Allegory Of The Cave And Letter From Birmingham Jail

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key figure in the civil rights movements that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is an open letter written by King defending nonviolent resistance against racism. The letter argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust and unethical laws. The letter also stresses themes of unity among brothers in order to overcome racism. I will argue in support of King’s stance that citizens are morally justified in breaking unjust laws and that openly and responsibly opposing unjust laws is itself a duty of every citizen.

One without knowledge can only conform to a leader or the majority’s will. A man from a cave, who has experienced the taste of enlightenment, would never return to his former dwelling with the same ideals he left behind. Plato meticulously introduced this idea in his allegory comparing the enlightenment o knowledge to a man, who found light after only recognizing darkness since birth. Despite the pain light can induce to eyes adjusted to the pitch black cave, the man was happier in the light than in the dark. Knowledge can aid in overcoming pain to find ecstasy. Knowledge would then develop into wisdom that can educate future generations of one’s own thoughts and culture. Knowledge and wisdom are inevitable assets to

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.

King had a vision that one day all races would be treated equally. Being the educated man that he was, receiving his Doctorate from Boston University, Dr. King never saw failure as an option. King was a third generation Baptist Minister and was the Leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Dr. King was from the South and was very familiar with the city of Birmingham which was known as the most violently segregated city in the United States. An affiliate of Dr. King’s invited him to Birmingham to engage in a nonviolent protest to which he agreed. During the nonviolent protest Dr. King was arrested for protesting without a permit. While in a Birmingham County jail cell Martin Luther King explains issues within the past day’s society that needed to be addressed including the church, the white moderates, and how he had been labeled an extremist.

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

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a response to clergymen defending his actions that placed him in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama. King did not respond to all the criticism that crossed his desk, but this time King felt he was compelled to respond. This obligation King felt was due in part to men with good will and intentions stating that his actions were “unwise and untimely” (Pg. 835). King’s purpose in writing “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was to defend the strategy of nonviolent direct action in Birmingham and to justify the process and characteristics needed to attain the goals of both nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience in a just manner.

Over the course of “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, the author, Martin Luther King Jr., makes extended allusions to multiple philosophers, among them Aquinas and Socrates. His comparison would seem to indicate that he shares an affinity with them. King’s work devoted to a single objective: the protection of civil disobedience as a form of protest such that the Civil Rights Movement could continue in uncompromised form. In this way, King’s letter in fact served a fourfold purpose: to establish himself as a legitimate authority in the eyes of his audience, to show the trials of the black in America, to justify his cause, and to argue the necessity of immediate action.

As an African American growing up in a multi-generational household I appreciated the stories my grandparents told me about the Civil Rights Movement through their eyes. They acknowledged that Martin Luther King was not just for people of color; but all human beings who were being treated unjustly. He is known for many speeches, but The Letter from a Birmingham Jail” written in 1963 was phenomenal in my opinion; this letter, written in response to “A Call for Unity,”(Carpenter et. el, 1963 ) an article written by eight, white, Alabama clergymen, was to serve as a response to those who believed that King acted inappropriately for coming to Birmingham, Alabama, as an outsider, for creating immense tension with his demonstrations, and for the inopportune timing of his marches. Even though, the clergymen agreed that social injustice did exist, it was their opinion that these types of matter should be handled in the judicial system rather than in the streets.

Martin Luther king through his letter “letter from Birmingham jail” he revealed his ethical thought by enunciating real facts furthermore he did not only consider his own viewpoints rather he considered viewpoints of many other people in relation to churches hypocrisy and unjust laws versus just laws. Despite the fact that martin Luther king was in jail, Luther uses ethical thought to critique the ministers by articulating his beliefs and ideas via displaying descriptive and meaningful illustrations of ethics of law and sensible thinking. In his letter king exceptionally introduces his point of view via observation of multiple people by using coherent thinking and more to that having a mentality that is fair minded.

