Martin Luther King, Jr. attempts to persuade clergymen to follow in his civil rights movement through exhibiting his knowledge over just and unjust laws, displaying peaceful behavior, and empathetic diction. King was very knowledgeable about laws and his right as a human. King stated laws in his letter to the clergymen, which displayed his credibility. He did not only state laws, he also stated just and unjust laws. King stated, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”
Letter from Birmingham Jail – Analysis Questions 1.) Audience: The audience the clergymen were trying to reach was Martin Luther King Junior; they were trying to explain why they feel like the segregation movements are, as the letter describes it, a bother to the people of Alabama. The Clergyman’s letter was discussing the people who feel as though they are having to “deal with racial problems in Alabama.” Martin Luther King Junior’s speech was trying to explain to the clergymen why black people feel the need to cause a movement, and why he feels the need to lead such a big event, like ending racism.
In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” we are able to understand the formation of integrity as King writes from his perspective and experiences. “If I sought to answer all of the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would be engaged in little else in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work,” this line from King’s letter proposes that his power and status speak for his actions as he presents the fundamentals of ethos. His morals set the principles for his readers to understand that his standpoint and circumstances allow him to make such statements and affirmations. In “The truly awe-inspiring accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr” the writer constructs a platform of meaning towards King’s actions. This writer takes a different approach and writes from an informative perspective and introduces the life of Martin Luther king.
Colin Waite English 10 Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay 2022 01/30/23 Throughout “Letter from Birmingham Jail '', Doctor Martin Luther King Junior argues multiple different points through the motif, time, to develop and further his purpose to get equality between the "African American Race" and "White Race ''. Doctor Martin Luther King Junior uses other motifs such as Direct Action, Oppression and Injustice along with the motif of time so that the reader can know how the average “African American” is feeling during this time period. Throughout this essay I will be going into further details about each of the motifs, talking about how each of them goes along with Doctor Martin Luther King Junior's purpose and the different points that go
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., stands up against the racial inequalities that plague not just the state of Alabama but the United States as a whole at the time. He claims the solution to racial inequality and the next step in furthing the civil rights movement is through nonviolent action. King’s passionate tone creates a sense of pride and confidence in his cause; as well as his use of ethos, logos, and pathos give the letter a sense of structure and unity. The purpose of Martin Luther King Jr. writing “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was to address the article published by eight local clergymen “A Call for Unity”.
In the 1950s and 1960s, it was evident that racism was at its all time high with African Americans being lynched, segregated, and most of their rights taken away. According to the Washington Post, Researchers concluded that 3,959 black people were killed in multiple Southern states between 1877 and 1950. The injustice that was occurring in the United States is what fueled Martin L. King Jr to prevail and expose the issues. In his letter from Birmingham jail, he argued about many of the issues one specifically was the christian churches. In order for him to get his point across, he highly expressed upon nonviolent direct action, he used many profound examples of the injustice, and he showed anger towards his religion.
Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and social activist, who led the civil right movement in the United Stated throughout the mid 50’s until his assassination. Dr. King was arrested for participating in some sort of demonstration against racism and unjustified segregation. King’s “Letter from Birmingham city jail” purpose is to basically promote responsible and efficient leadership without racism and injustice. Throughout his letter, Dr. King wanted to illustrate the bias way of how the African American community was treated especially in the South.
Letter from Birmingham Jail The Letter from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is important to understanding American history because it explains that even if blacks followed the laws provided for by the Constitution, they still were not treated as equals to whites. At the time, Dr. King was President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group.
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” he uses periodic sentences, syntax, diction, and allusions to write about his beliefs about the immense struggles African Americans experienced to gain their rights, how he views just and unjust laws, the many different influences have in their lives, and the cruel nature of the citizens, which are still prevalent today. First of all, African Americans went through immense struggles to get the rights they have today. African Americans watched their family members be innocently killed, experienced multiple cruel acts of segregation, and often felt strong resentment to the White population. For instance, Dr. King uses a periodic sentence and imagery to express the immense struggles African Americans endured to gain the
Peaceful resistance to laws positively affect a free society. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of both violent and peaceful protests. However, the peaceful protests are the ones that tend to stick with a society and are the ones that change the society for the better. In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter about just and unjust laws while he was in Birmingham jail for peacefully protesting. King came to Birmingham because "injustice is here".
From the years 1957 to 1968, he travelled six million miles and spoke to crowds of people over 25 hundred times. Wherever there was injustice, protest or action he spoke. In these eleven years Martin Luther King led a huge world renowned protest in Birmingham. It was also now that he wrote his inspiring letter called “A Letter to Birmingham Jail”. He planned the drives in Alabama to legalize black people voting.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims.
I believe that paragraphs 9 and 12 from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the strongest paragraphs in this letter of his. These paragraph is so profound and truly explain why segregation is unjust in two short paragraphs. They don’t go into a lot of detail on why segregation is unjust, because they don’t need to. They’re argument is strong enough with how short they are. Since these paragraphs give an easy to understand and short reasoning as to why segregation is unjust, explains what makes a law just or unjust, and show that just laws can be unjust when applied to situations such as segregation, I believe they are the strongest paragraphs in this letter.
Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, argues against criticism from eight Alabama clergymen, and addresses their concerns. He defends his position, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), against accusations of disturbing the peace in Birmingham, as well as explaining his values and opinions. Throughout the letter, King adopts a strong logical and credible tone, and reinforces his position through the use of strong emotional justifications, in order to appeal to the clergymen and defend his public image. Martin Luther King opens up his Letter from Birmingham City Jail by appealing to the clergymen's emotions, and assuring his peaceful response, which he describes in "patient and
Martin Luther King Jr. made a decision to write back to the clergyman after they addressed him. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his reasons why he fights for everyone 's rights because we all deserve to be equal and the clergyman did not see the reason why it was necessary for the King to act against the clergyman. King wrote a profound letter that must have influence everyone. King used pathos, logos, and ethos. Martin Luther King Jr. used various types of techniques to persuade the clergyman and the other critics, but the method that I believe that was the most effective convincing the audience was pathos.