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

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.

During the time of the Letter from Birmingham Jail, the Civil Rights Movement was taking place. Many people protested for equality amongst people of all color. These people faced injustice, inequality, and police brutality. In Gandhi’s quote, I feel it relates to the people who went through these hardships. Throughout the Letter From Birmingham Jail, written by Martin Luther King Jr. he uses numerous amounts rhetorical devices like imagery and allusion to build his argument towards the intended audience.

He starts the letter with a very calm and reflective tone. He states “ Since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticism are sincerely set forth, I want to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” By addressing them in a calm manner he is easing them into his argument with respect making them more likely to engage. His tone shifts from calm to passionate and reflective. He states that “we know through painful experiences that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” His tone is meant to demonstrate the struggle African Americans face. Through his passionate stand he is urging the audience to understand the main reason behind his efforts, hopefully moving them to action. He is also standing up for them as a leader working insufferably for change. Doctor King’s tone is incredibly passionate and outraged when he states “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”.

Often times in letters or passages, authors analyze strengths and weaknesses often know as rhetorical analysis. In Martin Luther King Junior’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, he uses terms of artistic appeal by utilizing ethos, pathos, and logos to demonstrate his claim. Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes personal experiences and events to therefore convince the clergyman to stop the segregation occurring and to increase the public use of nonviolent campaigning.

Persuasive writing is most effective when all three rhetorical appeals, Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, come together to form an indisputable argument. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X are two of the most influential figures of the past few decades; similarly, their work is summarized as some of the most persuasive and controversial of all time. The audience of both of their pieces, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” include oppressed African Americans and the white oppressors themselves. Each man takes full advantage of the three rhetorical appeals to influence their audiences to support their radical theories about racial inequality in the 1960’s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the most effective because of its hopeful emotions, irrefutable facts and, of course, the respected author.

Obviously, again my primary motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is that this is a requirement for my English Composition Class. My heartfelt motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis is the respect I have for Martin Luther King’s intelligence and commitment that he displayed for the equality of the African American population. In analyzing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, I developed an even stronger understanding of the dedication Mr. King had for the disadvantaged poor black population and the injustice that victimized them on a daily basis.

Martin Luther King Jr, an civil rights activist, fought for the rights of African Americans in 1963. King organized various non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in his arrest. While in jail, King received a letter from eight Alabama clergyman explaining their distress and opposition to King and his followers actions. This letter occasioned his reply and caused King to write a persuasive letter justifying his actions and presence in Birmingham. Although King’s reply was addressed to the Alabama clergyman, its target audience was the “white moderate”. King understood that if he gained support from the average, indifferent white American that the civil rights movement would reach it’s goals much faster. In his

Throughout A Letter From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. reveals many challenges facing the African American community regarding criticism and racism and that the ultimate goal is to bring equality to America. He provides not only his own option, but reasons to support his thoughts. By finding the ethos, pathos, and logos in the letter, it is clear that this is written so that the form, influences the content of the piece. He wrote this in an honest, logical, and peaceful manner, but wanted to get his point across in a non-violent way in hopes to change people’s views on racism.

After criticism from eight Alabama clergymen for his nonviolent demonstrations, Martin Luther King Jr. was compelled to enlighten them on the current issues plaguing the African American community. During his confinement in a Birmingham jail, King wrote "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to address most of the clergymen 's concerns about his protest. In his letter, King emphasized why his actions were not unwise or untimely and explained that now was the perfect moment to act. His studies and sermons, as a preacher and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, positioned him to utilize a great number of religious leaders ' philosophies to defend his peaceful demonstrations. King 's argument was not limited to emotional appeal but flooded with logical evidence to back up his statements. King 's masterpiece of a letter powerfully employed many rhetorical devices to heighten his argument for direct action.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay, Letter from Birmingham Jail, he writes a letter that replies to the comments made by eight clergymen. The clergymen had said that African Americans were reacting too hastily and harshly to their environment and that they should wait for their freedom, saying it would come to them eventually. However, Dr. King explains to them, and all those reading the letter, that their freedom is not going to come willingly as well as the life they are forced to live. In one section of the letter, one which could easily be called the most significant paragraph of Dr. King’s rhetoric, he mentions how his family and the families around him are treated. The section, paragraph fourteen, uses a great deal of pathos or emotional

Throughout Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, written to the Alabama Clergymen, he addressed the innumerable hardships that African Americans were enduring at this time. He explains how African Americans have waited much too long for their natural rights. His goal is to point out the flaws and lack of equality in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos to show the struggle of African Americans at this time.

Dr. Martin Luther King letter was a statement on why the city is trying to change the segregation laws. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement and apart of Southern Leadership Council. Dr. King “Letter from Birmingham Jail” composed this writing which is known as the most important writing during the civil rights period. This letter aided the movement’s trials and tribulations that were endured by the negro community on their fight for equality. Dr. King speaks out about his plan of nonviolent approach to settle racial conflicts among the community. Detailing each rhetorical device in this letter, Dr. King’s work became a crucial element in projection to end segregation.

3,446 black people were brutally lynched from 1882 to 1968. Lynchings were popular among white supremacists, and was only one of hundreds of discriminatory events black people faced. Martin Luther King Jr was a prominent figure in the push for equality. He wrote speeches, formed parades, and protested to end segregation. While confined in Birmingham Jail, King wrote a letter in response to white clergymen after they told him his actions for equality were untimely. The letter was published and it had an incredible effect: the clergymen chose to side with King. Although MLK exercises a plethora of rhetorical devices throughout the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, logos, allusion, and ethos are the most powerful because they

Martin Luther King, Jr wanted to raise the public awareness of racism, and to end discrimination and segregation, but on his journey in April 1963, he was arrested and sent to jail for protesting in Birmingham, Alabama. The local newspaper posted a letter from eight white clergymen criticizing him. Martin Luther King, Jr responded to them using logical, moral, and ethical reasoning to get his point across. He saw the good in people, even when they were cruel, in the end he wanted to write this letter to answer the criticisms of his work.

Martin Luther King Jr. supports his thesis is by using appeals to emotion in his opening paragraph when he realizes the importance of his audience, being the clergymen and their importance as leaders in their community’s. "I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth..."(253). He mentions the past history of blacks and their efforts to obtain civil rights, appealing to the lack of progress and all the sense of frustration leading into the constant delays in making a change. Planning peaceful protest for something just to come up and ruin the plans only having to put it off longer, adding onto the hundreds of years the black community has waited. “Having aided in this community need, we felt our need that our direct-action program could be delayed no longer” (255). Another way he uses appeal of emotion is when he address of all the horrific things that the whites have done to the Negroes as well as when he talks about how tough it is on children to learn the discriminations blacks go through: “When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort