My College Writing class has opened my eyes to several different kinds of reading which I never thought I would or could read. It never occurred t me that I could learn another point of view, even think strategic in regarding poverty, power, liberty, equality and justice. Two of the readings have really stood out to me: Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martian Luther King, Jr and Shakespeare’s Sister by Virginia Wolff, in which both of these readings feature a sense of freedom, equality and calmness. These senses are equally important to each other, without one you can’t have the other. Nothing in life can be maintained until you have freedom, equality and calmness. Freedom is something I take for granted. I have never been turned away …show more content…
I want to be treated just like everyone else. Both Virginia Wolff and Martin Luther King, Jr. touch on what the ultimate goal is for everyone to be treated the same. Virginia Wolff pointed out the position of a women in the Renaissance Era, they had none. The approach that Ms. Wolff took was to invent a scenario to famous person, William Shakespeare, sister and put her in this position of everyone else at that stage. A women couldn’t be smart; she couldn’t have a job. She had to run a house and make babies. If she didn’t like it, oh well, you have to live with it. That is just horrible condition. Women were not mentioned anywhere in history between 1400s to the 1600s. I can’t believe that, there weren’t any women overthrowing a kingdom behind her husband’s back or a woman being betrothed to a gentlemen that she has seen since being in a crib and they fall magically in love and live happily ever after, but that is what television perceives to everyone. According to history his was not true. Equality is men and women should be treated equally. If you don’t like your marriage, you can leave. If you want a better job, you better get paid the same amount. To this day, women are not getting paid the same wage as men for the same job. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw the inequality of people and wrote about it in Letter from a Birmingham Jail. In his writing, not until paragraph fourteen does Dr. King mention anything about the color
Despite both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. actively fighting for freedom and equality during the Civil Rights Movement, both men are not remembered equally. Undeniably, their approaches were different and this resulted in varying outcomes regarding their successes. Indirect action seemed ineffective to Malcolm and he desired changed immediately, which may seem like the most effective route to change, yet Martin Luther King Jr. is famously known for his success achieving freedom. Malcolm X focused on direct action and standing up for the black community while Dr. King wanted to negotiate and was willing to wait for his equality which ultimately allowed him more widespread success.
Written by Martin Luther King Jr., the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a paragon of persuasive writing that takes advantage of ethos, pathos, and logos in order to convince its readers to take MLK’s side during the American civil rights movement. The use of ethos defines MLK as a credible writer; the use of pathos appeals to his audience on a personal level; and the use of logos layers his arguments and claims with irrefutable reasoning and logic. By using all three techniques, MLK is able to hold the attention of his readers and persuade them to take his side in the battle against segregation.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King used various words and phrases within his concluding paragraphs in order to pull the emotions of the audience to sympathize his states. Also to understand the sacrifices that he has made towards the civil right. The repetition of "I" and brotherhood in order to connect with the reader and himself. Martin Luther King's purpose in writing the "letter from Birmingham Jail" was to explain and also, refute the clergymen's accusations and claims in their written statement. a lot of contradictory terms and words to show that he's not on anyone is side and sees things both ways. Martin Luther King used a lot of religion words such as pray, prayers, God, Christian, in order to pull towards the readers emotions with
only is this a show of intellect, but it is as well an appeal to the senses
Throughout the course of our lives, we have been exposed to the different types of relationships that may exist between ourselves and other individuals and groups. Philosophical thinking pushes us to examine the role that we, ourselves, play and the role that other individuals and groups play in the relationship. Subsequently, this leads us to create dichotomies and the most common dichotomy that we have been exposed to is that of an oppressor and the oppressed. Most of us may have experienced such a dichotomy in our own homes, where we can label our parents as the oppressors and ourselves as the oppressed. Parents may be strict with the way you dress and force you to wear clothing that is much more favorable to them or they may force you to
Some privileged people disregard the violence against the oppressed people to develop a sense of safety. They hide behind their entitlement and exemption; ignoring the rest of the people that are suffering around them. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” in response to the criticism that was expressed by eight prominent white clergyman. He wrote the letter to battle injustice and oppression against African Americans during the events of the Civil Rights movement. His letter was written decades apart from Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Letter to my Son,” however, both letter still reflects the ongoing events of today’s society. Coates’ letter, written on 2015, portrays a black American father writing to his son and fears that however hard he protects him from the street, encourages him to work in school, and do the right thing, the color of his skin, will always make him vulnerable. King and Coates’ letter both appeal to the broader public to inform them of the institutional racism in America. King focuses on the immorality of the church in order to justify the cause of the power structure that racism reinforce. Both authors expose the injustices of the legal system to support their indictment of the systemic racism in America.
