Rhetorical Strategies In Martin Luther King's The Letter From Birmingham

Lastly, King appeals to character as well as establishing his creditability. For starters, the the vocabulary King chose to use shows that he is educated and possesses the knowledge to respond to the clergymen. King also informed the clergymen that he had previous experience in conducting and participating in non-violent campaigns. This provides credibility because it showed that he had prior knowledge of the behavior and purpose of those participating, while also addressing that past campaigns have always been “untimely”, but with desired outcome. The last and most obvious proof of credibility, is that King was a black man that faced the same adversities that he referred to in the last paragraph of this section. The example being of having to personally tell his daughter why she could not be allowed to go to a public amusement park because she was black and looked at as less than.

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.

Dr. King shows credibility through appealing to his audience by having them understand him as a religious figure. King states, “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five organizations across the south, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King 1). He emphasizes that when he speaks about religious topics he has the credibility to do so. By saying “I have the honor” king shows that he has the confidence and the authority to speak about this organization because he is the president of the organization. King describes that it is “An organization operating in every southern state” showing that he has knowledge about where the organization operates. By expressing “One of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” King makes it known that he takes human rights very seriously by tying them in with religion. Dr. King also shows his credibility

Possibly the three most important components a writer must understand are audience, genre, and rhetorical situation. When reading critically we become acquainted with these concepts therefore become better writers ourselves. While learning about rhetorical writing and composition we have analyzed Billy Collins “ Commencement Address at Choate- Rosemary Hall” , Martin Luther King Jr’s “letter from Birmingham Jail” and Lloyd Bitzer’s essay on “Rhetorical Situation”. In this paper I will analyze and make connections between the concepts of audience, genre and rhetorical situation in connection to the fore-mentioned readings. In doing so I will focus on how each used these concepts as means to communicate their main ideas and purpose.

In response to the clergymen’s letter stating that his action is “unwise and untimely”, Martin Luther King, Jr. step by step refutes the assumptions made by the clergymen. He makes effective use of storytelling, pre-counter and qualification of arguments, and appeals to logic, emotions and credence through morality.

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.

In the beginning of his letter, King explained, through the use of ethos, the challenges he dealt with and how he overcame those challenges of injustice. For example, when King was in the Birmingham Jail, many people confronted him, and those encounters influenced his ideas about different subjects and topics. King explains in his letter his opportunity “of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every Southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (King 1).” He wanted to establish his authority with the people he met. The main point for this was to urge everyone to take one day at a time and count every day as a blessing. The reason is that all of this could change in an instance.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr extensively establishes his ethos and proves his authority on the matter of racial injustice. “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King 1). King was the focal point of the Civil Rights movement and continues to symbolize the equality of all races to this very day. His authority to advocate on the

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.

he is not an “outsider coming in” (1; par 2). He provides his reasons for protesting in Birmingham by establishing his credibility as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Through this organization, King was invited to engage in a non-violent act to call attention to the injustice being committed. King further states his reasons for being in Birmingham by comparing himself to the Apostle Paul. He makes this connection by suggesting

is considered the most influential leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He was a very tenacious man with beliefs rooted in equality. Therefore, it is no surprise that he was less than pleased with the Christian church and its reaction to the African-American Civil Rights Movement. For despite his best efforts, it still proved increasingly more difficult for him to reach most white churches. He struggled to get through to the white churches and make it clear that even colored people are loved by God. This caused a great deal of strife between the clergymen of white churches and King. Furthermore, even members of his own church were disappointed with his timing and actions in Birmingham that led to his arrest. However, King persistently noted that he was not confined by what was legal, but by what was right. His worldview was shaped by the idea that, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” as he stated in this letter. It is for this reason that he felt such an immediate need to act on the intense discrimination happening in Birmingham, though it went against many of his fellow clergymen’s best advice. For he saw his role in the situation to be vital as he saw himself as the leader for the correction of these

Some might ask,“Why is Martin Luther King Jr. so important?” Martin Luther King Jr. marched to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C to give his “I Have A Dream” speech to a huge crowd. He also wrote a “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to eight white clergymen that didn’t agree with Kings beliefs. In both pieces of writing, he used logos and pathos to express to the listeners.

On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech to a group of civil rights marchers gathered around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Dr. King’s purpose of this speech was to end racism and to motivate his followers to continue boycotting and protesting. He wanted them to continue this until blacks and whites were completely equal. In Dr. King’s speech his intended audience was white people who had the power to make the states more equal.

Though few noticed it, racial oppression was getting out of hand. Lynchings, police brutality, and unashamed segregation were all events becoming a normality in the African American’s life (King 2). Martin Luther King, Jr., a minister active in Christian movements, became a leader to this oppressed race. After leading peaceful protests all across the nation, Martin Luther King, Jr. was finally arrested and was placed in the Birmingham Jail. While confined, Dr. King decided to begin a “second affirmative constructive and rebuttal argument” in response to criticisms about his actions (Patton 60). These criticisms were written by eight clergymen. John Patton writes that “King’s 1963 response ‘Letter’ from jail stands as one of the foremost

Rhetorical devices are the techniques and tools of language applied in a writing or speech so as convey meaning (Harris, 28). Brilliant use of rhetorical devices nourishes, enriches and brings clarity to a text. Literary writers use literary tools to distinguish a literary work from the non-literary one as well as creating an effective literary work. According to Harris, rhetorical devices are not only used in literary texts, but they are also used in speech, so as to improve the effectiveness of the speech to the listeners as well as making it more appealing (Harris, 39). Rev. Martin Luther King who lived between 1929 and 1968 was one of the core leaders of the A.M.C.R.M (American Civil Rights Movement) and he was famous for his non-violence protests advocates, in America. The speech "I have a Dream" is one of his historical watersheds that he delivered in a remarkable day, March 28th August 1963 while at the Memorial of Lincoln Washington DC. In order to make his speech majestic and make it memorable, Rev. Martin Luther used various rhetorical flourishes such as repititionto engage his audience.