How Does Samuel Johnson Use Rhetorical Strategies In Letter To Jail

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.

In paragraphs 12-14 of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King begins addressing the clergymen’s belief that the peaceful demonstrations conducted by him and his associates were untimely. King starts answering questions frequently heard by opposing or moderate forces, as well as essentially denouncing the resistance to desegregation. King then introduced the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; concluding that the oppressor is not inclined to act on things that do not directly affect them. Therefore, providing a platform of his argument as to why blacks could no longer wait to be given their basic human rights. Action needed to take place because fair treatment was no longer a hope to be given, it had to be taken.

As Samuel Johnson writes the letter of denial to a woman ,that asked a request from him,for her son to be sent to a university as a recommendation from the archbishop . Johnson writes in a very formal and sophisticated tone towards the reader.Johnson uses other methods to deny the request that was granted upon him.The the block style of organization of johnson was intended to calmly reject the lady.

At the time of Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech in 1965, “The American Promise”, conflict over civil rights has been brewing for over a hundred years. A large group of people planned on marching from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, but fights broke out and it quickly escalated into violence. Given shortly after the happenings in Selma, President Johnson spoke before the Congress on the importance of passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a man in a position of power, the desperation of the situation is prominent to him, yet he calmly presses the manner in order to persuade them of his view. President Johnson uses rhetorical devices, such as allusion and connotative diction, to create an ethical and emotional appeal toward his audience during that time of civil unrest.

Gray and empty, the sounds of the inmates echo throughout the prison block. Controlled under superior authority, many stories are kept within the four wall cell. The Civil Rights Movement is at a peak in 1963. While prisoner in Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr., an important historical figure,constructs “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” to the eight clergymen, who wrote an open letter criticizing his actions and involvement in Birmingham, Alabama dealing with the segregation and racism going on. A Christian minister and an intelligent individual with a Doctorate in Philosophy, King powerfully and constructively writes to the clergymen. Sitting in a confined, uncomfortable prison cell, he addresses the criticisms. King utilizes techniques of diction, syntactical devices, and rhetorical devices for strategy to respond to the clergymen.

In 1963, the rights and the equality for African Americans was a cause constantly fought for. Protests and marches took place in order to push for a change in the society, to make a world where equality is achieved. In a Birmingham jail, sat a civil rights leader named Martin Luther King Jr.. Placed in this cell due to a protest held in Birmingham, Alabama when there was a court order stating it was not allowed, King wrote a letter that has become an influential and infamous piece of writing. This letter became known as, “The letter from a Birmingham Jail”. This letter calls out to the criticisms placed on King and confronts them all. In this letter, through rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos and ethos, and other rhetorical devices.

“A Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. was written in the margins of a letter posted by the clergymen of Alabama at this time that sparked his interest and while he inhabited the jail cell for parading around without a permit. This time allowed him the ability to respond wholeheartedly to this cynical oppressing. King’s letter addresses specific points presented in the Clergymen’s and this direct response distinguishes King’s strong points through his powerful writing.  Unethical and immoral mentions came to the attention of the Minister through the letter, and he expressed his differing views and defended his ideals and actions through Aristotle’s three rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, and pathos.

Obviously, again my primary motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is that this is a requirement for my English Composition Class. My heartfelt motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis is the respect I have for Martin Luther King’s intelligence and commitment that he displayed for the equality of the African American population. In analyzing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, I developed an even stronger understanding of the dedication Mr. King had for the disadvantaged poor black population and the injustice that victimized them on a daily basis.

Most authors use many effective strategies in order to persuade or inform their readers of a specific topic. In this case, Harriet Jacobs uses many rhetorical strategies to highlight the significance of slavery and how most slaveholders abused their slaves with lies and physical harm. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs uses rhetorical strategies such as rhetorical questions,vivid dictions, and euphemism to inform these white Christian women from the north about the struggles a female slave goes through. During the passage, Harriet Jacobs asks specific rhetorical questions in order to put more emphasis on her passage.

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was thrown into jail due to participating in non-violent protests against racism and segregation in the city of Birmingham. There, he wrote the famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” which became one of the most important letters in history of the American civil rights movement (Colaiaco 1). The open letter covered many points to King’s arguments for why the marches, protests, and other non-violent actions were necessary and justifiable. James Colaiaco analyzes the key components to the letter and the different ways Martin Luther King, Jr. used literary devices to form a well written argument.

Samuel Johnson strongly objects against debtors going to prison. Johnson looks at all of the cons of this system such as 1/300 of the population being imprisoned, the economy being heavily hendered, and families being affected.

As a researching assistant defense attorney in criminal trials, the case State of Alabama v Thomas Robinson, Atticus Finch uses rhetorical strategies that were effective in persuading hostile juries. The lawyer’s closing statement emphasizes the importance of rhetorical devices and how they affect the mindset of a hostile jury.

This noble style remains far from eminent at times and gives another important insight into his character. The continuity of his speech is often interrupted with lapses of proverbial wisdom, abrupt scene changes, and the inability to see humor in his phrasing. His affinity towards the trite stalls his exalted discourse on numerous occasions, most ostensibly on the prisoner¹s longing for home:

Samuel Johnson is revered and considered one of the greatest writers of the eighteenth century. However, when it comes to him as a person many times he is regarded as a being disrespectful, unfair or rude. Yet, there were many instances in his life where he was quite the opposite. However, he was still perceived as being pompous or negatively because he was going against, what was the popular “accepted” culture of the time. There are two situations in particular where he took an unpopular stance on issues, those issues were: women’s rights and slavery. In both cases, Johnson separated himself from what was commonly accepted and asserted his own opinions and views based on his beliefs. Further, by comparing Johnson to contemporaries

All in all, using some of the rhetorical strategies to write this article, Henry Jenkins tries