Martin Luther King Jr wrote The letter from Birmingham Jail because the white clergymen through him and his pro black American organization in jail. They were demonstrating non-violent actions against racial justice and injustice of black Americans in Birmingham. Kings thesis was "Reasonable refutations of the white clergyman's criticism of his direct action – nonviolent resistance campaign was "unwise and untimely”. His reasonings are that direct action is the only way for a compromise when the white people fail to negotiate with him and his group.
In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King’s proposes plenty of arguments and claims using Pathos, which is practiced by using emotions or values of a certain group. Dr. Kings letter is written as a response to those who are doubting him and naming his cause “unwise and Untimely”. Immediately in the first sentence Martin Luther King says “While confined here in the Birmingham city jail”, using an emotional appeal for sympathy to shame them for naming his work “unwise and Untimely”, in terms where he is meaning to say “how dare you say that”. A stronger example of the pathological way of engaging King’s reader is paragraphs twelve and thirteen as he explains the feeling of being oppressed and being segregated due to their skin
In letter to birmingham jail, despite the fact that ethos was utilized extremely well, we can trust pathos and logos are utilized most adequately with the representations of what African American confronted each day, cases in history in which the law was wrong, and the makeup of unfair laws. Dr. King depicts what they needed to look consistently and the psychological toll it took against African American families, which is a prime case of tenderness. Logos is demonstrated through recorded occasions were the law was not like it was in the Holocaust. Logos is additionally demonstrated when King depicts the contrasts between an equitable and vile law, for instance if a law benefits just a few society and damages the entire, it isn't a decent law.
In both, “I Have A Dream” and “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he uses both fairly even but the way he uses pathos and arouses emotion is amazing. Therefore, i’m going to venture and explain why he uses pathos. First, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is a brilliant person. He encompasses everything you would want in the most ideal person such as; passion, love, and determination.
By using rhetorical devices and appeals such as pathos and ethos, Martin Luther King Jr. successfully convinces the clergymen to understand his cause against racial injustice and persuades them not to interfere with his plans in his 1963 “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” His eloquent writing and skillful use of multiple techniques are what make the message of his letter so impactful. King’s use of pathos and ethos makes the audience more inclined to agree with King’s cause and trust him as a person. Using ethos, King (1963) states his position as the “president of the Southern Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia,” (p. 1).
In the letter, Dr.King defends peaceful protests using ethos, diction, and pathos, which strengthens his case. He wants to win the clergymen's support in his struggle against racial injustice. He establishes credibility by utilizing ethos. ¨I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference¨(pg 272), he says, demonstrating his professionalism and dependability . In the Letter an example of diction is when he repeats the words ¨just¨ and ¨unjust.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, his thesis or his main claim is racial segregation, how he is an outsider, and the injustice that African Americans had to endure due to politics, and religion. He not only speaks of the injustice that he see for himself, but the injustice and segregation that goes on all around the United States. He speaks about how a nonviolent campaign is set up or how it happens. He speaks about how they kept pushing back the nonviolent march and reasons why they would have to push back. Also how there really is never a “right” time to do a campaign or a march.
Dr martin Luther king jr is an influential figure in civil rights. While in jail for peacefully protesting he received a letter telling him that protests are "unwise and untimely. " In response to this, he wrote a letter from jail. He uses ethos pathos and allusion to establish himself as a credible leader.
Two of the most famous writings by the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. are I Have a Dream and Letter from Birmingham Jail. King employed a variety of strategies in these two pieces to convey his message and argue for the equality and justice of African Americans. This essay will analyze the goals of each piece, King's use of pathos and logos as well as the parallels and contrasts between the two.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr once said, “Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” These words came from a letter written by Dr. King to defend himself from the accusations put against him. In a newspaper article directed towards Dr. King eight clergymen accused him of being unwise and untimely after being arrested for a peaceful protest he had in Birmingham. Dr. King did an incredible job using rhetorical strategies to prove to the clergymen that he was not unwise or untimely and to convince them that they should support him rather than to criticize him.
On April 16, 1963, 33-year-old African-American Christian leader Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for protesting against segregation without a permit. His fellow clergymen published poor things about him in the newspaper while he was in jail. He decided to write them a letter back in the margins, to explain the reasons for his protest, and his struggle for freedom. Later that year, during the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King gave the “I Have a Dream” speech later that year, during the civil rights movement, to inspire the audience to continue fighting for equal rights and not to give up. The speech uses more pathos to develop his ideas, whereas in the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he relies more on logos to make them think about why he did
He effectively uses emotion in the fight for social justice. In conclusion, King employs a moral and ethical connection to evoke a sense of pathos in his audience and inspire them to take action against
Martin Luther King Jr stand out the most, was the”I have a dream speech and the Letter from Birmingham jail’ I have a Dream was a speech that was delivered in washington,DC at Lincoln memorial. Martin Luther king Jr “The letter from Birmingham” jail it was an audience 8 clergyman it was longer then “I have a dream speech” in his letter he use more logos then pathos. Martin Luther King speech “I have a dream”one pathos part that had stand out the most was when he said million of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds an exile in his own land. ”I have a dream that that my four children will one day live in a nation
While in solitary confinement for nearly 8 days, reverend and social justice activist, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to the criticism he received for his non-violent protests. Several clergy who negatively critiqued King’s approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. Within the article, the clergymen provide nine different critiques that asserted how King’s protest are invalid, uneffective, and simply unintelligent in the fight for obtaining justice and equity for individuals of color. His letter has become one of the most profound pieces of literature of the 20th century, as King uses vivid examples and eloquent rhetorical devices to counter all nine arguments.
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.
