etc. to respond to all criticisms they have and to tell them why he is in Birmingham. He lets them know that they have no other choice but to employ direct action towards segregation. When it comes to the injustices that African Americans are facing not only in Birmingham but everywhere with segregation. He goes other them with the upmost intelligence and respect. King responds to the clergymen who call his actions extreme.

Martin Luther King Jr is the most iconic civil rights leader in history. If anyone is unsure of his significance, they could simply take a trip to Washington, D.C to view his magnificent monument. Dr. King in the 1950s and 1960s, led protests and spoke on numerous occasions about injustice and segregation within the African American community. Although he had many Anti- Racism protest, his most legendary took place in Birmingham, Alabama. While in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested which led to him writing a detailed letter to the city clerk.

However, King does not only argue for taking action against civil injustice, but also to defend his name and organization. King’s purpose for his letter includes a justifiction for being Birmingham “because injustice is here” (292). Martin Luther King Jr. claims he was called to Birminham because of their social repression, and their need for help. Nevertheless, both authors appeal large audieces with their articles. Although King and Thoreau convey their message towards large audiences, Thoreau aims to appeal and refer mostly to the U.S and its citizens while King is concerned about the world as a

He led several nonviolent protests in Birmingham as a way to advocate for change and equality for African Americans. However, after a few nonviolent protests looking for desegregation, MLK was arrested in Birmingham, AL. In April 16, 1963, while in jail Martin Luther King wrote one of the most important letters ever written as a response to the Clergyman’s Call for Unity. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, perfectly applies rhetorical strategies such as Pathos and Logos in order persuade not only his main audience, which was the people supporting segregation, but all the Americans to fight for desegregation. Dr. Martin Luther King perfectly clarify his ambitions through pathos, by using words that emotionally appeal to his audience, and aims to persuade them to join him in the fight for desegregation.

He talks about the history of the civil rights movement and how it had changed in the mid-1960s after the with the quote “The 1964 civil rights act and the 1965 voting rights act were, on one level, admission of guilt by American society.” (Steele 455)And mentioning the Rodney King verdict to give the effect of why and how the diversity changed. The quote is a good persuasive mechanism because it is an example of the history Steele employed to also gain his credibility with his audience and persuades them in particular because it is about the minority and the change thereof. The quote is used in his article because both groups knew they had wronged and been wronged with the admittance of and the laws passed because of it, and stating that the past is why the programs are the way they are today. Steele’s reasoning behind the use of these historical facts are to show to the people currently under the collective entitlements of how and why they were formed giving him credibility as an author, and to persuade them since he is credible to move away from the collective entitlements and to change the programs to be fair for all .

For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. uses several instances of ethos throughout his letter from Birmingham Jail. He particularly references biblical figures and events, comparing them to similar actions that the civil rights movement took. “Civil disobedience… was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar”, Dr. King writes, “on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake” (King 179). Dr. King’s

His letters brought to light the injustice of the past and persuaded the clergymen to finally grant African Americans the Constitutional rights and the respect they deserved. Martin Luther King starts out his letters by explaining why he had come to Birmingham. He stated that he