Letter To Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

Some of his examples are well known such as Hitler while others were not as popular. This appeals to ethos because it demonstrates King’s palate for quality education, proving his credibility.

In his letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King Jr., a civil right activist a Baptist Minister and the creator of “In Letter from Birmingham jail.” King uses concepts of logos, pathos, and ethos to convey his points. Racial tension was high during Martin Luther King’s time, and he was the voice of the black community. He articulated his words carefully and had use methods of civil disobedience to convey his point. One of the first appeals he makes in his letter is from a logos perspective. He states, “if his repressed emotions do not come out in these nonviolent ways they will come out in ominous expressions of violence” (King 425). King’s example shows that peaceful protest should be heard just as well as a violent protest. The

In paragraphs 12-14 of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King begins addressing the clergymen’s belief that the peaceful demonstrations conducted by him and his associates were untimely. King starts answering questions frequently heard by opposing or moderate forces, as well as essentially denouncing the resistance to desegregation. King then introduced the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; concluding that the oppressor is not inclined to act on things that do not directly affect them. Therefore, providing a platform of his argument as to why blacks could no longer wait to be given their basic human rights. Action needed to take place because fair treatment was no longer a hope to be given, it had to be taken.

King uses ethos, which is making himself seem credible, many times throughout his letter. An exceptional example of this would be in paragraph three, where King says, “...so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.” By comparing himself to the apostle Paul, it makes King appear to be more credible; more important and worthy of his position of leadership in the civil rights

“The Letter From a Birmingham Jail” was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while incarcerated in response to his fellow preachers telling him to be more patient in the pursuit of civil rights. The purpose of the letter is to explain the reasons that civil rights should be actively pursued through protest. MLK seeks to persuade the recipients of the letter to side with him in terms of pushing for equality as fast as possible. King uses anecdotes, anaphora, and imagery to increase both the emotional impact of the speech by showing the struggle that him and others have gone through, as well as the authority of King himself by showing that his views on the movement are very well thought out and backed by solid reasoning.

King’s use of many rhetorical devices in these three paragraphs of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” solidify his conviction that segregation needs to be quelled immediately. Dr. King’s explanations justify the demonstrations and protests that he is participating in. Although this was a letter meant for clergymen, Dr. King simultaneously taught all of America a very important lesson: justice is a universal natural right, and when it is denied, it needs to be demanded. Racial equality is the form of justice in this case, as segregation was the culprit that divided society into two racial groups. Thus, Dr. King successfully advocated civil rights through this letter with powerful, clever

During the 1960’s, racism was still a prominent problem in America. The Civil Rights Movement was under way. African Americans were fighting for their basic human rights. One of the most notable figures of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. He fought for African American’s rights using nonviolent resistance; however, during a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was thrown into jail. While in his jail cell, Dr. King wrote a letter to clergymen from the Birmingham jail claiming his stance on peaceful confrontation on defending African American’s human rights. In his letter, Dr. King uses rhetorical devices to strengthen his argument in his letter to the clergymen. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham

At the beginning of the letter, King had already manifested his great ethos. He showed his sincere attitude to readers to better answer their questions, “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms” (King), which enabled him to establish his trust in some demanding readers. Moreover, at the end of the letter, he wrote, “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 clergyman and a Christian brother” (King). This shows

King transcends both the context of present struggle and his listeners. Unlike them, he mk understands the historical situation… he instructs them in the grand strategy of the mmmp Birmingham movement, just as any kindly teacher might attempt to cure the ignorance mmm and elevate the understanding of novice students (Osborn 28). Martin Luther King, Jr. is an expert on the struggle and obviously had the best intentions of his readers in mind while writing. This makes him both reliable and personally involved in spreading the campaign. In his “Letter,” Mr. King refuses to be put in a box, despite the location of his composition. He represents himself as a moral compass; righteous without being arrogant. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s tone and expression are an extravagant part of the letter’s ‘persuasive appeal’ (Leff, Utley 39). Mr. King himself plays an impressive part in making “Letter From Birmingham Jail” extremely effective.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who genuinely knew how to capture his audiences with his words. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” makes an appeal to his reader about the injustices that have been set in place by the oppressor. In the letter he talks about numerous things, mortal authority in Christian communities, American ideas, and the suffering of the African American community. Dr. King uses logos to persuade the reader why he s protesting in the first place because the oppressor has broken the negotiation between the whites and the African American. His logical argument to why the ideal way to proceed with non-violent protests is because of the political decisions that have been made. An example he brings up is the idea of there being just and unjust laws in America and as citizens those unjust should be deliberately disobeyed. Dr. King says, “Conversely, one has a mortal responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all” he soon starts to define what both type of laws means…”A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law…An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the mortal law.” In order to persuade his reader about the idea he has do more than engage with the readers emotions. By Dr. King defining what the difference between the two laws sets a more conceiving idea of the treatment towards African American. Martin Luther King basic point is unjust laws do not just hurt the one being oppressed but also the one doing the oppressing. This is more of logos appeal for the reason he is not trying to connect with the reader emotionally but rather make sure the reader understands his cause for the protests.

Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr in his persuasive letter, “letter from Birmingham jail” argues against segregation by using rhetorical devices. Martin Luther King Jr’s purpose is to express his struggles through segregation, he adopts an aggressive tone to get his point across to people in power.

Martin Luther King Jr. 's 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail", a rhetorical masterpiece, was written in response to eight clergymen’s statements condemning his nonviolent direct actions. He defends the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights nonviolent, direct action against individuals, institutions, and laws that look the other way while unjust racial prejudice against African Americans runs rampant in Birmingham. Using three main appeals, Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Dr. King communicates the struggle that was the essence of human rights, equality. Appealing to the logic, ethics, and emotions of the reader strengthens his rebuttal of the opposition, helps him gain support, and clearly justify the recent direct action he led. King uses logos to illustrate his argument and invalidate the opposition to his claim, leading the reader to side with his position. Exampling this, he demonstrates that direct action is not opposed to negotiation, contrary to what his fellow clergyman believe, and states “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King par 9).

Ethos, ethical appeal and credibility as a writer, is portrayed in every word in this letter. King’s language is more than appropriate to the audience and subject, and his

MLK Use of Rhetoric “Letter from Birmingham jail” and “I Have a dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King are both significant to the civil rights movement. In 1963 and 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King delivered two of the most authentic pieces known to time. He wrote the pieces with such charisma combining deeply rooted emotion and passion for civil rights. Both his speech and letter express his obsession for the nation to look past the color of their neighbors skin but to look at the content of their character. Kings use of rhetoric in these two selections contrasts because his purpose is not the same.

Over half a century has passed since civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” in 1963. He wrote his letter towards the Alabama clergymen, but he published it publicly. In his letter, Dr. King addresses injustice, segregation, and police brutality towards African Americans. Knowing that the public will read his letter, Dr. King makes sure he can relate, understand, and elaborate on the African-American conflicts and worries of never reaching the goals they want, civil rights, unity between African Americans and whites and the end of racism. Dr. King use rhetorical appeals, mainly pathos to progress from injustices towards African--Americans. There are a few quotes that shape the letter in my perspective, they form the relation between the author and the reader in order to bring about change.