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Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In Doctor Martin Luther king’s letter from a Birmingham jail, he transmits a message from the nonviolence protestors to the Birmingham clergymen about the injustice against black people. Dr. King was arrested and sent to jail in order to hold the protests. During 1963, segregation was taking over Birmingham, churches, libraries and even businesses were facing violence and constant discrimination, leaving the city a difficult and unsafe place to live for many African Americans. Through his letter, Dr. King expresses his disappointment with Birmingham and those who criticized his beliefs and movement. He defended his right to be there transmitting feelings and emotions on the matter. Dr. King’s civil rights movement started in 1955 heading …show more content…

king implies the rhetorical technique alluding to the bible. By comparing the prophets that the left their village and carried their “Thus saith the lord “ in the eight century B.C just like apostle Paul carrying the gospel of freedom, king believed in future changes with his presence in Birmingham (576). Dr. king continues alluding to the bible by using ethos as a strategy to get to the audience. He added credibility to his words and ethical meaning “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despite full use you “ () “let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty …show more content…

king states the reason of his presence in Birmingham by starting with an anecdote on how everything began. He explains that “ several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on a call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program “ Dr. king restates that its an invitation by saying “I am here because I was invited here”. By these words, Dr. Martin Luther king transmits a valid reason to the audience proving the real reason behind the movement that was happening at that moment. He responded to the clergymen, who had criticized his appearance in Birmingham he also refers to the negotiations mad with the leaders of Birmingham’s economic community. False promises were made about removing humiliating signs from stores. By narrating multiple events, Dr. king lets the audience understand his visit in Birmingham, and what his intentions behind his

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When reading the first article “King (1963) Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, Dr. King address his concerns about the criticisms and how they claim him to be an outsider who comes to cause trouble. He provides a main reason for him being there, which is to battle the injustice that remains in Birmingham, feeling compelled to work for justice anywhere. I knew that Dr. King wrote a letter in Birmingham jail but I didn’t know the reason why he was put in there, on April 12, 1963 the city prohibited civil right marches that were happening in Birmingham, not wanting to fail King lead a peaceful march that got him arrested with some of his fellow followers. I found it interesting how king did what he did because of the movement of freedom and this

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On April 12, 1963, eight clergymen wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. to let him know that they felt like he was causing problems and chaos by having demonstrations in Birmingham. King later wrote the “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” to let the clergymen know that he felt like there was a need for nonviolent protesting because he was tired of waiting for something to be done. He also wrote this letter to emphasize his deep disappointment with the church since they, as people of god, were not living up to their responsibilities. In his letter, King used both ethos and pathos to convince not only the clergymen, but other people that something had to be done about the unfair treatment the blacks were receiving and about the segregation that was occurring.

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I am here because I have organizational ties here” (Paragraph 3). Through this quote, Dr. King confirms his location in Birmingham by stating that his organization is the reason for protesting in Alabama. This shows he is acting as a professional, serious, and respectful man and he is not there randomly or radically.

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Martin Luther King Jr. strived for justice. It was his main focus, and he was willing to go great lengths to achieve justice. In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he focuses on addressing criticism of his work and actions. He acknowledged that he had many people who didn’t agree with what he did or believed in, but that never stopped him from doing what he believed was right. He stated that what brought him to Birmingham in the first place, was injustice.

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In Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he uses different methods of persuasion throughout his letter to help the eight white religious leaders understand why he has paid a visit to Birmingham. Starting with Ethos, King uses this to justify that he is not an outsider as they may think. King is a part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that has various facilities spread out across the South including Birmingham. King and many of his staff members were requested to visit Birmingham it is not as if they were planning to raid the city and disrupt the peace if there was any to begin with. To top it off the invitation that King and his staff received was sent months ago before they arrived at Birmingham.

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In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. is responding to criticism of the peaceful protests and sit-in’s that were taking place in Birmingham, which led to his being arrested and the reason that he was in jail. He first responds to the accusation of being an “outsider” by setting the stage for his being in Birmingham due to being invited because of his ties to the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights organization and due to the fact that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Next, Martin Luther King expands on his moral beliefs that there is “injustice” in the way that Birmingham is “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States”.

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Dr. King's, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is poignant in many ways in regard to a "big picture" viewpoint of our society. Overall, it speaks to the viewpoint that we all have a social responsibility to each other to work against injustice irrespective of where that injustice takes place. "Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses and responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro- black American organization about his and his organization's non- violent demonstrative actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. Dr. King told the local clergy in Birmingham that he understood he was an outsider and he realized that his presence in Birmingham would cause trouble. However, he also felt that he had a moral

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Letter from Birmingham City Jail, 1963 Question 4. Where did King position himself and his followers along the spectrum of black society? What alternatives to nonviolence were advocated by others? Why did he gain “a bit of satisfaction from being considered an extremist”?

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Marthin Luther King Jr. Marthin Luther King uses Pathos and logic help to affectively present about the cruel things occuring mostly in the south. He was a supporter of equality and right, but against the laws that created segregation between races. The logic, pathos and reality of his writing effectively presents the real life situation occuring. To begin with, Marthin Luther king Jr. explains the reasons he was in Birmingham.

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Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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King first builds up these analogies to gain the attention of his religious followers. He’s using Jesus to compare their ideas and convince his audience that they are extremists. Referencing Jesus connects a majority of the nation because a lot of them worshipped Jesus Christ and a lot

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At the end of his letter he addresses the clergymen " I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader, but as a fellow clergymen and a Christian brother" (paragraph 7). This statement makes a claim the king wants to meet these seven clergymen in person and speak about the issues he wrote in this letter. Another rhetorical tool king uses in his letter are similes. This rhetorical tool helps king compare two things and address the point as he sees it. " Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek" (paragraph 3).

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With the help of these four steps, he justifies the need for the demonstration. King illustrates the city of Birmingham as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States,” (King 2). Here King is able to show that injustices are present in Birmingham, which further justifies his reason for a peaceful demonstration. King proceeds to speak about his method of protesting. He states that negotiation was not met, and that “[their] hopes had been blasted,” that like “victims of a broken promise,” their wishes had been disregarded, (King 2).

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