Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

By 1963, when Martin Luther King planned a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. During the demonstration he was arrested and lives in the jail for eight days. While he was in prison, he wrote his "letter from Birmingham Jail" to explain his actions and those who urged him to call off the demonstrations. Martin Luther King Jr. Birmingham Jail is important because, he explains the reasons for the non-violent demonstrations, he shows that black people are intelligent, and he criticizes the unjust laws of black people.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King responds to the clergymen’s criticism on his non-violent actions being “unwise and untimely.” In his introduction, King uses front loading to provide a preview and background of what his letter will discuss. As he justifies why his actions were not “unwise or untimely” King addresses the bigger issue of the black community suffering injustices and the need to take action for justice. To convey his arguments King effectively uses quotations, allusions and pathos to support his argument and to refute what his opposition is saying.

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.

The question of whether the law of the land overrides human morality has been a popular topic that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discusses in his letter titled "The Letter From The Birmingham Jail." King's letter uses both the Rogerian and Classical model to argue that the law of the land can not deem justice or injustice, but rather morality must be the judge.

Martin Luther King Jr. 's 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail", a rhetorical masterpiece, was written in response to eight clergymen’s statements condemning his nonviolent direct actions. He defends the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights nonviolent, direct action against individuals, institutions, and laws that look the other way while unjust racial prejudice against African Americans runs rampant in Birmingham. Using three main appeals, Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Dr. King communicates the struggle that was the essence of human rights, equality. Appealing to the logic, ethics, and emotions of the reader strengthens his rebuttal of the opposition, helps him gain support, and clearly justify the recent direct action he led. King uses logos to illustrate his argument and invalidate the opposition to his claim, leading the reader to side with his position. Exampling this, he demonstrates that direct action is not opposed to negotiation, contrary to what his fellow clergyman believe, and states “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King par 9).

Every writer needs an inspiration to craft a brilliant literary piece. Whether this inspiration is tangible or intangible, it is still necessary. Some forms of inspiration come as passionate love while others appeal as injustice. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen. His inspiration for writing the letter was the clergymen's unjust proposals and the letter allowed him to present his rebuttal. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter argument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen, and then using logos, pathos, and ethos to refute his opponent's statements and present his own perspective.

During the course of living human being are subjected to many controversial arguments and ethical stations. Education in concept of ethical reasoning and in the fundamentals of the principles are important for one to be skilled in ethical reasoning. Ethical reasoning is a very important element in human nature of living either professionally or individually. Ethical reasoning offers critics with the capability to represent viewpoints, ideas and make judgement. Moreover ethical reasoning enable critics’ to consciously give examination for them to reach a solution that does not harm anybody else. Ethical reasoning can be defined as arguing the wrong and the right of human behavior.

Every immigrant man, woman, or child has a story to tell, whether they travel alone or together, they have a reason to travel and start a new beginning. If a immigrant travels to America from a foreign country, they aren't always treated equally or fairly. Martin Luther King Jr. writes in his essay, "Letter from Birmingham Jail", about various topics regarding equality. Even though King writes about African-Americans and equal rights in America, he's writing about every person who is not welcomed in their country. He would have helped anyone in any country who was treated unfairly, "Had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers"(King 227). Immigrants face the same issue that King had to deal with during his time. There are five main issues that prevent immigrants from being accepted; equality, justice, oppression, freedom, and the advantages and disadvantages to allowing immigration.

Throughout history, there have been many significant documents and speeches that enlighten and inform us on what is and was happening during those times. Abraham Lincoln’s speech, The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail are two important pieces of history. In Lincoln’s speech he speaks about the dangers of slavery in the United States and warned everybody that people who disrespected American laws could destroy the United States. On the other hand, Martin Luther King Jr. defended the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, and argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws. Based on these facts, Martin Luther King Jr does not agree with Lincoln’s counsel.

When it comes to racism, any person of any skin color or ethnic background can commit the immoral act of racism. However, as shown in Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” it is often African Americans who have prejudices held against them. This is true today as well as around 55 years ago when “Letter” was written. King’s response letter to the critiques of eight clergymen was able to assume “a multitude of perspectives.”(Patton 1) Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is effective at convincing the audience of the urgency and necessity of the Civil Rights Movement because he uses his own credibility as a Reverend, addressing the religious men and others of the white majority who do not believe his cause is justified, and

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.

King demonstrates how his peaceful, non-violent protests do not advocate violence, which is exactly what the clergymen feared from Malcolm. Kings intensity and magnitude of his statements show that he believes both paths he mentions are wrong, as he states, “I have tried to stand between these two forces.” King attempts to stay between the extremes and remind people that he is the middle ground. King emphasizes that he is not an extremist, rather, he is a moderate attempting to find the most favorable solution to both his and the clergymen’s problems. In conclusion, King juxtaposes these two extremist views in order to demonstrate how his practical and non-violent protests should be encouraged.

:"Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a powerful piece of writing that graces the writings by Martin Luther. Part of the power lies in the use of rhetorical devices such as ethos, logos, and pathos in the letter. Luther used these stylistic devices and literary approaches to express his message, intention and express the mood of the letter making a masterpiece like no other letters before.

During civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s incarceration, he received a letter from his fellow Alabama Clergymen expressing their concerns about appealing to law and order and common sense. Because he had a lot of time on his hands, as stated at the end of his response, he wrote a quite long and elaborate letter. In this letter, King justified himself from the arguments made by the clergy communicating his thoughts both passionately and conveying confidence. They accuse him of being an outsider utilizing hatred and violence in an “unwise and untimely” manner. He defends his position on nonviolent direct action addressing not only the 8 clergymen but any apathetic persons in the United States.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was put in jail for 11 days because he was forbidden to hold protests in Birmingham. During his time in jail, King had time to think about what was going on with all the people and the critics and write a letter. In this letter he spoke about his thoughts and his perception of what was happening and gave people a better interpretation of what he perceived and was understanding.