The "Allegory of the Cave" is Plato's attempt to explain the relationship between knowledge and ignorance. Starting with the image of men in fetters that limit their movement and force them to look only ahead, this is the idea that all men and women are bound by the limits of their ignorance. Men and women are restricted by the limits of the education of their parents and the small amounts that can be culled from their environment. Images and shadows are representations of those things surrounding us that we see but do not understand because of our limited knowledge. As we obtain the ability to see things more clearly in the cave that is our ignorance, we start to then

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a protester and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, greatly known for his use of nonviolent forms of demonstration. On a specific occasion, King was arrested for leading a peaceful protest as part of the Birmingham Campaign, which attempted to bring national awareness to the gruesome treatment endured by blacks. While in jail, King replies to the clergyman’s remarks of him being a foreign agitator in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail,” passionately defending the actions he took. The clergymen accused King of being an extremist, as they saw his relentless protesting and civil disobedience as a threat to a stable political and social system. In paragraphs 27-32, King attempts to persuade the

Imagine the feeling of sitting in room isolated from the rest of the world, left alone with your thoughts and kept guarded away from freedom. What would one with their spare time? Would one contemplate escape? Would one sit alone with their thoughts and fixate on what has led to such a lonely end? Would one compose a letter to those who detained them? Perhaps these are the same thoughts that inspired the words of Socrates, in Plato’s Crito or the emotional words that were spewed on paper by Dr. Martin Luther King while detained in Birmingham Jail. The philosophy of Socrates and Dr. Martin Luther King are grounded in peace. Both philosophers are faced with conflict from the laws put in place by the society that they are in. The purpose of this essay is to compare how each philosopher discusses the concept of law. The fictional tales of Socrates was inspiration to the belated Dr. King as he strived to challenge the status quo set for society. Throughout Plato’s poems Socrates constantly stretched the mental capabilities of those who conversed, and at times even challenged him. Dr. King was not fearful of “Causing tension to the mind” of those around him. In particular Dr. King challenged his ideals of those who opposed his approach of nonviolent protesting. In “The letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. King response to a clergyman in form of a letter. This letter expresses the many obstacles put in front of Dr. King as he strives to create an equal society for African-American or

Martin Luther King Jr., a peaceful advocate for civil rights, was jailed for his non-violent protest against segregation. During his stay at the Birmingham Jail, a group of religious leaders publically attacked him with criticisms for his peaceful protest. As a counter attack, King wrote 'The Letter From Birmingham Jail'. This counter was successful for King was able to analyze and address his audience, refer to historical and religious figures and utilize anaphoras, making this letter, one of the most impressive argumentative essays.

While in Birmingham City Jail, Martin Luther King wrote a letter in response to some fellow priests who felt that his actions were “unwise and untimely” (King). Throughout this letter his long road of struggle to racial freedom and the actions and words that are fueling the fight are outlined. In his letter, Martin Luther King claimed, “the goal of America is freedom”. Written into the Declaration of Independence is the idea that all men are created equal, but many feel robbed of their freedom. Movements such as Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights and the recent Black Lives Matter campaign show us that America does not treat everyone freely. Martin Luther King and Black Lives Matter take different approaches towards the same

In one of the most famousletters ever published, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. argues in Letter fromBirmingham Jail that the civil rights movement is a fight that can no longer wait for justice. Written in 1963 during a time when segregation laws polarized the country, and composed in jail after being arrested during a protest, King's letter is a response to local clergy who criticized his actions. The letter not only clarifies King’sreasons for his actions, but also serves as a call to action in the civil rights movement. Although King's letter was published in the newspaper and addressed to "My Dear Fellow Clergyman," his work captured a much wider audience; the entire nation heard his message loud and clear.Still studied today for its powerful rhetorical style, Letter fromBirmingham Jail uses sophisticated diction, appeals to logic, emotion and ethics, and a benevolent tone to make oneof the most effective arguments ever written.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s use of logical, emotional, and ethical appeals reveals his extensive knowledge of American history and adds to his credibility. He states that"academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience," and "in our nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience"(King). Here, King proves that he is not only well-read in ancient Greek philosophy, he alsoappeals to both ethos and logos by relating his knowledge of American historical facts directly to his argument at