Heaney Vs King

The 1960s was a time when skin color was crucial, hate was inevitable, and where actions and words were uniform. Although accused of being an outsider, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to demonstrate his strengths and powerful influence even while confined in the walls of the Birmingham jail. The racial issues were addressed through his compelling and impassioned letter in reply to the eight prominent Alabama clergymen. Even during a time of racial injustice, King was able to establish many rhetorical strategies throughout his piece, specifically throughout paragraphs 45-50. Establishing logos and utilizing diction and syntax, are the three essential aspects that Martin Luther King Jr. used in order to portray the true message to the reader.

The fight for civil rights and freedom is a reoccurring subject that has appeared throughout American history. Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” were written over one hundred years apart. Although they are set in different time periods, they discuss the rights the American people should have, while also criticizing the people with superior power in the government. Thoreau’s aggressive writing style and King’s peaceful, calm style help to deliver their messages. Not only their writing style but also their emotional appeals, tone, and other rhetorical strategies help to give their audience a sense of the social issues they are disagreeing strongly with.

The articles “Letter to Birmingham jail” and “Civil Obedience” both address the injustices that are being done to people of color. Martin Luther king Jr and Henry David Thoreau speak on the act of civil disobedience being necessary and both believed that the government needs to address the issue and make a change if they truly believe their laws should protect and affect everyone equally. Martin Luther King uses a first person narrative and several types of rhetoric such as Simile, Allusion, Appeal to authority, imagery, personification, and metaphor. He also uses logos Ethos and Pathos from the rhetorical analysis triangle. Henry David Thoreau also uses first person narrative and similar rhetoric such as Appeal to authority, Simile, Imagery, Allusion, Metaphor, Ethos and Pathos from the rhetorical Analysis triangle. They both has similar ideas but had a different target when arguing for equal rights. Dr. King wants to ultimately raise awareness and provide equal rights for black people and Thoreau wanted equal rights for each individual person.

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, “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King writes about the criticisms placed on him by the Clergy and to all the white Americans who believe they are superior and do not wrong. For example when King writes, “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King 3), King is speaking to the clergy who dislike his motives and actions. King is stating his innocence and that he is doing nothing wrong and that action needs to be taken in order to initiate a change. The purpose of King’s letter is not all to inspire a change in America and just address the criticism towards him and his actions but it is also a call to action. King takes on the time of a courageous, righteous, and disciplined man who

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.

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

In both works, Dr. King Jr. adopted techniques of series rhetoric, repetitions, effective use of metaphors and similes in protesting against social injustice and assuring his audience of a hope for a better tomorrow. In the letter to the clergy Dr. King Jr. invoked their thinking of what a just and unjust law was. He explained that the just law is a moral act of God’s will and the unjust law is such act instituted by men. When in conflict, he admonished society to accept the laws of God over those of men and cited instances where society had an obligation to reject unjust laws of segregation. Dr. King Jr. draws inspiration from men of historical significance to ascertain his claim and quotes

Henry David Thoreau writes in 1849, which adds its own set of situations. During Thoreau’s time period, slavery was an enormous controversy which he addressed in his essay. King’s letter, in 1963, was revolved around the segregation between whites and colored peoples. In both the essay and the letter, one can sense the urgency of these issues within the tonality of each author. Thoreau is fighting the majority during the Mexican war; While King is fighting the ‘war’ against segregation, unjust laws, and injustice across America.

Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States. From Christmas carols to holiday parties, this celebration seems to be deeply embedded in American Culture. How has this holiday and its traditions become so prevalent in the United States? Historian Stephen Nissenbaum attempted to answer this question and in doing so challenged the old assumptions about Christmas and its traditions in his book The Battle for Christmas. In this book, he discussed how historians have previously studied Christmas in an isolated manner away from culture (page xii).

Commissioner Rossotti identified five levels of change that would produce change to the IRS structure, organization, culture, and operations such as: customer-focused operating divisions, management roles with clear responsibility, revamped business practices, new technology and balanced measures of performance. All the proposed initiatives helped the introduction of e-filing, a self-paced online tax services which any individual can file their income tax return without the help of a tax accountant to prepare returns.

In my poster I am trying to satirize how the shooters of a mass shooting are treated by the media and the people; compared to how the victims are treated. Every time there is a mass shooting the media tries to profile the shooter, and provide details about his life and background. When these shootings happen the victims are forgotten and not even recognized. The victims and their families are the ones who have to suffer; not the shooter. When the media gives the shooters false attention it glorifies them, disrespects the victims, and motivates potential shooters. Many of these shooters are looking for attention, and they get it when the media glorifies them after their act. The media has to understand to honor the lives that were lost during

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.

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.