Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Dr. King’s letter, Letter from the Birmingham Jail, talked about some things on why there shouldn’t be segregation. In his speech he used a rhetorical device such as when he made a Juxtaposition statement, “ Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” This means that if you do something bad to one person, like telling a black person that she cannot sit here it is for whites only, will affect other black people even though the action was not towards them. This happened and affected every black person during the time of segregation.

King develops and refines his ideas in “The Letter From Birmingham Jail” to purify and increase the power of his argument. In multiple paragraphs, this technique is used to persuade the reader into looking at the point of view King presents. King uses this technique by inserting many rhetorical questions, allusions, anaphoras.

King letting the audience understand him in his part of religious leader. This has is a position in which the individual is often seen as generally good, trustworthy, fair and believable. The general point is that Dr. King was utilizing ethos as a way of reminding the reader about his part as a religious pioneer, as opposed to an alternate part that would have been similarly valid. An important thing to note is this letter was composed amid a period of racial turmoil, and the letter was to religious leaders that were white. So Dr. King calling them “fellow clergymen” was likewise utilizing an ethos claim of being an equivalent in status and stature. This was especially paramount on the grounds that Dr. King was in prison at the time the letter was

What do you visualize when you think of a jail cell? Some might see restraints blocking them off from the rest of the world, feel cold metal or scratchy cloth against their skin, or experience the stench of sweat and despair. Martin Luther King Jr. saw a quiet place to write. After being arrested under the charge of “parading without a permit,” Dr. King used his eleven days in the Birmingham City Jail to respond to one specific instance of criticism through a letter geared to each of the many audiences that needed to learn about the desegregation campaign. Mr. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is absolutely effective at convincing the overall audience to join and

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who genuinely knew how to capture his audiences with his words. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” makes an appeal to his reader about the injustices that have been set in place by the oppressor. In the letter he talks about numerous things, mortal authority in Christian communities, American ideas, and the suffering of the African American community. Dr. King uses logos to persuade the reader why he s protesting in the first place because the oppressor has broken the negotiation between the whites and the African American. His logical argument to why the ideal way to proceed with non-violent protests is because of the political decisions that have been made. An example he brings up is the idea of there being just and unjust laws in America and as citizens those unjust should be deliberately disobeyed. Dr. King says, “Conversely, one has a mortal responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all” he soon starts to define what both type of laws means…”A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law…An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the mortal law.” In order to persuade his reader about the idea he has do more than engage with the readers emotions. By Dr. King defining what the difference between the two laws sets a more conceiving idea of the treatment towards African American. Martin Luther King basic point is unjust laws do not just hurt the one being oppressed but also the one doing the oppressing. This is more of logos appeal for the reason he is not trying to connect with the reader emotionally but rather make sure the reader understands his cause for the protests.

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he refutes the statements made by the eight clergymen who denounce the demonstration taking place in Birmingham. His letter which he directs to middle class citizens, otherwise known as “white moderates,” is very compelling because King is very in tune to his audience, making them imagine themselves under specific circumstances. King explains that the intent of their “direct-action” is to cause a tension powerful enough to force a response, to direct change. Although the clergymen placed blame on timing of the demonstration, calling it “unwise and untimely,” King, declares they have waited long enough to be further delayed. Throughout his letter, King uses many biblical references to make his readers see the inequality of their society, and what it would continue to be like without change.

While imprisoned in Birmingham Jail, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received a letter from the local clergymen that condemned his actions, calling them rash and extreme. In response, Dr. King wrote his own letter back defending his decisions. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King appeals to ethos and pathos as he attempts to convince the clergymen of the need for direct action in Birmingham, by showing the similarities in his own struggles and those faced by countless historical and biblical figures.

Martin Luther King, Jr. sat in Birmingham jail not because he committed a crime but because he took part in a non-violent demonstration. King received an invite to a nonviolent demonstration by a local church and was later jailed for his actions (King 1). While in jail, King reflected on the injustice in not only Birmingham, but the world as well. King addressed injustice as a universal wrong which can only be undone by people themselves and not by action forced by the government. He quickly announced that keeping the peace and obeying the law are not the same, the people ahead do not simply relinquish their role because of the selfishness of the human nature. Those who are oppressed will seek to leave injustice behind. Martin Luther

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is written by Martin Luther King Jr. from the Birmingham jail after he was imprisoned for being a participant in a nonviolent campaign against segregation. It was written in regards to the statement made by the white clergymen of the South. He employs rhetorical devices in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to develop the central idea of how action can no longer be delayed in regards to the oppression of the African American community by appealing to the white clergymen. King makes several sub-claims to support this central idea emphasizing that the need for action is now.

During the 1960’s, racism was still a prominent problem in America. The Civil Rights Movement was under way. African Americans were fighting for their basic human rights. One of the most notable figures of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. He fought for African American’s rights using nonviolent resistance; however, during a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was thrown into jail. While in his jail cell, Dr. King wrote a letter to clergymen from the Birmingham jail claiming his stance on peaceful confrontation on defending African American’s human rights. In his letter, Dr. King uses rhetorical devices to strengthen his argument in his letter to the clergymen. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham

Used as an appeal to emotion, logic and a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader by reason, Martin Luther King clearly used ETHOS throughout his article in a series of multiple ways. With this in mind, after many readings of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, I was able to identify countless examples of ETHOS. Quoted, “ I hope will be considered, patient and reasonable terms” (para1), King was wanting to express his feelings towards others, as well as, the use of appropriate language by using words such as patient and reasonable. By using these terms, these two words shows a professionalism that

In the year of 1963, Martin Luther King was imprisoned for peacefully marching in a parade as a nonviolent campaign against segregation. In Martin Luther King’s essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the paragraphs that have the most emotional appeal are, just as the critics say, paragraphs thirteen and fourteen. King tugs at the reader’s emotions in these specific paragraphs using very detailed examples about the difficult, heart-wrenching misfortunes that have happened to the African American society and what they had to endure on a daily basis in Birmingham by using metaphors, contrasts, alliteration, anaphora, and imagery. As taken from an excerpt of “MLK - Letter From A Birmingham Jail,” In paragraphs thirteen and fourteen of Letter

In King’s essay, “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, King brilliantly employs the use of several rhetorical strategies that are pivotal in successfully influencing critics of his philosophical views on civil disobedience. King’s eloquent appeal to the logical, emotional, and most notably, moral and spiritual side of his audience, serves to make “Letter From Birmingham Jail” one of the most moving and persuasive literary pieces of the 20th century.

Within Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he addresses eight white clergymen who fill his desk with disagreements and criticism of his acts of attempting to abolish segregation. To give a better understanding to his audience he correlates his speech with religion, signifying himself to be similar to the Apostle Paul, while speaking up about the injustice being done in Birmingham. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks strongly about being unable to stand back and watch the disputes in Birmingham unravel. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,” famously said by Martin Luther King Jr. bonds his idea during this speech that we are all affected by any type of injustice, small or large. Martin Luther King Jr. uses metaphors as a light of logic, first person point of view to add ethics with trustworthiness, and a tone of passion for the emotional aspect while addressing the clergymen.

Injustice is a big problem in today’s society. Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which he addressed many forms of injustices that was present then and continue to be present in today’s world. Martin Luther King did a lot of things that still effect today. He got in trouble for some things as well; such as like protesting how blacks were treated. He was arrested and was sent to Birmingham City Jail. He wrote a letter to defend the strategies of nonviolent resistance to racism. He employs the use of pathos, ethos, and logos to support his argument that nonviolence resistance is definitive. Based on the pathos, ethos, and logos present in this letter, the article is overall effective to this argument.