Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King uses Logos and repetition to enhance his argument for civil disobedience. On the first page of Letter from Birmingham Jail King uses the logical method for nonviolent campaigns for the format of his letter saying, “1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive. 2) Negotiation. 3) Self-purification and 4) direct action.” King bases his entire letter on these four steps. In order to show that they are the steps of any nonviolent campaign. This is very logical because it is purely fact that these are the steps.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a master of rhetoric, and his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a prime example of his persuasive abilities. In this letter, he used three rhetorical appeals – ethos, pathos, and logos – to persuade the clergyman that injustice was present in Birmingham and that his actions were appropriate. Firstly, MLK Jr. used ethos, referring to his credibility and character, to convince the clergyman. He established his authority on the subject by stating that he had been invited by the Birmingham affiliate of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which he was the president.

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., he writes to defend himselfagainst the clergymen’s accusations in which he explains his motive on his civil rightsdemonstrations and strives to justify the desperate needs for nonviolent action in the CivilRights Movement. His primary audience throughout the letter was to the religious leaders as hewas responding to an open letter for criticism, whereas the secondary audiences are whitemoderates and the religious population. Dr King’s letter addresses that the white attitudestowards African Americans and the Civil Rights Movements in the 1960s were hostile as theywere unable to accept the movement, especially in the South. Throughout the letter, he usesvarious literary and rhetorical

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the criticisms of his fellow clergymen and makes them feel ashamed toward their viewpoints and actions of African Americans and racial segregation. By using various rhetorical strategies, primarily the appeal to unity and various allusions, to influence the clergymen to join his fight against racial injustice. King uses “Fellow Clergymen” as his greeting in order to create a sense of unity and create a comradery based pathway to express his message. Being a clergyman himself he uses it specifically in order target the white clergyman audience, but also opens it for the rest of America to express his message of anti-segregation. This allows a respectful greeting of

He states that a just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral code, while an unjust law is out of harmony with the moral code. He states

Now the exigence of King's Letter is while in Birmingham jail he reads the Clergymen's letter, and is responding to the clergymen who called his work "unwise and untimely" (Pg 175). It is rare that King

And it is exactly what King wanted, to get what they read captured the message as strong as it really is and so convinced that continue reading the letter to finally have a more detailed view of the outrageous facts that are happening and do not refuse to see waiting for a positive reaction to change this

In paragraphs 33 to 44 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s response to “A Call for Unity,” a declaration by eight clergymen, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963), he expresses that despite his love for the church, he is disappointed with its lack of action regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Through powerful, emotionally-loaded diction, syntax, and figurative language, King adopts a disheartened tone later shifts into a determined tone in order to express and reflect on his disappointment with the church’s inaction and his goals for the future. King begins this section by bluntly stating that he is “greatly disappointed” (33) with the church, though he “will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen” (33). By appealing to ethos and informing the audience of his history with the church, he indicates that he is not criticizing the church for his own sake, but for the good of the church.

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.

Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. The clergymen along with others are addressed in an assertive tone allowing them to fully understand why his actions are justified. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through King’s effective use of diction and selection of detail. Martin Luther King opens the letter stating that the clergymen are being “influenced by the argument of ‘outsiders coming in” consequently he explains the reason for him being in Birmingham. In the opening of his explanation he states the injustices occurring, relating it to the prophets of eighth century B.C.

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.

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.

Response to “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he responded to statements written in a Birmingham newspaper that criticized his actions in the city. He undermined these disapprovals by explaining his belief in nonviolent direct action. King also went on to give opinions on other topics, such as, the lack of support from white moderates and white churches. He used technique and structure to develop his ideas and justify his methods.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the letter from jail, after he got arrested during a peaceful protest. At the time segregation was still a part of the culture in the United States and Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers were working diligently and peacefully to try and make a change in people’s hearts about segregation. In this letter MLK Jr. is writing to defend his strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, which he does effectively by using rhetoric. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference focused on Birmingham, Alabama to start a nonviolent direct action campaign with the goal to get the city to get rid of segregation laws.

King first shows the intended audience why exactly he is writing this letter then builds on his previous experiences and intentions. In very first paragraph he says that because of the criticisms that the clergyman wrote were “sincerely set forth”(214) that he decided to write the letter. He then uses his position as President of the SCLU to explain that he is in Birmingham “because injustice is here”(214). After fully explaining why he is there he builds into his support and leadership of direct action to help end discrimination. Direct action is the first step after negotiations fail to get support for a cause, mainly civil rights.