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

Martin Luther King’s inspiration for writing his, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was mainly to appeal to an undeniable injustice that occurred during his time. His letter was in response tos eight white clergymen, who objected to King protesting in Birmingham. Dr. King effectively crafted his counterargument after analyzing the clergymen’s unjust proposals and then he was able to present his rebuttal. Dr. King effectively formed his counterargument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen and then using logos, pathos and egos to present his own perspective on his opponent’s statements.

Gray and empty, the sounds of the inmates echo throughout the prison block. Controlled under superior authority, many stories are kept within the four wall cell. The Civil Rights Movement is at a peak in 1963. While prisoner in Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr., an important historical figure,constructs “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” to the eight clergymen, who wrote an open letter criticizing his actions and involvement in Birmingham, Alabama dealing with the segregation and racism going on. A Christian minister and an intelligent individual with a Doctorate in Philosophy, King powerfully and constructively writes to the clergymen. Sitting in a confined, uncomfortable prison cell, he addresses the criticisms. King utilizes techniques of diction, syntactical devices, and rhetorical devices for strategy to respond to the clergymen.

Luther writes in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” informs and states why he is in jail, and the purpose of what he is in the middle of. Martin Luther King jr addresses that when he enters the jail he is quickly criticized. He supports his claim by first answering the statements he was asked and starting with explaining what unjust and just laws was as he quotes, “An unjust law is a human, law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” (King 1064) Then it informs about the segregation laws and what he thinks is right in his opinion like repeating segregation statements that state and

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).

When he was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama he then fell under criticism by white clergy for coming to Birmingham as an “outsider” to cause trouble and increase tension through public sit-ins and marches. I feel that Martin Luther King was able to both set aside that criticism by establishing his credibility to have not only been invited to come to Birmingham to help end the injustice to the Negro people via peaceful means, but he was able to identify moral, legal and ethical cause to promote his quest to put a stop to what he identified as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (King, 2017, p, 3). I will provide a summary that will show what Martin Luther King believed were the cause of the injustice that he was striving to end to as well as his concern over the white community’s ability to make the Negro “wait for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights.”

In April 1963, the city of Birmingham, Alabama, was caught in the midst of massive civil rights protests. Protestors advocating for desegregation brought the city to a halt with widespread disruptive yet peaceful protests. After a circuit court placed an injunction against protesting, parading and picketing King was arrested for his involvement. While in jail King received a letter written by eight Alabama clergymen criticizing King for his disruptive protests and the breaking of laws which lead to his arrest. In response King wrote an open letter explaining his actions that would be known as “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In his letter Dr. King effectively addresses an unsympathetic audience by focusing on building his credibility rather than seeking an emotional response.

Martin Luther King strived to be an example for all colored people in his lifetime. Because of his passion for equality, he could insert himself into prestigious respectable positions. He had his mind set on truly changing the world with his equality driven viewpoints and uses his dedication to make indisputable arguments. One important use of ethos was the reminder of why he was in Birmingham in the first place. King relayed to the clergymen that he had a high position in a large Christian Leadership Group. He creates a bond with his audience, the clergymen, by letting them know that they share faculty, educational and financial resources with their affiliated organizations. King explained that he had promised to engage in any non-violent protest if it were deemed necessary, and that is exactly what happened. Mr. King made a promise and he simply followed through with that promise showing he is a loyal person.

Race is not merely a group of people with same identity, origin and physical characters but it is an issue that involves emotions, opinions and rights. In America, people were and are recognized mainly on the basis of their skin color. This could be best witnessed in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He introduces his arguments against injustice. He provides the reason for being in Birmingham by saying that, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (__). His thesis awakes the desire to have equal rights for the blacks. Dr. King uses various rhetorical devises such as allusion, ethos, and pathos that appeals emotionally, socially, morally and makes the text relatable and important because his text responds

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

What would you do if you were a part of being treated poorly and segregated from others? The speech from “I Have a Dream” is by Martin Luther King Junior. This is about the Civil Rights movement and the audience was a giant crowd at the Lincoln Memorial Washington in D.C. The letter from “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is by Martin Luther King Junior. He got put in jail because of protesting in public. The audience was 8 clergymen at the Birmingham Alabama Jail. My purpose is using logos and pathos to compare the “I Have a Dream” speech ,and the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” letter.

In Letter From Birmingham Jail (April 12, 1963), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. responds to criticism over his leadership over peaceful demonstrations in Alabama that claim his efforts are not timely or lawful. King supports his arguments with repeated use of logic, figurative language and rhetorical devices to assert his authority and explicit personal knowledge on the subject. His purpose is to point out to his audience injustices that are clearly happening around the Segregated South of 1963 and to clearly explain why it is imperative that action be taken immediately, as opposed to waiting for a correct time to do so. By utilizing rhetorical devices, figurative language as well as powerful universal motifs, King executes an authoritative, yet

In the summer of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. went to Birmingham due to a large amount of segregation happening there. Dr. King was invited to Birmingham because of his connection with the Southern Christian leadership conference. Because he was the president of the conference he felt the need to be in Birmingham to fix the segregation there. While Dr. King was in Birmingham he and fellow protesters were arrested. In his letter Dr. King’s letter he answers statements that white leaders said to him. In his letter, Dr. king’s rhetoric, tone, sentence structure, diction, and appeals were all presented well.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” by imprisoned civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr, King responds to eight white religious leaders who criticized the timing of his demonstrations with the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights in Birmingham. King’s purpose is to justify why the the activists could wait no longer to take “direct action” against the unjust segregation in Birmingham. King effectively uses tone, cause and effect, and examples to defend the actions of the activists against the city of Birmingham and appeal to the logic of his audience.

After being criticized about his presence in Birmingham by white clergy in a letter published in the Birmingham newspaper, Martin Luther King sets out to not only establish why he is in Birmingham, but also to establish moral, legal and ethical cause to his platform of the peaceful protests that he has been promoted and participated in that lead to his arrest and why he is in jail. Martin Luther King establishes early on his credibility as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and that he was in Birmingham due to an invitation as a result of organizational ties as well as a personal reason for being there due to a great injustice that prevails in Birmingham. Mr. King uses the Artistic proofs of Ethos, Logos and Pathos to establish his credibility and persuade or convince his audience in his platform.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an eloquent speaker and a powerful figure during the Civil Rights Movement. In “Letters from Birmingham Jail”, his use of the classical rhetoric engaged his audience and presented his thoughts/ideas clearly. Moreover, this particular text was initiated due to the non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, AL, that lead to the arrest of many African-Americans. Although this was not a spoken document, the letter was targeted for several audiences; first, the clergymen who wrote “A Call for Unity”, secondly, the average white American, who was on neither extreme, but merely kept life the way that it was, and finally, to black men and women across the nation to stand up for their rights as well. Dr. Martin Luther