Dr King Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis: Letter from Birmingham City Jail “I think I should give my reason for being in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the argument of outsider’s coming in (King,1963).” Dr. King was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and he was one of the most visible spokesperson. Dr. King wrote “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” for the purpose of explaining why he was in a Birmingham, Alabama, jail and also talking about segregation and how hard it was on people. Dr. King’s letter shows how hard he was fighting for freedom, and how horrendous segregation was. To begin, in Dr. King’s letter his audience was the local white clergy who criticized him. King had hoped they would support him.

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. The criticism made by the these eight clergyman epitomize the idea of whiteness and white privilege.

JoAnna Guzman AP English Period 4 Mrs. Solis 5 February 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. letter “ Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a response to eight Alabama clergymen of 1963. The clergymen had accused King of being an “outsider” and interfering with the racial issues of the community of Birmingham. When writing in response to the eight clergymen from Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical device of historical and biblical allusions.The use of the historical and biblical allusions/ references being used is to help build a standard ground for his audiences and the clergymen; it also helps make his letter more effective. King 's letter uses biblical allusions to create analogies between

In the “letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he uses pathos, logos and rhetorical devices such as imagery, sarcasm and biblical allusions to show how his work of nonviolent protests are smart and how Birmingham has violated their civil rights. He expresses himself in his letter by explaining why he can not wait any longer because of the countless murders, the unsolved bombing, lynching, and violence towards the black community. MLK Jr. came across a statement which was a call for unity by eight Clergymen while being in the Birmingham city jail because of him not having a license to protest. In response to the eight Clergymen, Dr. king decided to write a historical letter letting them know that freedom was not an option because of the false promise and the continued violence. The letter is written to inform the people who are against, neutral and with segregation that it is time to take action and prove to the clergymen why he will stand up for what is right.

The lack of assistance to these African Americans conveys how white Christian leaders were in favor of racial segregation, and had no problems with it. The letter that Dr.King wrote allows for people from anywhere around the world to understand the importance of the Civil Rights Movement, and why it was necessary for people of all races to participate in it. Martin Luther King Jr writes this letter originally because he is upset that the clergymen don’t understand why non-violent protests are being looked down on, and he clarifies why these protests must happen for African Americans. The letter has a significant importance because it gives plenty of information about that time period. Without Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, African Americans would still be separated and mistreated in unbearable

Martin Luther King was arrested. It was in the Birmingham jail where he wrote the famous Letter from Birmingham city jail. In the letter, King rejected the accusations against nonviolent resistance and civil rights activists made by white clergymen. This letter is an effective argument against the white clergymen’s criticism. The clergymen criticized that the nonviolent resistance created tension.

Amidst the intense Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and put in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting racial discrimination and injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. It was during this time that Dr. King, refusing to sit idly by, wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” one of the most inspiring documents in history. With his respectful nature, humility, compassion, optimism, and determination, King responded to a group of white Alabama clergymen who had condemned the civil rights protests as extreme in their open letter, “A Call for Unity.” Although his letter was directed towards a small group of eight men, his words eventually reached the minds and hearts of the entire country. Throughout the letter, Dr. King does a tremendous job of supporting his argument with the three elements of Aristotle’s rhetorical appeal. He ended up creating a very persuasive letter, one that effectively uses ethos in establishing his character, logos in providing reason and logic, and pathos in reaching human emotions.

In the text he says, "I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes. As you can see King expresses his feeling of the negro sit-inners and demonstrators not given the verdict of being the "real heroes" of the south which they were king also give off a slight glance of angry towards this as well. As well as fur Roosevelt he too give off a tone of noble and a slightness of anger. In the Four Freedom speech he says things like, " it 's not probable

This event is exactly what it 's called: standing in front of the schoolhouse doors, which is what Alabama governor did. George Wallace, Alabama 's governor at the time, stood at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama to attempt to block two black students from enrolling at the school. Bob Dylan references this even when he says, "Come senators, congressmen/Please heed the call/Don 't stand in the doorway/Don 't block up the hall..." (Dylan 3). The overall meaning of these lines that Dylan says is that men who are in politics should take notice of the problems, and try to fix them, instead of blocking the way for them to get fixed. The underline meaning is the men in politics should take notice of the problems still, but in reference to the "Stand in the Schoolhouse door" event, they literally should not block the doorway or the hall.

The message he is trying to convey, using diction, is “we” the population are not united and “when” will we become equals. Through his speech, King, is not only trying to establish black men’s rights but he’s trying to emphasize how all Americans, all the population, is involved in this injustice, regardless of skin color, religions or even homosexuality. Throughout King’s speech he never refers to himself as "I" instead he consistently uses the word "we", therefore, further establishing his notion of equality. Unity is only accomplished by communities accepting each