Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is written by Martin Luther King Jr. from the Birmingham jail after he was imprisoned for being a participant in a nonviolent campaign against segregation. It was written in regards to the statement made by the white clergymen of the South. He employs rhetorical devices in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to develop the central idea of how action can no longer be delayed in regards to the oppression of the African American community by appealing to the white clergymen. King makes several sub-claims to support this central idea emphasizing that the need for action is now.

King starts each sentence in this paragraph with the word “when” and uses it to describe the types of situation his people suffer day in and day out because of segregation. The use of the word “when” has the effect of transporting the reader into that time-period and into that situation. Moreover, the reader gets the feeling that there must be many more scenarios than what Dr. King describes in the letter.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, there are lots of rhetorical strategies that he uses in response to the eight Alabama clergymen’s letter, A Call for Unity. The clergymen’s letter was criticising Dr. King’s civil rights demonstrations taking place in Alabama. The letter encouraged civil rights activists to negotiate instead of protesting and King’s letter responded arguing that it is necessary for them to take civil action and counters their claim by using ethos, asking rhetorical questions, and using numerous biblical and historical allusions.

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail that went on to become one of the most controversial and important pieces of work during the Civil Rights Movement. Like many other well written rhetorics, King alludes and uses Aristotle’s three main appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. How does King uses these appeals in his rhetoric? King effectively uses these appeals to evoke his audience’s emotion to feel remorseful for the extremity that African Americans went through and dealt with.

When the Alabama clergymen posted their public statement attacking the actions taken by African Americans who participated in peaceful speakings and demonstrations to spread equality, Martin Luther King reached out with his Letter from Birmingham Jail. In this piece, King expresses his respect, although ultimate disapproval of the clergymen’s encouragement for all to stand down and stop fighting against racism. King conveys the justifiability of his use of peaceful spokesmanship through rhetorical devices that build an appeal to ethos to convince the Alabama clergymen of the necessity for the battle against racism.

The Letter from Birmingham Jail is a letter that explains the events that occurred when clergymen criticized Martin Luther King Jr.’s entrancing the Birmingham. Mr. King writes this letter to the clergymen who says racial discrimination was in control by the law administrators and should not be changed by Mr. King or any other outsider that are not white race. Mr. King’s statement letter addresses that he wants to form and restore an organize community where all human race can fight and have equal rights. I will explain how Mr. King used the literal tools as ethos, logos, pathos and others to clearly show the content, mood and situation of writing the letter and to respond to the clergymen’s enquiries.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” - Martin Luther King. These powerful words by Martin Luther King expresses his urgent call for action in the jim crow south. Martin Luther King had just gotten arrested in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 for his protest towards civil rights. He wrote the piece Letter From Birmingham Jail in response to eight clergymen who questioned MLK’s actions and they called for unity. In this influential letter, Martin Luther King elaborates on the reasons for his actions and the need for everyone to join the cause for equality during a time of great stress and segregation between people. This letter was monumental in motivating African Americans to continue fighting against social inequality. This letter is very effective in persuading it’s readers to take action because of Martin Luther King’s use of rhetorical sense and devices to connect and spread his beliefs with his audience. All rhetorical devices are used but the two biggest factors in making this letter very effective is the use of logos and kairos throughout the piece. These rhetorical devices have allowed this piece to ring in the ears of many throughout the decades. Let’s examine both these devices in more depth through examples in MLK’s Letter From Birmingham Jail.

Injustice is a big problem in today’s society. Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which he addressed many forms of injustices that was present then and continue to be present in today’s world. Martin Luther King did a lot of things that still effect today. He got in trouble for some things as well; such as like protesting how blacks were treated. He was arrested and was sent to Birmingham City Jail. He wrote a letter to defend the strategies of nonviolent resistance to racism. He employs the use of pathos, ethos, and logos to support his argument that nonviolence resistance is definitive. Based on the pathos, ethos, and logos present in this letter, the article is overall effective to this argument.

Martin Luther King, Jr, a nonviolent and orderly protestor, was imprisioned for twenty four hours for disobeying what he believed to be an unjust law which forbade public demonstrations. In his writing, Letter From Birmingham Jail, he adresses local clergyman's claims about how civil rights activism should be carried out, breaks down their claims, and refutes them. King explains that white moderates are more devoted to order than to justice, and although he typically respects the law, it was unjust, discriminotory laws similar to the ones he opposed that made aiding a Jew in any way illegal under Hitler's rule. King's letter is excellently written, easily understandable, and uses strong rhetorical devices to discuss his beliefs and justify his actions. It is important to remember to be critical of laws that may be unjust, and not to follow them simply because they are laws bestowed upon us by an authority.

Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent protest against segregation that led to equality for African-Americans; however, not everyone agreed that King conducted his actions in a “timely manner.” After eight Alabaman clergyman criticized King for making the situation in Alabama worse, King writes the “Letter from Birmingham Jail as a response to the clergyman and a justification for his actions. King uses pathos, ethos, and logos to prove his claim that his actions occurred in a timely manner.

One rhetorical device in this paragraph was his point of view. He is talking in the first person. This supports his purpose because it shows that he is standing up for what is right. Another rhetorical device was the time the letter was written. It was written from Birmingham Jail in 1963. One structural device would be the way he is using his past experiences. This shows the reader what he has been through and gives them a better understanding of how he feels.

“I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. wrote a long letter to some criticizing clergymen within the walls of the birmingham jail, The letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, was written about unjust laws, segregation, protests, church, and equal rights. Through his passionate need to change the minds of people and to gain support, martin uses persuasive strategies to get his message across.

"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radian stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty." (King Jr., p. 812) Throughout "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King Jr. Exploits phrases and ideals similar to the quote above to address the eight clergymen who questioned his radical methods. In his letter, King utilizes his credibility as a minister and a Doctor of theology, the emotions of his audiences and the (LOGOS) in an attempt to convince the clergymen

Writing from the heart, expressing feelings, having a strong emotional impact on ones audience, using an appeal to emotion and logic, using facts and presenting arguments in a professional way, to the enlightenment of one's viewers; Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail; consists of three Rhetorical Strategies throughout his letter that is known and taught around the world as ETHOS, PATHOS and LOGOS. An appeal to ethics, a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader (ethos), an appeal to emotion, and a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response (Pathos), and finally, an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason (Logos); these three Rhetorical Strategies are used countless times throughout Martin Luther King’s Letter for Birmingham Jail.

Going back 200 years, African Americans were always treated indifferently in this “free” land we call America. Someone had to stand up for our civil rights and the man to do it was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning in 1954, Dr. King gathered up serval African Americans to start a nonviolent movement to get equal rights for our race and bring people closer together despite the color of their skin. In the year of 1963 Dr. King and several others were arrested for having a nonviolent protest in Birmingham, Alabama against how blacks were being treated in that town and around the country. In Dr. King’s letter from jail, he demonstrates his usage of rhetorical devices to make the clergymen understand what was taking place in the lives of African American people at that time and to give a more distinct picture of their injustice.