Then Martin Luther King changes direction and begins to discuss his disappointment in the white moderate and the church. The clergymen claim that the time will come for equality at a “convenient season,” and that King is promoting tension between the community. King disputes their claim by asserting that the tension was always there and it is white moderate that is hindering freedom, on the belief that order is more important than justice. He alludes to Hitler’s Nazi Germany, recalling “…everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and every-thing the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany” (King, 7). By alluding to a horrendous time in history, he creates an
Through the use of many rhetorical devices, Martin Luther King expertly writes this piece using those devices to improve and influence the response of his audience. This introduction to his book, Why We Can’t Wait, is used to bring injustice to light and as a call to action piece. His goal is to inform the whites of America about racial inequality and to rally the African Americans to continue working towards a desegregated world.
King discusses the morals and types of laws, those “just and unjust”. By explaining laws and using reason to portray situations when laws can and should be broken, King guides the clergymen through his rationalization. To strengthen the sympathetic pathos in his letter, King discusses historical people and events and because something is legal, it doesn't make it moral, like segregation. He emphasizes that although everything Hitler did, such as murdering millions of Jews and cruel scientific experiments, was legal, it was not morally right. "It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal." King is comparing American segregation to Hitler's anti-Semitic Germany. King quotes St. Augustine, “an unjust law is no law at all.” Because King comes off as being moral and fair, ethos is established. He is seen as an integral leader. Through this, King is able to argue why he links segregation to being an unjust law.
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 compels his readers to make the connection between the two events by associating Hitler with the people that are segregating America. He also states how he would fight for any injustice by saying "Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish Brothers" (223). By making these strong statements he forces his audience to think logically about the treatment of African American's during the civil rights movement, regardless of which cause they supported.
Dr. King then switches gears, noting that the clergymen are anxious over the black man’s “willingness to break laws.” He admits that his intention seems paradoxical, since he expects whites to follow laws that protect equality, while breaking others.
Martin Luther King created an archive that might start the defining moment of the Civil Rights development furthermore provides of the battle for genetic equity. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” aims to defend those who are frantic for peaceful immediate action, the outright shamelessness for unfair laws is very disgraceful and it needed to be exposed for what it really was. Also the expanding likelihood of falling back on amazing confusion and fighting, the utter frustration for those who lie within the chapel who, in King's opinion, required not to live up to their obligations as individuals for the lord. Those activities of the African-American race needed aid and support as the lord required demonstrated in King's Letter. Likewise, King explains, “past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the natural right of all people to be treated equal”. Secondly, King's solution for those clergymen's declarations that separating the law may not be the path to accomplish the effects the African-American is searching for. King feels that the chapel has bypassed its responsibilities to the African-American people, concealing behind “anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows”. King sums up his letter by making a side point that he trusts that the chapel will view its duty and intend as Concerning illustration individuals of the lord and comprehend to have immediate action, those who support unfair/one sided laws and the looming risk of the African-American climbing dependent upon Previously, savagery if they would not listen. King does this all in a diplomatic, ardent
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a protester and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, greatly known for his use of nonviolent forms of demonstration. On a specific occasion, King was arrested for leading a peaceful protest as part of the Birmingham Campaign, which attempted to bring national awareness to the gruesome treatment endured by blacks. While in jail, King replies to the clergyman’s remarks of him being a foreign agitator in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail,” passionately defending the actions he took. The clergymen accused King of being an extremist, as they saw his relentless protesting and civil disobedience as a threat to a stable political and social system. In paragraphs 27-32, King attempts to persuade the
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
Civil disobedience is an important part of shaping our societies positively to object to unjust laws or to protest against what we deem to be unfair. Throughout the history of the United States, there have been many who used civil disobedience to protest and bring about change. One of the most famous examples would be Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. who used nonviolent protest to fight for civil rights for African Americans. Maybe Muhammad Ali comes to mind when you think of civil disobedience as he refused to join the draft to protest the Vietnam war. Just maybe the most recent example of Edward Snowden is what you think of who revealed just how much the government is watching us.
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society. As civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., famously declared, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” While civil disobedience is often frowned upon, especially when it is displayed in a violent form, the key to King’s philosophy was peaceful counteraction against inequality, which was often times solely based in protest and cannot be considered direct breaking of the law. While civil disobedience challenges the law of a free society, the impact of such movements have been key to the alteration of laws that have infringed upon citizen freedoms. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., based his principles of nonviolence on six principles that underlined the need for love
I prefer Martin Luther King Jr's side of supporting non-violence. This is because I think that using brutality as a way of carrying out acts of violence is more difficult than peaceful protests. I think Martin Luther King Jr. appeals to the youth of our country because he is a good example of how people can approach a difficult situation with non-violence. Martin Luther King Jr. has been the official spokesman for the activists who support the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This boycott was successful because it placed a severe economic strain on the downtown bus systems and downtown business owners in Montgomery, Alabama. After the boycott's success, Martin Luther King Jr. along with other ministers founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Selecting a topic is difficult enough when that topic is an influential person on today’s society. There are many influential people of our past and present therefore I can imagine to difficulty of the decision. It is much easier to contributed to mass amounts of Anguish that left people distraught than that of a positive situation. while many people decide to choose a negative topic my group shows Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was a man with a dream, space this dream consisted of black and white children being able to play together. I personally was not a part of the decision since I was not a part of the school at that time however I do believe that Martin Luther King played a big role and how the black community is represented
During the course of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, there were several black and white supporters who had brave roles. The most prominent and persistent activist of African American rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr. King’s ideas sparked the ideal perspective of equality. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equality by organizing marches, giving powerful speeches, and staying positive through adversity.
King he expressed by, using an alliteration comparing the pain the people feel from being treated unfairly to that of a stinging dart. The fourth paragraph explains how and when he was arrested, but also that he was denied the first amendment right and his imprisonment was unnecessary and a further example of the civil rights war that was raging on. The fifth is expressing that he is doing the right thing by staying imprisoned, but respectfully for accepting an unfair punishment. The sixth paragraph makes an interesting personification, “We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. But I am sure that, if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. If I lived in a communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws.” King again retorts with a cleverly constructed and truthful connection. The seventh paragraph used a metaphor of how the tension being caused from the racism and mistreatment of African Americans cannot be hidden as a, boil may be banged, but the painful pus will always seep
In the final chapter of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, King proposed that humanity was at a turning point where it had to choose between chaos and community. By looking through the contrasts evident in the book, the terms chaos and community as they relate to King’s book were shown to be the differences in the methods of the Black Power movement and the Civil Rights movement. In his book, King’s analysis of both movements through the lens of hope showed how chaos and community in the overall movement were diametrically opposed.