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Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

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“Effective writing can cause riots, ignite revolutions, and induce love. Treat the form with respect” (Ellis). Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, was a revolutionary document. It was not a letter to cause a bloody revolution, rather being a letter to heal. The United States was a festering wound that wasn’t able to heal on it’s own, and needed the assistance of King. King's letter was like an effective medicine necessary for healing. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is effective at convincing the audience of joining the movement of equality because of his use of rhetorical appeals, his experience with the topic, and his understanding of the audience. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, provokes …show more content…

In “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he states, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (1). King is warning those in his audience that injustice has a way of spreading; therefore, it needs to be confronted and stopped where it occurs. “We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom” (6). America was founded upon freedom; nevertheless, sooner or later America would have came to the conclusion that colored men and women weren’t being allowed the same freedoms that we all were allowed to have according to the Constitution. King is expanding his audience’s thoughts, and revealing to them that whether they like it or not change is going to happen. “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever” (4). Eventually, revolution was going to occur, and King is trying to show his readers that this revolution doesn't have to be a bloody one. “I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends” (7). Even though King and his followers were being treated immorally, it would have been illogical for them to take immoral actions against those who are not doing morally upright things. If they were to use immoral means, it would have given them the label of being hypocrites, and only would have made things

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