Pathos In A Letter To Birmingham Jail

In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. explains his reasoning for coming to Birmingham. His hope was to have the religious leadership in the white community realize the “justice” of their “cause.” In order to convey his main idea, Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical strategies like pathos, ethos, and logos, as well as strong diction and examples.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a renowned civil rights activist who worked tirelessly to gain equal rights for all African-Americans. He was known throughout the world and his speeches continue to gain attention because of their quality. King was a gifted speaker and knew how to build a proper argument. He built up his credibility and targeted the logic and emotions of his audience. Without Martin Luther King Jr. the civil rights movement may not have seen as much success, and segregation may still have affected us today. By studying King’s work, people can learn much about rhetoric and argument. One of his most persuasive pieces was his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This piece was written on just one of the occasions King was thrown in jail for protesting segregation and the Jim Crow Laws. It was written to eight clergymen who condemned his actions. However, King realized the letter was likely to get attention from more than just the clergymen, and he tailored the letter to include more than one audience. Paragraph 31 found on pages twelve and thirteen of the letter contains the most effective argument in regards to the eight clergymen. It provides emotional and logical arguments for justice and are fully credible because of the sourcing they use.

King’s use of many rhetorical devices in these three paragraphs of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” solidify his conviction that segregation needs to be quelled immediately. Dr. King’s explanations justify the demonstrations and protests that he is participating in. Although this was a letter meant for clergymen, Dr. King simultaneously taught all of America a very important lesson: justice is a universal natural right, and when it is denied, it needs to be demanded. Racial equality is the form of justice in this case, as segregation was the culprit that divided society into two racial groups. Thus, Dr. King successfully advocated civil rights through this letter with powerful, clever

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a powerful and eloquent letter that effectively argued the point that segregation is fundamentally unjust and should be fought with nonviolent protest. This letter, through describing the injustice taking place during the civil rights movement also provided some insight about Dr. King’s view of the government in the 1960s. Three mains themes present in Dr. King’s letter were religion, injustice, and racism.

The civil rights movement has caused many issues for African Americans, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes “Letter From Birmingham Jail” as a response to the clergymen who share a different view with segregation. King placed his views from the idea that everyone is equal, rather than one is better because of their skin color. His letter from Birmingham jail shared many points, with the ending of segregation being the main goal. With his familiar clergymen with disagreements, he rebukes their letters with his take on the civil rights movement. His letter has an amazing pull from different views that unites America as one. Dr. King uses incites from the black community to share their side of segregation, while also presenting an argument using ethics, facts and emotion that establish his letter as unique.

In 1963, the rights and the equality for African Americans was a cause constantly fought for. Protests and marches took place in order to push for a change in the society, to make a world where equality is achieved. In a Birmingham jail, sat a civil rights leader named Martin Luther King Jr.. Placed in this cell due to a protest held in Birmingham, Alabama when there was a court order stating it was not allowed, King wrote a letter that has become an influential and infamous piece of writing. This letter became known as, “The letter from a Birmingham Jail”. This letter calls out to the criticisms placed on King and confronts them all. In this letter, through rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos and ethos, and other rhetorical devices.

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.

Throughout his letter Martin Luther King makes many ethical appeals by relating it to god. For example in the beginning of his letter Dr. king addresses his readers as “My Dear Fellow Clergymen,” this shows that he is letting the reader know his role as a religious leader. When someone thinks of someone with that role they automatically presume he or she is honest, trustworthy, and credible. He then compares his extremist attitude to those of Jesus Christ, Amos, and Paul. He uses is history within the church and says “I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson, and great grandson of preachers,” by Dr. King stating that it automatically gives him credibility it gives the reader knowledge of his postition. He uses his knowledge of important public figures and their ideals on justice, love and equality to support his claim. In his letter he writes “Jesus an extremist in love? -- "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you" Was not Amos an extremist for justice?..Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ? -- "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist? -- "Here I stand; I can do no other so help me God." Was not John Bunyan an extremist? -- "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a mockery of my conscience." Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist? -- "This nation cannot survive

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.

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.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a powerful speaker and a major contributor in the Civil Rights movement. One would think that because of the type of person he was, he would never end up in jail. Unfortunately that is exactly where he ended up due to the injustice that he faced in Birmingham, Alabama. He wrote a persuasive, straight to the point letter directed towards the white church and to those who sit idly by doing nothing about the racial injustice that engulfs the community of Birmingham. Kings argument in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was so coercive and successful at piquing the readers’ emotions by his use of pathos in a way that typifies inactions and hypocrisy.

In “letter from Birmingham jail” Martin Luther King uses pathos and allusion to affectively persuade the audience on the value of civil disobedience. Martin Luther king uses pathos when he states “Its ugly record of police brutally is known in every section of this country. There have been more unsolved bombings of negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this country”. This persuades pathos, because it gets the reader’s attention over what’s going on, it’s the sad truth it makes readers feel bad and ashamed over what’s going on in this country. Martin Luther King uses allusion when he says “Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried their thus said the lord far beyond the boundaries of their

Mariah Mofford Professor Fetters English 1001 26 January 2015 Fighting For Segregation Martin Luther King,Jr was a civil rights leader , who was in the Birmingham jail for being apart of the campaign, King was asked to come to Birmingham to join in the non-violent direct action program. He was put in the jail in 1963, eight white clergymen wrote a letter in the newspaper and Martin Luther King,Jr wrote in the cell on anything he could find, for his attempt to explain the movement and himself. Through Kings rhetoric, and his language, he turns the white clergymen words back on themselves.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King strongly advocates for an immediate change in segregation laws. Give his audience of clergymen oblivious what life is like for black people, King uses pathos to enlighten the men of the urgency for change. He creates a very deep and passionate tone to convey the severe necessity for a reform. He also uses different kinds of figurative language like anaphora, to build the intensity of the paragraphs.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” after an unjust proposal made by eight white clergymen. Their claims were to be that no Negro “outsider” should be allowed to establish or lead any protest and should leave them to their local neighborhoods. King replied directly to the clergymen, but used religious ties to also have his voice heard in the public. In his counter argument, King strategically used logical evidence, emotional aspects and good motives to present his perspective to the clergymen.