Ethos In Letter From Birmingham Jail

In Martin Luther King JR. “ Letter From Birmingham Jail” he responds to the criticism given to his activities. He addresses the criticism with a strong and powerful tone as well as using logos to explain why what he is doing is for the better of people while he also implements pathos to give the reader an inside view of the feelings of the people that were segregated. Martin Luther King JR. ’s saw his actions as just and not unwise.

Martin Luther King’s utilization of pathos and rhetorical questions in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” allows him to adequately advocate for civil rights for African Americans. MLK’s convincing use of pathos is shown in paragraph 23, where he wrote, “If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.” This quote was intended to make the white bishops who he was responding to feel guilty, as slavery was perpetrated by some of their ancestors. Furthermore, this quote shows the general enthusiasm of African Americans and affiliates to push for the repealing of unfair laws of segregation. This is shown by African Americans being able to persevere through slavery and that segregationist laws

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” has an amazing and also very extensive use of rhetorical devices in order to make the reader relate. Martin Luther King Jr. was very good with his words and as a preacher, he knew how to get to people's hearts. There were plenty of rhetorical devices that he could have used. Martin Luther King Jr. knew exactly which ones were gonna get to the people. Martin Luther King Jr. used ethos pathos and logos.

The letter from Birmingham jail by Dr. Marin Luther King was written as a response of King to ten criticisms made against the Southern Christian leaders and King’s participation in demonstration in Birmingham. King handled many rhetorical devices to convince his opponents such as white clergymen with his rights to protest and create tension for direct action to achieve the racial justice. The devices fluctuate between logos and ethos in clever way to appeal to his audience and criticize them at the same time. King provided logical supports such as biblical figures historical and philosophical references. In my essay, I will point out some of the rhetorical devices and the colorful words used by King.

In the excerpt “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., King utilized ethos and logos to express his belief for a country without judgment of character based solely on one's skin color and discrimination towards the Negro community. The ongoing crisis of racism greatly existed in Birmingham, where King used ethos to persuade his peers that the “white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative” but to revolt (5). After a promise over riddance of all supremacist signs hung up in establishments, Negroes were later faced with even more signs that only continued the inadequate treatment. After learning of the new signs, King decided that there was no other option but to take action for the promise that was

He used long sentences composed of short powerful phrases as a lens into black suffering. King repeated phrases beginning with variations of “when you see” to create a state of overwhelming grief and hardship (3-4: 37-17). He gave descriptions of daily struggles blacks endured. King wrote, “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your brothers and sisters at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters…” (3: 41-43). The reader feels overwhelmed because King bombards him with these situations all at once.

This description shows that he and fellow persons of colour have had enough with segregation and they will not stand for the depression that comes with oppression. Words like “abyss” and “despair” naturally comes with the connotations of sadness and hopelessness and it does just that with King’s description of racial persecution. An excellent example of the appeal to pathos occurs on paragraph 14 in which King goes on a long diatribe on his racial unrest, he says “But when you… then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.” The entirety of his diatribe provides examples of how civil change is needed.

Dr. King was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 through 1968. Dr. King was sent to jail many times for standing up for all equality and speaking out on segregation. Dr. King was also known for his famous “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” Both of which had a different purpose and different audiences. These writings also included the persuasive techniques of pathos included in “I Have a Dream” and logos included into “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

In the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. , multiple themes and/or ideas are present throughout the letter, but the most prominent theme would be equality. This document is a letter written from a prison cell trying to make the people who put him there understand that he is the same as them, that he is equal. It expressing his need to let the civil rights movement be heard. Around the third page into the letter King Jr says, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.” this quote exemplifys the idea that the african american people can no longer sit idly by and watch as they get abused, harrased, or worse.

The letter from Birmingham jail by Dr. Marin Luther King was written as a response of King to nine criticisms made against the Southern Christian leaders and King’s participation in demonstration in Birmingham. King handled many rhetorical devices to convince his opponents such as the white clergymen with his rights to protest, create tension for direct action and to achieve the racial justice. The devices fluctuate between Logos and Ethos in a clever way to appeal to his audience and criticize them at the same time. King provided logical supports such as biblical figures, historical and philosophical references In addition, he used verities of metaphors ,allergy and poetic language . In my essay, I will point out some of the rhetorical

As seen throughout significant events in history, strong leaders are able to mold language into a powerful tool, which they utilize for specific goals. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Henry David Thoreau’s On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, many rhetorical devices such as ethos and the difference between just and unjust laws play a direct role in exemplifying main ideas throughout the essays. Although the essays were very similar, they did differ in the tone and audience they attracted. King and Thoreau are able to solidify their main ideas by establishing ethos in both essays.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the author of “A Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” wrote his remarkable letter sitting in jail, on the sides of a newspaper! With the year being 1963, Martin Luther King was a revolutionist of civil injustice (segregation). He peacefully rebelled against the government`s inequality, but was later arrested and detained in the Birmingham City Jail. Despite his jurisdiction, King continued to show his natural leadership skills by expressing his points even in his most desperate times by writing the famous piece “A Letter from Birmingham City Jail.” With his words that “Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber,” King not only brings unity through parallelism, but also allows for the development of an arguable point.

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.

On page 285 King says, “Supreme Court 's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws” King’s allusion reinforces the facts of his argument by directing the critical event of the decision made in 1954. It shows that the decisions that are being made are not helping the problem that Birmingham has, it is only making the segregation problems worse. It’s efficient because it shows that the courts have been making laws that are what the called just but, in reality, they are anything, but just they are unjust laws that shouldn’t be

In “A Letter From A Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. In the letter, Dr. King uses ethos, diction, and allusions when defending nonviolent protest which makes his argument really strong. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. He uses ethos to build up credibility.