Examples Of Allusions In Letter From Birmingham Jail

In the letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 16, 1963, Dr. King is answering criticism from white clergy men. King stumbled upon a statement in a newspaper while in jail and felt the need to write on it. He did it to explain why he was in jail. After all Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a nonviolent protestor. Kings says “I am in Birmingham because in justice is here.” Dr. King wants to see a change. This paper will examine King’s uses of rhetorical devices to appeal to his audience. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail” reveals all three rhetorical appeals. It appeals to ethos, logos and pathos.

King uses many allusions to connect the reader with his writing. For example, in the first paragraph King describes the story of Moses delivering the slaves to safety. For the people who have chosen to acquiescence themselves they are decided to stay oppressed instead

“Just as the prophets of eight century B.C. left their villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns, and just as Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled

King also uses quotes from the Bible to further involve the emotional attachment of the people with the Bible. He compares himself with Apostle Paul when he says that he is going to carry the gospel of freedom to the places beyond his native town. This served two purposes. On one hand, he could reach out to the illiterate people who knew of Paul through churches, and on the other hand, he made it clear that he was undertaking a big mission. So, the whites were expected to come to support him in the name of god. Besides using the name of god to appeal to the people, King presents the real scenario of the life of the African American people to arouse sympathy

Martin Luther King’s response of “Letter to Birmingham Jail”, was a very fitting response to the Rhetorical situation. Dr. King wrote this powerful letter from his Birmingham, Alabama jail cell in response to several clergymen who criticized the protests he organized as President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was masterful in his descriptive writing, exhibiting peaceful, yet stern and powerful influence in his words to condemn the behavior of the clergy. His words evoked emotion, as he described how his people felt, and why they were in Birmingham to stand up for desegregation in the South. In this moving letter, King was truly a master of rhetoric, for he managed to incorporate the three points of the rhetoric triangle, make them evident, and support his argument. Using logos, ethos, and pathos from the rhetoric triangle, King refuted the clergymen’s accusations and utilized their harsh points to present his own views instead. He presented his argument, used passionate rhetoric to explain the reasons they were wrong, and made the reader understand that segregation is fundamentally wrong in a society where all men are created equal.

Because of his personal experience and the bible's undeniable impact on society, King uses biblical allusions to support his movement. King did not fathom a completely original vision of how the world should be. He, like many others, pictured a society based on the teachings of the bible. He references the bible in "Letter from Birmingham Jail" because of it universality. Because most people abide by morals codes that are derived from the bible, King uses it to differentiate between just and unjust laws. By alluding to the bible with, "A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God," King appeals to a larger audience. In a society based upon the bible, the law of God is comforting thus would attract people. In addition, King addresses that this is not the first example of revolt. By mentioning "It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar because a higher moral law was involved," King groups his movement with a respectable and "good" revolt. While King could have chosen the American Revolution or any other display of upheaval, he chose one from the bible. Because the church accepts the revolutionaries in King's example as the morally correct group, it brings a similar

By making such a comparison, King is establishing credibility and essentially saying to the clergymen, “listen up”.

After analyzing Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I have come to the conclusion that his letter was a very fitting response to the rhetorical situation. Dr. King wrote this powerful letter from his Birmingham, Alabama jail cell in response to several clergymen who criticized the protests he organized as President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was masterful in his descriptive writing, exhibiting peaceful, yet stern and powerful influence in his words to condemn the behavior of the clergy. His words evoked emotion, as he described how his people felt, and why they were in Birmingham to stand up for desegregation in the South. In this moving letter, King was truly a master of rhetoric, for he managed to incorporate the three points of the rhetoric triangle, make them evident, and support his argument. Using logos, ethos, and pathos from the rhetoric triangle, King refuted the clergymen’s accusations and utilized their harsh points to present his own views instead. He presented his argument, used passionate rhetoric to explain the reasons they were wrong, and made the reader understand that segregation is fundamentally wrong in a society where all men are created equal.

