Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King And Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

Martin Luther King’s inspiration for writing his, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was mainly to appeal to an undeniable injustice that occurred during his time. His letter was in response tos eight white clergymen, who objected to King protesting in Birmingham. Dr. King effectively crafted his counterargument after analyzing the clergymen’s unjust proposals and then he was able to present his rebuttal. Dr. King effectively formed his counterargument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen and then using logos, pathos and egos to present his own perspective on his opponent’s statements.

I interpreted it as King trying to get the clergymen to acknowledge these issues by viewing it from the blacks perspective. When a person is told to look at a situation from a point of view that differs from their own, it opens doors to new perspective and understanding. Also, most people tend to lead by emotion, possibly providing King’s desired outcome of understanding and action.

King understands where blacks are coming from in wanted equal rights. King sees the injustices of the black communities and is very involved in black movements which what what put him in jail. By being African American as well as witnessing injustices, King has firsthand knowledge which establishes his authority to speak on this issue of racial equality. King shows the audience that he is competent by stating that he is the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This helps show his strength of leadership in the religious community. This also again shows his competency to speak on the issue of equal rights. He continues to establish empathy by stating how he normally doesn’t respond to criticism; however he chose to respond this time due to the “genuine good will” of the clergymen. That response in itself tells the clergymen that he and the clergyman are on the same playing field, one pastor to another. King showed the clergymen’s “good will” deserved a response which established trust. Creating an ethical appeal in a rhetorical piece is essential in persuading the audience to believe an authors argument.

King writing this letter from behind bars. He walked the statement that he makes in the letter that says, "I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do-nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro church, the way of nonviolence became an integral part of our struggle" (530).

In this analysis ,”Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King’s was exhibiting his skills in the usage of Ethos, Logos ,and Pathos to respond to his fellow Clergymen who blamed him for organizing the blacks to demonstrate and make the whole world aware of how they are been treated in the Birmingham community. After reading King’s letter I have realized that he was such a passionate and strong man who was able to fight to the end to achieve his goal, had it not because of his actions the injustice will still be going on in this country up till now. Despite everything his opponents do to bring him down, he still stood strong to fight for the black community. I was also impressed about his work of art and the choice of words that he uses to make his letter a success. After I finished reading the essay I felt sad for him going to jail and the punished he experienced over there, but it takes one person’s sacrifice to save the rest.

That slaves and African Americans were treated inhumane and deserved the same rights as those of White Americans race did. Martin Luther King was born 1929 and lived to be 1968. While it was said that Frederick Douglass was said to be the first African American to become a National figure and to have influence with the government, Martin Luther Kings Jr. Was supposedly the most influential civil rights leader in America for a period of more than fifteen years (179). Martin Luther Kings did demonstrations and sit ins hoping to rise opportunities for African Americans. He would try to change the laws prohibiting African Americans from sitting on the buses or using certain water fountains. In the letter, Mr. King is writing in response to a criticism that he received. He is writing about why he is jail, which is due to the fact that he was in a sit in and was arrested with other members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The essay hits many of the points about sit ins and whether or not people believe his way is the right way to solve problems such as these.

     Martin Luther King Jr. writes the Clergymen that have written him a letter disputing his actions in Birmingham. King is disturbed and offended by the Clergymen disagreeing with his purpose in Birmingham. King say he normally does not respond to criticism because it would waste to much precious time, but since these were men of good will he wanted to give his answers to their statements. In King's letter he appeals to many emotions as pathos, ethos, and logos to appeal to his audience.

Martin Luther King started his letter right off placing himself on an equal playing field as the white clergy that was criticizing him when he wrote his salutation “My dear Fellow Clergymen” (King, 2017, p. 1). From those beginning words it is evident that Mr. King was using Rhetorical appeal of ethos, pathos and logos to establish ethical

King goes on in the letter and gets on a personal level with the clergymen. He opens the doors of emotions with his reader’s. With referring to words of religious icons, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you." (740). Martin Luther King was able show the clergymen that segregation was happening and unjust acts toward African Americans were still occurring in the United States. King also knew that he was going to need to get the White majority to listen. King used personal experiences from his children,

Credibility and ethics are one of the first things noted in King’s letter, and the presentation of it helps the reader to carry on reading the letter with open-mindedness and trust that King will continue to sincerely explain the reasons for the letter and the protest. Also, he establishes his credibility in the second paragraph by responding to the clergymen’s view that he was an outsider coming in. Similarly, King institutes his credibility by revealing that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which was an organization working in every southern state. Martin Luther King Jr. also appeals to ethos by even stating the clergymen’s views throughout his letter, which, of course embodies the alternative to his views. People have respect and trust for King which is proof of his reliability, as one man writes, “I believe Luther's actions truly reflect his belief that all people should be equal. His actions also show his commitment to the movement and the fact that this man was a leader” (Akerman 1).

King begs for a civil and peaceful resolution to the unjust laws and unfair treatment of African Americans. But, as history shows, the clergymen were not going to have anything to do with that. King says that he is trying to do this in the best way possible but it will not seem that way, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law… One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”(par. 12)

King combines the use of ethos and pathos as he compares himself and the rights of men to religious backgrounds. His first comparison is with the Apostle Paul, where Paul had “carried the gospel of Jesus Christ,” as to Kings carrying of “the gospel of freedom.” King addresses this similarity to show why he felt committed to go to Birmingham, because like Paul, he needed to respond as an aid to his people. Towards the end of Kings letter; he exemplifies courageousness in the Negro demonstrations by relating them to the actions of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they refused to follow what they believed to be unjust laws. Saying that if they are supposed heroes by going against unjust laws, why shouldn't the people see Negro demonstrators the same way? They are also God's children and by those disobedience’s, they were really showing the grace of God. These connections to religion supports their fighting against unjust laws as a divine cause.

“Logical arguments consist of a set of premises or statements of evidence that lead to conclusions” (Kies, 1995). Dr King appeals to logic and reason

Early on in his famous letter, Martin Luther King Jr. writes: “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference” (King 2). In a similar fashion, Malcolm X states in the third paragraph of his speech: “Although I am still a Muslim, I’m not here to discuss my religion” (X 24). Both making their religions clear, but the way they approach religion in the two texts are starkly different from one another.

To persuade is to move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action. By this definition is it possible that Jonathan Edwards the author of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God isn’t the persuasive writer he is thought to be? In the sermon he depicts Hell and warns of the danger above the sinners of the congregation. Does he appeal to logic? Does he address the emotions of his listeners? Does his words even agree with what the listeners believe? If Jonathan is the writer is credited with being, his writing will hold up to today’s standard of persuasive writing.