Comparing A Letter Home And Waiting For Dan

In America, the reaction to the protest was very intense. Throughout the protest, the Freedom Riders came across violence and the reaction of the protest was ruthless. While having to delay their journey to change a slashed tire, “one bus was firebombed and the Freedom Riders were beaten (by a white mob). The second bus was similarly attacked and the passengers beaten”.11 In America, there was a Freedom Ride accompanied by the State Highway Patrol, taking their journey headed for Montgomery; but when “local police failed to protect them, they were again beaten”12.

    One similarity between the two are that both the students and the colonist were throwing rocks and calling the the soldiers unpoliet names. Both the Ohio National Guard and the British Soldiers fired at the students and colonist. Also both the National Guard and the British soldiers carried bayonets. Both protests were strong enough that proper authorities had to come in and help maintain the crowd who were protesting. The protesters both went to a bar before they started to protest. Now I’m going to start talking about some differences.

In 1963 Civil rights leaders, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his letter to the men of the clergy, entitled “ Letters from Birmingham Jail” while stuck in the confines of Birmingham jail. King was thrown into prison on accounts of violence after a peaceful protest. As many of his fellow clergyman reported negative things in regards to king and his cause, he refuted with writing an open letter, in which he states his beliefs on equality for all as well as stating why he needed to stay in Birmingham to stop all the injustice. Throughout the essay, he uses many examples of rhetorical devices (i.e. Rhetorical question, redefinition, etc.) to illustrate that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

A similarity in both the essays is that both Martin Luther King jr. and Henry David Thoreau advocated civil disobedience. King mentions in “letter from Birmingham Jail”, “Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek”. King states in his letter how important it is to peacefully protest and not violently retaliate. Thoreau also stated how he did not desire to fight or be superior to his neighbors. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau revealed, “ I do not wish to quarrel with any man or nation. I do not wish to split hairs, to make fine distinctions, or set myself up as better than my neighbors”. These humble man only care to change racial injustice and inequality, so that the world can evolve to a place where everyone is equal.

A group of people risked their life to obtain equality for African Americans in the south. The Freedom Riders were a group of around 13 people. Most of them were African Americans but there were always a few white skinned people in the group as well. There was no set leader for the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Riders rode interstate buses into the Southern United States. The south was referred to as the most segregated part of the U.S. The main goal of the Freedom Riders was to desegregate and become “separate but equal.” They had also set out to defy the Jim Crow Laws. The Freedom Riders had a little bit of help from two court cases: Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia. These court cases ruled that it was

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.

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.

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 Freedom rides were put together by Mr. Farmer and consisted of a mixed race of people. They all followed the rule: “Jail no bail.” This ride was non-violent and resulted in turmoil near the south. This smart idea made James Farmer a powerful leader in the Civil Rights movement. No one had the same amount of courage and fight inside as he did.

Stanley Nelson chronicles the journey of a group of individuals, known as the Freedom Riders, whom fought for the rights of African Americans to have the same amenities and access as the Caucasians. The purpose of the Freedom Rides was to deliberately violate the Jim Crow laws of the south that prohibited blacks and whites from mixing together on buses and trains. Expectedly, many of the Freedom Riders were beaten and the majority was imprisoned. This carried on for the majority of 1961 and culminated with the Interstate Commerce Commission issuing an order to end the segregation in bus and rail stations. Nelson encapsulates this entire movement in about two hours. At the end of the two hours, the viewer is emotionally tied to the

Both “On the duty of Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King,Jr., respond to the relationship between the government and its people. They both address the same topics, yet they approach it using different methods. Thoreau and King add first-hand experiences from their lives as well as cries for the resolution of nationwide racial discrimination within their writings. They also use their writings to speak their concerns to different audiences.

They struggled for equality and took part in some of the greatest civil rights movements ever known. Although the civil rights revolution came as a surprise, the causes fought for were necessary. According to Foner, “the United States in the 1950s was still a segregated, unequal society with half of the nation’s black families living in poverty.” (902) Many whites paid little attention to segregation because they felt it had no impact on their everyday lives. Segregation impacted blacks, especially in the South, on a daily basis. They had separate restrooms, drinking fountains, schools, entrances to public places, and were unable to enter many public institutions altogether. (902) The arrest of Rosa Parks sparked a year-long bus boycott and marked the beginning of the civil rights movement in the South. (904) With Martin Luther King Jr. leading the movement, the freedom of justice and equality finally seemed within reach. According to the text, “King was a master of appealing to the deep sense of injustice among blacks and to the conscience of white America. He presented the case for black rights in a vocabulary that emerged the black experience with that of the nation.” (906)

It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that riding the bus can get one hurt and killed and how non-volient acts can lead to so much hate and violence. The Freedom Rides help bring attention to national level. The level of violence is extreme in response to a non-violent movement. The white supremacy was trying its best to make the colored population inferior. The segregation is a symbol of fear and hate. The press and television is a big part in the success of the movement. They help shape the public opinion toward segregation. The media brought the problem to our attention through dramatic and often disturbing photos and reports.

After reading the stories “Waiting For Dan” and “A Letter Home” I realized that there is some similarities and differences between the protesters in each story. One way they are similar is because in both stories they both have a problem that they don’t agree with nor like so they revolt against this problem and start to protest. Another thing they have in similar is that in each story the people wanted to get something out of these problems. For example in the story “A Letter Home” Kara the girl who wrote the letter to her Mother and Dad wanted to know what was going on before she left. I know this because in the first paragraph Kara stated, “ but we are staying together so we can try to understand what happen before we leave campus and go

In Waiting for Dan, the main character’s husband decides to become a part of the Freedom Ride. The Freedom Ride was a group of people, blacks and whites, who all rode on one bus together with blacks in the front and whites in the back. This was unusual because the whites usually sat in the front while the blacks sat in the back. On the Freedom Ride, Dan, the narrator’s husband, somehow gets put into a prison in Mississippi. The narrator and their kids, Eric and Peter, miss him because he has been away for so long. In A Letter Home, the main character attends Kent State University in Kent Ohio in the 1970’s. Because the students hear that the U.S army invaded Cambodia, they become angry and start vandalizing ROTC buildings as well as police cars. Then, when the government send in the Ohio National Guard to keep the peace, the Guard decides to bring rifles and end up firing at the students, killing four and injuring nine.