Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Although Martin Luther King Jr. lived seven hundred years after Thomas Aquinas, King was greatly influenced by the work of Aquinas. In his “The Power of Non-Violence” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. uses many ideas from Thomas Aquinas regarding a ‘higher law’ and its relation to human law. King directly refers to Aquinas when he says, “To put it in terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law” (“Letter”). Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Aquinas agree natural and divine law is higher than human law, yet they disagree whether violence should be used to achieve justice. Along with Aquinas, King refers

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

In the essay “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, he expresses feelings of hate and despair towards his father. His father died when James was 19 years old from tuberculosis; it just so happens that his funeral was on the day of the Harlem Riot of 1943. Baldwin explains that his father isn’t fond of white people due to the racist past. He recalls a time when a white teacher brought him to a theater and that caused nothing but upset with his father, even though it was a kind act. Many events happened to Baldwin as a result of segregation, including a time where a waitress refused to serve him due to his skin color and Baldwin threw a pitcher of water at her. Throughout this essay James Baldwin uses characterization to show his father’s

In A Letter to My Nephew, James Baldwin, the now deceased critically acclaimed writer, pens a message to his nephew, also named James. This letter is meant to serve as a caution to him of the harsh realities of being black in the United States. With Baldwin 's rare usage of his nephew 's name in the writing, the letter does not only serve as a letter to his relative, but as a message to black youth that is still needed today.

In James Baldwin’s essay, Notes of A Native Son, he clearly makes the point that hate destroys. Over the course of the essay, James Baldwin uses inductive reasoning by stating examples of how terrible it was growing up as a black man in the 1950’s, including how he almost got beat up when he was with a friend, how he was refused service at a restaurant, and eventually, the violent mob that he encountered. He states during his essay, “hatred itself became an exhaustive and self-destructive force” to tell his audience about his relationship with hatred.This organizational pattern of providing evidence and then making a conclusion is the most effective method for Baldwin because his audience should be surprised about what Baldwin learned. The knowledge that

As of the year 2016, there are an estimated 324,118,787 people living in America. 324,118,787 people consider themselves to be Americans and 324,118,787 people have decided that America really is worthy enough to be called home. These people, whether they were born within the country or emigrated from another country, comingle in this melting pot of a nation, sharing grocery stores and hospitals and neighborhoods and all the ideologies that make up American society, and each of these people have their own lives and opinions and personal beliefs. All of these people, all (roughly) 324,118,787 of them, fall under the definition of an American – a person who lives in America, because there is simply no other way to define what an American is when

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 the “letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he uses pathos, logos and rhetorical devices such as imagery, sarcasm and biblical allusions to show how his work of nonviolent protests are smart and how Birmingham has violated their civil rights. He expresses himself in his letter by explaining why he can not wait any longer because of the countless murders, the unsolved bombing, lynching, and violence towards the black community. MLK Jr. came across a statement which was a call for unity by eight Clergymen while being in the Birmingham city jail because of him not having a license to protest. In response to the eight Clergymen, Dr. king decided to write a historical letter letting them know that freedom was not an option because of the false promise and the continued violence. The letter is written to inform the people who are against, neutral and with segregation that it is time to take action and prove to the clergymen why he will stand up for what is right.

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.

He then refers to his earlier statement about the apathy of the clergymen regarding the reason for the demonstrations, alluding to their anxiety over the protesters willingness to break the law. However, he brings up a dichotomy: the laxness and rigidity in which different laws are enforced. Namely, he sarcastically refers to the apprehensive enforcement of the 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation. Well, why are only some laws enforced? King answers this question by stating that there are two kinds of laws: just and unjust. The former is mainly characterized by one quality: morality. See, for a law to be just, it cannot be forced upon a specific demographic of the population by another; every demographic must have the opportunity for equal representation in the proposition of said law. Otherwise, there will always be a feeling of being acted-upon for the oppressed rather than collectively acting as a

In the eyes of Martin Luther King Jr., Justice within a society is achieved through the implementation of just laws. Furthermore, “just laws are regulations that have been created by man that follow the laws of God for man” (“Clergymen’s Letter”). Any law that does not correspond with the ideals of God and morality are considered to be unjust or a form of injustice. King identifies that injustice is clearly evident within the justice system. This injustice can truly be seen through the misconduct imposed toward the African American community. Michelle Alexander, similarly, points out the same truth that African American men are targeted substantially by the criminal justice system due to the long history leading to racial bias and mass incarceration within her text “The New Jim Crow”. Both Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Michelle Alexander’s text exhibit the brutality and social injustice that the African American community experiences, which ultimately expedites the mass incarceration of African American men, reflecting the current flawed prison system in the U.S.

How does Baldwin's real-life experience connect to his short story, "Sonny's Blues"? Read Baldwin's biography for more background on his life.

In James Baldwin's short story, Sonny’s Blues, the reader should understand and visualize the historical context in order to understand the world being presented. The reader has to comprehend the harsh life of a male African-American who struggles with his dreams and drug addiction sometime around early 1957. I will discuss Baldwin's writing style, the life/value of an african american's life during this time, and the relationship between Sonny and his brother.

In terms of legacies, Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of someone whose legacy has left an impact on a great many fields. The first to come to mind for most would be civil rights activism, as he was an instrumental figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. His Letter from Birmingham Jail is a work that he wrote while incarcerated in the Birmingham City Jail in response to criticism from Alabama clergymen. This letter is a prime example of King’s expertise in constructing persuasive rhetoric that appealed to the masses at large. Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas.

He writes this letter to defend his organization and peaceful protesting, yet also identifies the racial injustices he, and many other citizens received. King’s writing was very effective in accomplishing his goal to get his point across that segregation is a very serious thing. King hopes that his powerful and emotional message in his letter will impact how the clergymen, the whites, and many others approach and take action towards segregation. He hopes that they will see how terrible inequality truly is and make the American Society have less hate and more