In Doctor Martin Luther King Junior’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, many literary devices are used. Specifically, doctor King uses allusion very well. Doctor King uses allusion right off the bat; for example, “I came across your recent statement calling my present activities ‘unwise’ and ‘untimely.’” This use of allusion is the first piece of evidence we have to confirm that Martin Luther King Junior is, in fact, replying to a letter. Doctor King, further, uses much more allusion throughout the letter. In this letter Doctor King is Gainsaying much of what his Clergy men criticized him on. For example, Doctor king says “You may well ask: ‘why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” Doctor King uses

In 1963, Martin Luther King, a historical and compelling leader of civil rights movement in the United States, was criticized by a group of church leaders and was sent to the jail because of his protesting against the discrimination of black people in Birmingham, Alabama. While detained in the Birmingham city jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a letter to eloquently explain his presence in Birmingham to this group of ministers as well as defending the nonviolent direct action against racism along with oppression in his community to overcome injustice. In paragraph thirteen and fourteen of his epistle, Letter From Birmingham Jail, King utilizes periodic sentence and strategic repetition to create a sense of disappointment

Martin Luther King Jr.’s creation of the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (King 563) is a perfect example of how an argumentative essay should be composed. In this essay King crafted together several key elements of literature, to get his message across to his audience in a clear captivating manner. King starts off his paper by addressing it to the “fellow clergymen” (563), who were his main audience but didn’t restrict the message to be only for that precise congregation. King’s letter was a response to the clergymen who had written about the timing of his actions. The response letter from King was composed while he was in the Birmingham jail for nonviolent protesting against segregation and discrimination of the African American people. In this letter King uses all of Aristotle’s three artistic proofs, ethos, logos and pathos, along with literary devices to touch the reader’s heart as well as giving knowledge of the on going battles he has faced.

Martin Luther King, Jr. uses metaphors to make his argument in “The Letter To Birmingham Jail” by saying things such as “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait.” He is referring to when the people were being brutalized by police officers. They were kicked, cursed at, and treated awfully. I believe one reason Martin Luther King uses metaphors in his writing to show you more detail and give you a visual of what he is saying. In addition a good example of Martin Luther King using a metaphor to show detail would be when he talks about little girls not being able to go and play on the playground with other white children.

King brings in examples from his religion to further his argument that one must oppose unjust laws using nonviolent direct action. King is accused of being an extremist, to which he responds: “Will we be extremists for hate or for love?” (King 26). A bold statement, phrasing action as having two distinct sides. King strongly disavows the white moderate who stands to the side and waits for justice to come with time, instead of fighting for justice in the moment. He is quick to refer to the Bible when addressing the clergymen: “Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel?” (King 25). Using a rhetorical question with a biblical reference to make those who consider him an extremist, rethink if being an extremist is such an ill position to be in. He continues to use biblical imagery to support his point, citing that he is an extremist for love as so many were before him, including several prominent figures from Christianity. Even Jesus Christ, he states “was an extremist for love, truth and goodness” (King 26). By using this symbolism King is able to converse with his fellow clergymen in a way that is familiar to them all, pointing out the flaws in their

King creates an empathetic link when he utilizes the words "When you have" (King 2) followed by grievous moments in a typical African American life. For the purpose of showing the leaders why the Negroes cannot wait any longer for civil justice. Rather it is not that simple, King chose to write this to create an empathic link between the religious leaders and the African Americans. He does this with the intention of having the leaders feel the urgency and the burning pain the oppressed race has gone through. Simply, the African American walk of life is encroached by the actions and power of whites, creating an emotional scene for the leaders. King also rejects the fallacy that the leaders created with the "Isn't this like condemning..."(King 3) anaphora. The leaders believed that the peaceful actions of the civil rights group should be condemned for they participated in violence. King felt that this statement did not make any logical sense, but instead of outright saying it, he simply repeated instances where peaceful actions were taken place, but the subject faced consequences. In fact, by comparing the situation to the Christian icon Jesus, King exposes the fallacy of the leaders. In a broader sense, the parallelism between Jesus and King is noticed. Biblically, Jesus came down to Earth from Heaven to save sinners by acting as a sacrifice and dying on the cross. On the other hand, Historically, King came to Birmingham from Atlanta to aid the Civil Rights Movement by protesting, thus sending him to jail. Both came down to save a group, but to do so both were

To complement their arguments, both men employ the help of allusions. King alludes to the Bible as his way of empowering his followers and encouraging nonviolent practices. “we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (King 2). It is important that King make these connections in his speech because it allows him to receive respect from his audience. Because many consider the Bible as higher order, these allusions add to King’s ethos, making him more charismatic. King also emphasizes pathos by alluding to Isaiah 40 verses four and five: “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountains shall be made low…” (3). He provides his audience with multiple sources of hope throughout his speech, bonding the African American society together.