Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr., activist and leader, in his letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, argued and emphasized why nonviolent direct action was not extreme when it came to dealing with racial tension in Alabama.  His letter was a well written and well thought out response to the clergymen's statement, Call to Unity, a statement that claimed that nonviolent direct action was extreme.  King’s purpose for writing his response was to persuade his audience, the clergymen/white moderates, that their thoughts on how he approached and handled racial tension were ill-judged.  He successfully got his point across in his response by using rhetorical modes of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos using biblical comparisons, explanations about his cause, and personal stories.

The year is 1963, the date April 16th. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is sitting in his cell in Birmingham, Alabama writing what we know today as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In this 12 page letter, found in Writing Arguments a Rhetoric with Readings by John Ramage, John Bean, and June Johnson, Dr. King describes his outrage and disappointment with society and finally his want for society to recognize racial prejudice. In his letter, he uses Pathos, or emotional appeal, ethos, appeal to authority/reputation, and logos, appeal to logic, to help with his argument. Dr. King uses a lot of emotional appeal and diction when writing his argument so that he could appeal to his intended audience as best he could.

One of these methods is Ethos, which appeals to ethics supported by the credibility of the person persuading. An example of King’s use of Ethos is shown when he talks about religious leaders being extremists. Equally stated “And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream” (King 27). This is example of Ethos due to the fact that Martin Luther King Jr associates himself with extremists. Nevertheless, this striked the clergymen in their

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King uses pathos, logos, and ethos to really convey his message. Though he uses all three very effectively, King most effectively uses pathos and logos by giving illustrations of what African Americans faced every day, examples in history in which the law was not right, and the make-up of a just or unjust law.

In Martin Luther King Jr.ʻs (MLK) “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” excessive use of rhetoric devices are used such as logos (logical), pathos (emotional) and ethos (ethical). Although all examples of rhetoric are present, some seem to appeal more than others. Some of the most effective rhetoric used in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are logos and pathos. While there are multiple examples of ethical (ethos) rhetoric and many more additional rhetorical devices, logical and emotional appliances seem to have an abundant amount of examples relative to these two devices. Therefore, in this prompt, I will further explore the meanings of these implements and examples referring to this topic.

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

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an open letter to African-Americans and all Americans who care about the civil right movement. In order to defend the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism and respond to being called an outsider, King wrote his famous letter “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” So why the King’s letter is so powerful and convincing to the readers? Is it because of his identity of civil-rights leader and his credibility(ethos)? Is it by the reason of the argument “there are just laws and unjust laws" (King) which he exerted numerous theoretical basis with utmost efforts(logos)? Or, It’s due to his passionate writing style and the description of the image of the oppressed black people(pathos). Actually, It’s all of them. These are the rhetorical method King used in his letter.

In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail, he argues that segregation is inhumane and is hurting the American society as a whole. All the time and energy that goes into segregation is slowing down the American society’s progress to succeed as a nation. He uses several rhetoric strategies that help adopt a tone that is both personal and logical. King was able to incorporate the rhetoric triangle into his letter and still managed to address his arguments. While using pathos, ethos, and logos, Martin Luther King Jr. was able use the clergymen’s accusations to successfully promote his own views and opinions instead.

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.

Martin Luther King, Jr. sat in Birmingham jail not because he committed a crime but because he took part in a non-violent demonstration. King received an invite to a nonviolent demonstration by a local church and was later jailed for his actions (King 1). While in jail, King reflected on the injustice in not only Birmingham, but the world as well. King addressed injustice as a universal wrong which can only be undone by people themselves and not by action forced by the government. He quickly announced that keeping the peace and obeying the law are not the same, the people ahead do not simply relinquish their role because of the selfishness of the human nature. Those who are oppressed will seek to leave injustice behind. Martin Luther

In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.

Some varieties of inspiration come as passionate love while others appeal as injustice as did Martin Luther King in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter argument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen, and then using logos, pathos, and ethos to refute his opponent's statements and present his own perspective. After stating the general purpose of his letter, Martin Luther King Jr. specifically addressed the clergymen to set up for his logical counterargument.

“A Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. was written in the margins of a letter posted by the clergymen of Alabama at this time that sparked his interest and while he inhabited the jail cell for parading around without a permit. This time allowed him the ability to respond wholeheartedly to this cynical oppressing. King’s letter addresses specific points presented in the Clergymen’s and this direct response distinguishes King’s strong points through his powerful writing.  Unethical and immoral mentions came to the attention of the Minister through the letter, and he expressed his differing views and defended his ideals and actions through Aristotle’s three rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, and pathos.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is an exceptional example of Aristotelian rhetoric because it encompasses all three types of appeals. This is evidenced first by King’s use of ethos as he writes to the eight men of religion. In providing his reasoning for being in Birmingham, King establishes himself as a man of faith. In doing this, he shows that he is trying to lay a foundation of credibility with the clergymen to whom he is addressing in the letter. It could also be said that King is attempting to establish credibility with general readers using his knowledge of the law and his extensive vocabulary.

Ethos is a way of referring to aspects that the writer has authority in and experience hence uses them to convince the reader or listener. It also comes out as the guiding beliefs and characters that characterize a community or group of people. King refers to the intended readers as 'fellow clergymen' since he was one of them and used that platform. He also quotes other authorities like "I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all'". In his use of ethos, also borrows from personal experience for instance "we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public school". In so using these ethos, he commands authority in the subject matter he is talking about and also attracts attention of the