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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Rhetorical Analysis of Letter from Birmingham Jail In August of 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. This document directly addresses the white ministers’ statements. Within the letter King provides counter points to each of the clergymen’s claims. Arguing that what he was doing was for a better cause and that the white ministers were actually the ones obstructing justice. Throughout his letter King aids his point through the use of rhetorical devices. King does this by making stark comparisons, alluding to the bible and its’ stories, along with the use of figurative language. This gives King’s letter a great literary view and makes it ever more effective in resolving segregation. Within King’s letter …show more content…

Knowing this King uses allusions all through the letter to constantly remind the clergymen that the idea of segregation is directly opposing what their religious texts are stating. He also compares the plight of the African Americans to that of the teachings of Jesus Christ and his journey through adversity. King alludes to the spread of Christianity when he says, “Just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.” (1) This gives King the advantage to make himself into a sort of martyr by comparing his journey to spread his belief of racial equality to that of the people who spread the Christian faith and made it into a nationally recognized religion. It also creates a sense that King himself is a strong believer of the Christian faith, which puts him on the same level as the clergymen and gives them a sense that the only way they differ is in complexion. King also acknowledges that not all of the clergymen are of the Christian faith and references the words of Martin Buber, a Jewish philosopher, “segregation substitutes an “I – it” relationship for the “I – thou” relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things.” King does a great job at making them realize that segregation demotes the African Americans status to almost that of a slave, and doing so creates an unequal

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