As a response to an unjust proposition from the Alabama clergymen, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to persuade the people to look things from his point of view. The clergymen wrote that the protests should stop and the problem of civil rights should be attempted as a negotiation, yet they did not specify when they were going to start. King utilizes different appeals to prove that black people should have the same rights as the white people. In his letter, he utilizes logical, ethical and emotional to prove that people have the right to break any unfair laws.
Do you have what it takes to make the morally correct choice? An even better Question is: What are you willing to give up to save another? Martin Luther King gave up his freedom in an attempt and to gain civil rights for the people of Birmingham. Peter Singer explains if you give up just $200 you can save the life of someone with nothing. King and Peter Singer both used honesty to convey their message of what is right and what is wrong, but they both describe very different situations that hold their case and point. King wrote his letter from Birmingham jail on April 16, 1963. Dr. King wrote this letter to his fellow clergymen who defamed the action of Dr. King and the Southern Christian leadership Conference. In King’s response he honestly told his fellow brothers of the church that he was angered by their criticism and explained his actions in Birmingham. Peter Singer wrote “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” on September 5, 1999 for the “New York Time”. It is an honest piece that describes the difference between morally right and wrong. Singer talks about two people who both make the morally choice in the eyes of society and explains to the audience how we as America choose to do nothing to help but they can still buy expensive cars.
Martin Luther King in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” argues that “a just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” (110). King believes that God creates man in his own image, and for that reason King dedicated his life to fight for the equality of all American, and for the civil rights. According to King unfair laws have never had any presence of a single gain in civil rights without legal determination or nonviolent pressure. The support of some laws causes people much displeasure with the constitutional law surrounding abortion. King states the four stages of protesting injustices to black people, which were: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action. These same principles should be applied to protect the babies that have no voice simply because the baby has yet to be born. Anti-abortion protests has been effective because protesters have influenced changes in some state laws which also has created awareness on the topic and has even get more people saying the unborn is a baby instead of a fetus.
Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the advantages and purposes for his theory of nonviolent direct action in his Letter From Birmingham City Jail. He shows four basic steps that must be taken to achieve nonviolent action. They include 1) collection of facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action. Each of these steps will be explained as part of King's argument later in this essay. The main purpose of a nonviolent campaign is to force any community to confront a problem rather than refuse to negotiate or face a specific issue. In the letter, King discusses his group's reasons for coming to Birmingham.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” emphasizes the need for civil disobedience when faced with unjust laws. This idea contradicts Socrates’ claim made in Crito, that one must follow the law under all circumstances. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not a proponent of civil disobedience based on King’s definition of civil disobedience and Socrates’ charges. Moreover, I will argue that both Socrates and King disagree with one another based on the concept of civil disobedience—breaking the law and rejecting certain ideals.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s , “ Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King responds to the judgments of a group of clergymen , after King 's arrest, by writing a letter explaining why the clergymen 's judgments were wrong. In his letter, king brings very reasonable and valid points that challenge the judgments of the ministers. The main arguments that king makes would be the reason of his existence in Birmingham, white power structure and its racial injustice, and finally why negotiation has brought up impatience and little to no solutions. The overall structure of King’s letter was well organized and the letter delivered valid explanations as to why the clergymen 's judgments were wrong and why it is that action had to be taken in order to grasp the attention needed to settle the conflicts of racial injustice the black community in Birmingham was facing.
White or colored, everyone deserves their individual civil rights. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter to Birmingham Jail”, he states his strong beliefs and cries for help for earning blacks the same rights and opportunities that all white people are entitled to. King clearly depicts that African Americans are not given any rights, not even the fundamental ones. They are often tortured and ridiculed for being the way that they are, black. King states that freedom is never willingly given by the oppressor, rather that it is fought for from the oppressed, and all blacks have learned that the hard way. There have been innumerous cases of police brutality, bombings in houses belonging to blacks, and
The similarities between these two are most evident in their desire for freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted freedom from segregation and Plato wanted freedom from ignorance. They both wanted justice, and knew that it was immoral to take deny another being justice. For example, Plato has said,
Aristotle, a famous philosopher once said: “ It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of reason is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs” (Aristotle). He believed that rhetoric was more powerful than fists would ever be. Another man, a very influential social activist, shared the same ideals, preaching to his people to fight for their freedom with words and not their fists. Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of rhetoric during the civil rights movement to gain equality for the black community. MLK was a master of rhetoric and used his knowledge of proper arguments to sway the