Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'

In the Letter from Birmingham City Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses these three persuasive elements (Ethos, Logos, Pathos) to reach the goal of argumentative writing, which is to persuade the audience that your ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else 's. The first appeal that uses ethos in the greeting of the letter, which reads 'My Dear Fellow Clergymen. ' This illustrates that Dr. King is letting the reader understand him in his role of a religious leader. This is known to be a position in which the individual is seen as generally good, upright, truthful and trustworthy. The point is that Dr. King was ethos to remind the reader about his role as a religious leader, rather than another role that would have been equally valid.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained. He as well emphasizes the importance of the demonstration in moral and historical grounds.

Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement. Dr. King wanted to end segregation and he also wanted equal rights for everyone, but he was told by the clergyman that the movement was “unwise” and “untimely”. King explained that there will never be a right time for change in this society with bringing equality and justice to us all. Dr. King was told several times to wait, which prolonged his protest and marches. King became frustrated because people were being mistreated and judged everyday based off the color of their skin. Dr. King felt that segregation was wrong, and he refused to sit back and do nothing. Throughout King’s argument, he appealed his own ethos to his opponents by saying “I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth”. Dr.

The writer’s meticulous use of selection of detail, diction and deductive reasoning allows the reader to further understand the events that occurred along with the effects it had on the community as a whole. Those who disagreed with his actions were disproved through these rhetorical devices, allowing them to comprehend his reasoning for his behavior in Birmingham. Overall Martin Luther King’s letter from the Birmingham jail is

Martin Luther King used persuasive speech to get his points across. Throughout his letter, he presented an issue, restating opposers’ points of view and the value it holds, ending with a suggestion which appeals to all sides of the issue. He also countered these criticisms with honesty and equity,

In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to jail because of a peaceful protest, protesting treatments of blacks in Birmingham. Before the protest a court ordered that protests couldn’t be held in Birmingham. While being held in Birmingham, King wrote what came to be known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Not even King himself could predict how much of an impact this letter would have on the Civil Rights Movement. In the letter kind defended Kings beliefs on Nonviolent Protests, King also counters the accusations of him breaking laws by categorizing segregation laws into just and unjust laws. King uses this principle to help persuade others to join him in his acts of civil disobedience.

Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream” speech he uses many different rhetorical devices. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. These purposes can be similar, or different. In short, Martin Luther King Jr. includes rhetorical devices in his writing.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he is addressing the Clergymen, more specifically the white church and its leadership who criticized his efforts in the civil rights movement, by calling his demonstrations unwise and untimely. He is also simultaneously addressing the national audience as well in letting them know of the injustices of the time. It was 1963, and Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter from inside a jail cell. He had been arrested during an anti-segregation march for not having a valid parading permit in Birmingham, Alabama. In this letter he addresses the criticisms that were brought forth to him. First and foremost, he lets his audience know that he will address them with patience and reasoning. For

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and

Martin Luther King was a very kind and whole hearted man. He was the author of the “I Have A Dream” speech, Kings purpose of his speech was for the jobs and freedom of the African American people. King had many marches, but his most famous on was The March on Washington on August 28, 1963 and at least 250,000 people attended this march. King was man who was very passionate about what he believed in. His was of righting is very profound, intelligent, and clever.

“I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King used four simple words to reveal the most commonly sincere desires of those racially oppressed people in America in his notable speech during the era of civil rights movement. In the meantime, it also roused rages of American racists. King’s non-violent strategy for gaining social and economical justice for African American was effective and racial discrimination has been reduced; however, inequality still exists among different races in the United States after 50 years. King’s defective success in the civil rights movement has aroused some questions. What stylistics did Martin Luther King use that make his non-violent strategy work in inspiring people that equal rights should be granted to all

Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham City Jail makes heavy use of ethos and logos to clarify issues and concerns from his criticizers, but relies even more on the emotional connection that it portrays on the reader. With this clarification, King is able to defend his image, and re-ignite the drive, that his imprisonment and criticism had halted, towards the progression of the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King Jr was serving in jail for his strategies and ideas of the perfect justice in an injustice era, Martin Luther King Jr. responded to a critical public statement by eight disgruntled Alabama Clergymen with a letter called, “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” He wanted to change and make a difference by expressing his ideas and strategies in a letter to the clergymen. Martin Luther responds to the clergymen using analogy and juxtaposition to depict that there was injustice in Birmingham.

On April 28th, 1963 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech to thousands of civil rights supporters during the March on Washington, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. King’s speech touched the souls of every listener making each and every civil rights activist and supporter believe that a change will come. The question for you is do you consider his speech as one of the greatest of all time, if not the best? During Dr. King’s speech he used a plethora of rhetorical devices in which he used in an exceptional way with an influential tone. The way these rhetorical devices were utilized displayed just how educated King was. Since he knew he was addressing an uneducated