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Ethos In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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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. 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 …show more content…

He is not just any man protesting for the rights of colored people, but he was the leader and organizer of the protest. He is a clergyman reaching out to the others. King also uses Logos to show readers his voice of reason behind everything that is going on,” I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community.. Nourished by the Negro’s frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible devil.”( page 540) King’s presentation of Logos is amazing, he shows his fellow clergymen two opposite sides to the community, one that is pure satisfaction and the other that is full of hate. King is telling his audience that he could have stayed neutral in the situation and allowed the Black Nationalist groups to take charge, but he didn’t. Logos isn’t just present in King’s letter, it is expected since King is writing a letter justifying his

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