Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

For the value of righteous justice Dr. King made it a point to express his respect for the law and his desire to obey the law. Then, he added clarification as to why some laws were unjust. He stressed that any law that was morally wrong and in good conscience could not be followed should be broken only with love and being

If one see’s the issue of segregation as something that is not truly causing tension, than negotiations cannot be fair and reasonable. As such, King creates tension so that there is a direct need for positive changes.

Furthermore, King connects with his audience when he criticizes the unjust segregation laws. When accused of having a desire to break laws, King immediately disproves that theory by agreeing with their concern, and then discusses the difference between just and unjust laws. He quotes St. Thomas Aquinas faultlessly when he states his thoughts on law: "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality" (222). He continues to say that a person has a "moral responsibility" (221) to refuse to comply with unjust laws, as well as having an obligation to obey just laws. His statement forces his readers to put themselves in his shoes and think of their moral responsibility to stand up against unjust laws regardless of

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).

Relating to several biblical allusions like Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ, he sensuously establishes credible authenticity and significance to his motives of civil disobedience against unjust laws; they assist in accentuating the justice within his “unjustified” actions. King also provokes compelling emotional tides of sympathy and compassion to overcome his readers when he provides sorrow-filled descriptions of the torments Blacks have to go through everyday. Furthermore, his usage of logic in identifying equality as a natural right of all men firmly defends his reasons on sanctioning desegregation. Leaving no loopholes behind his reasoning or ambiguity in his purpose, King competently succeeds in proficiently perpetuating his views on injustice and civil disobedience.

Many fantasize about invoking change in this world and to touch the hearts of it’s civilians, but few revolutionaries materialize these ambitions. Martin Luther King Jr. is a prolific figure of the civil rights movement whose non-violent words and protests became long-lasting staples of academia and elicited necessary conversations of the institutionalized racism that African Americans suffered through that conservative, white America feigned ignorance for a false sense of comfortability. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King illustrates a rich vision for audiences detailing the mistreatment of African Americans in America’s segregation and the importance of non-violent protest to invoke change in a system that cared very little for the sentiments of the

King belabors the point made on the struggles of colored people; he lists specific examples that highlight the overarching point of this paragraph. He establishes a candid, impassioned tone that allows the reader,

Trying to prove that he has just as much understanding on the matter of injustice and racial discrimination, if not extra. King then appeals to emotion or pathos by explaining the sufferings; his community has passed through. He says, “When you has seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim.”, moreover, “when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters.” In this sentence, he is exercising subversive words like “vicious mobs” an affinity such as “lynch your mothers and fathers." Through practicing this kind of vocabulary and sentence construction King is making them envision and feel what he had seen his family and friends go through in difficult times. Throughout the entire paragraph that uses this kind of sentence structure and vivid imagery, the readers begin to feel King’s position, pain, and struggles he had to go through. It is an impassioned paragraph that uses

“But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” This short sentence hits deep, because it shows readers that King is working to help others and not just himself. This can cause the reader to admire King’s selflessness and his ability to risk his life to attain equality for his people. “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights.” This sentence also jostles the reader, as it tells how King’s point is not just some bandwagon fueled rebellion, but a solid and justified movement. It also appeals the the religious and patriotic majorities who wish to uphold the words of God and the government. “I have been arrested on the charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong with having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.” Once again, King uses the constitution to support his claims. People feel that to be good Americans, they should support the constitution and follow King’s claims. This is how King uses people’s emotions to make his

In 1963 on April 12th Martin Luther King Jr. along with 50 other protestors were arrested and then he composed the Letter from Birmingham jail. He was arrested for not having a parading permit while protesting against the way that African Americans were being treated. Birmingham was a hard place for a person of color to live because of everything being segregated and the amount of violent threats African Americans would face. Segregation and inequality of races was aloud at this time because Jim Crow laws were in place. Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Enacted after the Reconstruction period, these laws continued in force until 1965. (Wikipedia) King was an extremely strong

“We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights”(King 1305). This is a statement that was given in the letter by Martin Luther King Jr., he was feeling as if his people will never have the justice they deserved to have. The publication of “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” by Martin Luther King Jr. is written from King himself to establish his personal opinion on all the injustice movements going on. Throughout the article you will find that King shows views from ethos, pathos, and logos on why the Civil Rights Movement and segregation all most come to an end during this injustice time period.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is a true reflection on the reality of the 1960’s in the United States. This letter is one of the most intelligent pieces of modern literature I have ever read. Dr. King writes this powerful and meaningful letter to his fellow clergymen, acknowledging social injustices existed, which should only be fought in the courts not in the streets. Dr. King was about non-violent actions, during the time of inequality, and use his frustration into writing this letter to speak his mind. Even though Dr. King wrote this letter while he was in jail over a half century ago, it is still painful reminder of how the struggles during the civil right was very real, and what Dr. King had to sacrificed.

Fighting for freedom is fighting a war where there are no treaties or compromises. Yet the bloody truth is that in the end there is only one victor. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. eloquently brings to the forefront of the readers mind that not only is it time for this particular war, but it is long pass due. The brutal truth of this letter written in the margins of a newspaper spun from a web of lies shows the need for action in the aspect of freedom and prosperity. Not only does King rally together a group of people with the many allusions to how past always repeats itself but the indispensable references to authorities that effect everyone and the heart wrenching use of pathos keep the reader enticed to go onto

We are explained the difference between just and unjust laws. He asks the government why its okay to obey some laws, and disobey others, specifically the ones that make it illegal to segregate against blacks. A just law in King’s words is a “law that uplifts human personality”. Thus meaning, all laws that prevent blacks from gaining their civil rights are unjust. By degrading the human personality, they are wrongfully preventing others from receiving their owned rights, they are going against what is a just law. They are allowing those being oppressed believe that they hold no superiority whereas the oppressors hold all of it, and that is morally wrong in Kings ideas. Segregation isn’t limited to just being politically, economically, and sociologically wrong but more importantly, morally wrong and sinful. King wasn’t asking the public to disobey laws just for the fun of it, rather he’s asking them to disobey the segregation ordinances implemented simply because they were wrong and equivalent to committing a

By this statement King proved that in its application an unjust law can oppose a just law. Nevertheless, in this circumstance the just law is the First-Amendment right to peaceful assembly and protest and the unjust law prohibits one group of people from obtaining this right as a citizen of the United States of America. From this point King's appeal to reason carefully merges into an appeal to character.