Examples Of Pathos In The Birmingham Letter

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.

In the letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 16, 1963, Dr. King is answering criticism from white clergy men. King stumbled upon a statement in a newspaper while in jail and felt the need to write on it. He did it to explain why he was in jail. After all Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a nonviolent protestor. Kings says “I am in Birmingham because in justice is here.” Dr. King wants to see a change. This paper will examine King’s uses of rhetorical devices to appeal to his audience. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail” reveals all three rhetorical appeals. It appeals to ethos, logos and pathos.

In arguing, writers use different techniques to effectively convey their message to their intended audience. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen in which King’s presence in Birmingham and his methods of public demonstration were questioned. King’s letter was not only a response to his presence in Birmingham, but he also used the opportunity to address the unjust proposals by the clergymen that Negroes wait for the legal system to abolish segregation and unjust laws. King uses rhetorical modes of persuasion such as ethos, pathos and logos to meticulously address and discredit the claims made by the

Dr. King was arrested in 1963 in the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written a few days after King’s arrest, defended Dr. King’s argument about the civil rights movement. He uses the pathos, ethos, and logos modes of persuasion and uses several rhetorical strategies such as metaphors, citing authority, parallelism, Rogerian strategy, and anaphora to defend his argument against racism and segregation.

King uses strong rhetoric efforts and appeals to his primary audience with tone, knowledge, and religion. Dr. King’s tone in this letter varies but it was all done with a specific purpose- to move his audience.

“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” was once said by the African-American rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. He was arrested in the summer of 1961 for parading without a permit and wrote the infamous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to white clergymen about rights of blacks. Although Martin Luther King Jr.'s various applications of rhetorical appeals and devices added to the "Letter From Birmingham Jail,” pathos and ethos had the most advantage to enhance the letter because they allowed the audience to have an emotional connection to African-American lives and shows the education and trustworthiness of MLK.

    The intent of Dr. King was to address his reasoning for being in Birmingham and to expound upon what the clergyman called unwise and untimely. In the initiation of the letter he explains his position in society. He was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and a civil rights activist who fought for equality of all regardless of ethnicity. His main focus was to induce equality into Birmingham instead of segregation. His position was the voice of the black community and he was known by many, including the president of the United States. He was also a pastor who had political and biblical knowledge and understanding like his “fellow clergyman.” In the

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a great example of an effective and cleverly written response by a complex but yet sophisticated leader of our time. It was written in response to an editorial addressing the issue of Negro demonstrations and segregation in Alabama at the time. He delivers the message in a way with sneaky superiority. He is inviting and open allowing the clergymen to feel as though they have contributed and will contribute. He is not condescending or belittling in his approach. Even his opening is non-confrontational which is shown in his opening sentence: “My dear Fellow Clergymen” (03). King was an activist for civil rights during this time and came to Alabama to help out his fellow brothers that were

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.

In Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK uses ethos, logos, and pathos powerfully and effectively to present his argument that the discrimination of African Americans all over the country is unbearable and should be outlawed forever. King wrote the letter in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation which was King’s way of reinforcing his belief that without forceful, direct actions (such as his own), true civil rights could never be achieved.

In the story “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, he uses pathos and repetition to reinforce his arguments for civil disobedience. “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” page 7 of MLK letter. The form of pathos is persuasive by that MLK uses emotions by the painful experience in getting freedom. MLK gets motivated to do this by the fact that he is tired of segregation in the United States and wants everyone to be equal. He hopes that by demanding freedom, everyone would be equal.

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.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses prolepsis to open his letter and jump straight into addressing the clergymen’s argument in a way that makes him more credible right from the start. King chose to use the clergymen’s own words to address their concerns early on by saying “I came across your recent statement calling our present activities “unwise and untimely.” (1) When he uses the clergymen’s words he draws the reader into the situation and addresses the argument early. King goes on to mention that he ordinarily doesn’t speak to critics of his work because he wouldn’t have the time, but he chose to respond because he believed the clergymen were of “genuine good will” (1) and that their criticisms were sincere, then respectfully notes that he hopes his response is patient and reasonable. Speaking with a respectful tone and calmly expressing why he writes the letter makes it easy for the reader to appeal to King.

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was thrown into jail due to participating in non-violent protests against racism and segregation in the city of Birmingham. There, he wrote the famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” which became one of the most important letters in history of the American civil rights movement (Colaiaco 1). The open letter covered many points to King’s arguments for why the marches, protests, and other non-violent actions were necessary and justifiable. James Colaiaco analyzes the key components to the letter and the different ways Martin Luther King, Jr. used literary devices to form a well written argument.

Dr. King blends pathos and practical reasoning to emphasize his argument. His argument on racism was straightforward and direct he uses his heart. Take as an example when he mentions in the letter “I had hoped that the white moderate would understand…. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.” (24-26) He uses this and makes the audience feel emotional intensity and to present his frustration on lies that he’s been given by the people who have said they will help him and do nothing about it. King later in the letter mentions “dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress,” failures to “lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.” (24-26) This quote is an example of how he connects his feelings to persuade the clergymen to act upon the sizzling situation before it worsens and corrupts all the nation. Accordingly, he is letting the audience know his community has been unquestionably patient for a long period of time and therefore he is writing his letter.