The bible is used in kings letter because it is Holy and holds the truth which gives King a chance to correct it with his life and make people believe in his words and actually see what he is saying. The bible is included in kings writing with the structure of allusion. Kings uses allusion and combines the Bible with his letter. The bible is Holy and holds only the truth, which makes people believe in it. He knows you can’t doubt a Bible about the true facts in it so he uses it so people can her him out and believe.
The main rhetorical strategy he uses, in my opinion, would be allusion. He uses allusion when he is using the Bible as a reference to his work and purpose. The reason he chooses to refer to the Bible is because, one the Bible
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King is saying in his letter that the time given to us right now is mainly for us to do good and not start fights and arguments between each other and not let evil get in between us. King states, "Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy, and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood," which means that we are supposed to live in this world and love each other as brothers or sisters and not start fights among each other. As men of God they should see that their assumptions and actions are wrong and they should take a second look at the work Dr.King is doing. Now, this is our time to take action. A bible is basically a book with instructions to follow and they are not false. No matter what color you are and what you are going through, the rights are for everyone being discriminated because of a different color hurts. People did not chose what color they want to be or what race. It is natural and we have to respect every nation and their colors. No one deserves to be discriminated. We should all take action and stand up for what is right. We can not give up because Jesus didn’t give up on you. If Jesus gave up on us then what would be the point of living? We have to stop discrimination of all kinds because nobody feels happy while
in the third paragraph king knows that the clergymen knew the suffering of African Americans, they want everyone to become a one united nation
Which matters because it shows that he is credible enough and that he has a biblical duty. King lets the clergy know that there is an interrelatedness of America that is in jeopardy, which shows that he has a right to be there and stand up against unjust actions. First he says "I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states." then "Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea". Therefore, he shows that he has logic and knowledge to add
The author, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote this letter in an effort to stifle the plight of injustice that has taken over the city of Birmingham. Also, King wrote this letter "in response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South" (King). These men, called the Birmingham clergymen, published an open letter criticizing the actions of Dr. King and the SCLC. Also, King is talking to the people who represent the power class and dominant group, but shows that they support the foundations of justice. As the letter progresses, King makes it clear that the audience is a much larger group, particularly white and Christian. Throughout the letter, King plays toward Christian morality by continually asking whether "just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God" (King) ? and ends the essay by asking God to forgive him if he has offended anyone. By continually showing his faith in God, King strategically tries to connect with the so called "Christians" that the Birmingham clergymen claim themselves as. To achieve this, King structured and
To begin, King uses techniques of diction like antithesis and connotation to help get his message across to the clergymen. First, he develops antithesis to strengthen his purpose. King makes this stand out to the clergymen by putting words together such as, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,"and “...freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed,”so they take notice wording. (282, 284) King wants this to stand out for the clergymen and notice the opposite meanings. This helps bring attention to the opposite words being placed together to get across Drawing the clergymen to pay closer attention It builds on what he truly wants to get across. King uses the words “never” and “must” to build emotional appeals with the clergymen, but also have them have a sense of what is going through his mind, when he is protesting willing in the streets of Birmingham. He wants to make them see truly the effects the African Americans have gone through either segregation and make them realize how they are at fault for continuing to support this behavior and not help out. “Injustice” and “Justice” help force the clergymen to take notice of the powerful association and have them think over it. It stands out as they read the letter, but also makes them think over it as they continue reading. The phrase makes the clergymen wonder if what
King writing this letter from behind bars. He walked the statement that he makes in the letter that says, "I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do-nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro church, the way of nonviolence became an integral part of our struggle" (530).
At the beginning of the letter, King had already manifested his great ethos. He showed his sincere attitude to readers to better answer their questions, “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms” (King), which enabled him to establish his trust in some demanding readers. Moreover, at the end of the letter, he wrote, “I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother” (King). This shows
When the Fellow Clergymen have the emotional resonance, they might comprehend what King was talking about which is how unjust the law is for blacks. One the other hand, we can find out the determination and confidence of King to work for people for sake of the justice reaching and realization. As the president, he must shoulder the responsibility of serving all American people at that time.
Credibility and ethics are one of the first things noted in King’s letter, and the presentation of it helps the reader to carry on reading the letter with open-mindedness and trust that King will continue to sincerely explain the reasons for the letter and the protest. Also, he establishes his credibility in the second paragraph by responding to the clergymen’s view that he was an outsider coming in. Similarly, King institutes his credibility by revealing that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which was an organization working in every southern state. Martin Luther King Jr. also appeals to ethos by even stating the clergymen’s views throughout his letter, which, of course embodies the alternative to his views. People have respect and trust for King which is proof of his reliability, as one man writes, “I believe Luther's actions truly reflect his belief that all people should be equal. His actions also show his commitment to the movement and the fact that this man was a leader” (Akerman 1).
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
It takes a strong human being to fight racial injustice and that is what Martin Luther King Jr. was, In “Letters from Birmingham jail” Martin Luther King, responded to his fellow white clergymen who opposed his nonviolent approach to get racial justice for African Americans while he was confined in Birmingham jail. Throughout the letter King Use rhetorical devises such as allusion to biblical and historical figures, metaphors, and anaphora, that allows the reader to think about the issues King is talking about. In the letter the author use allusion to biblical and historical figures to allow the reader to create parallels in their minds. The parallels leads to comprehension of what King is saying through his letter.
## Considering Dr. King is writing to clergymen, his emotional appeal may not have only been to elicit sympathy or empathy from his detractors, but cause some shame as well, when he expresses his disappointment with them. He indicates that because of their religious beliefs, they should be taking a proactive stance on the side of justice, rather than supporting the status quo because it is orderly (King, 1963).
At the time of writing, King wrote this letter because felt disappointed because the men of the cloth were criticizing him on his peaceful protest. King felt as if these men should support him because King’s purpose of trying to defeat segregation was based upon his church background. When writing this King tried to understand as to why the man of faith were going against what he practices. But while trying to understand
In this translation, metaphors and other literary devices are presented. In the King James Bible, metaphors are used to provide examples of God’s teachings, to help the audience obtain a better understanding of the text, and to evoke readers into remembering the wise expressions displayed. Metaphors, in the King James Bible, are considered to be examples of God’s teaching. For example, the Bible says you cannot obey two masters,
Expressing disappointment towards the church leaders, he states that they should do more, to help the minority stand on their two feet, and not feel discriminated against. This is because following the teachings of God, every human being is equal. Therefore, the church must help structure society closest to how The Bible shows. King fought for this same equality. However, being verbally reprimanded and going to jail for voicing his rights, he shows what happens when you go against the norm of society. The church is there to break those norms, and construct new ideals in accordance with the word of God.
King continues to say that some of the preachers of God have understood the need for justice, but some have suppressed the blacks themselves. He believes that the preachers have to break the traditional, unjustified rules of the society to allow for the freedom of the children of God. The true meaning of the Bible lies in justice and co-existence. He wants moral justice to overcome the traditional norms which were unjust in nature. He conveys this message well in his letter. He further writes: “One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage” (King 6).