Dr. King uses different argument tools to persuade and move his audience, including the use of logos and pathos. These tools are used to convince the audience of a certain point of view as well as stir the audience’s emotions. Dr. King is a very powerful speaker and uses many tools to further defend his argument. While Dr. King uses both of these tools, I believe that he uses more of one tool than that of another. These tools are also similar in adding meaning to the words, but different in the way they add this meaning. Dr. King uses Logos in both texts, though “I Have A Dream” uses Logos more than “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” In “I Have A Dream,” he uses charged language to stir the audience’s emotions. For example, in paragraph 15, King states “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.” (King Pg 263) Moreover, he uses repetition and parallelism to unite sections of the speech and add rhythm. In paragraphs 27 through 38, King repeats the phrase “let freedom ring” in a constant and rhythmic pattern to enforce the concept of equality everywhere (King Pg 264). In addition to this, King uses Logos in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” frequently, like when he compares people’s thoughts about police brutality to his own (King Pg 285). …show more content…
A good example of this is King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, which is used to move the audience. King uses charged language throughout the speech, like in paragraph 15 when he says “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.” (King Pg 263) King also uses Pathos in “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” Throughout paragraph 14, King uses the same sentence structure repeatedly to form a rhythm and add emphasis to his words (King Pg 275). King uses this literary device to add rhythm, structure, and emphasis to his
Furthermore, Martin also uses logos and pathos in his "Letter from Birmingham jail". An example of logos can be found in paragraph 31, where he lists several other supposed extremists in the bible. " Was not Jesus an extremist in love? ... Was not Amos an extremist for justice? …
Dr. King makes use of logos in the writing of his letter. The logic approach he uses is when he ensures his agreement and reasons are excepted in a logical manner. Dr. King opens his letter addressing the clergymen’s statements in the
In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King uses logos and alliteration to advocate for civil disobedience. This is shown on page seven in paragraph thirteen when MLK says, “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality… Hence segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and awful”. This quote displays MLK’s intense use of logos because he explains that segregation is unjust and gives reasons as to why this is true. Martin Luther King describes distortion of the soul and personality to reason that segregation doesn’t make sense in our society. He logically explains why segregation is toxic to people and the country as a
Throughout his letter, King also uses literal and historical analogies as well as theoretical language, also known as logos, in order to conjure a cognitive, coherent reaction in his readers. His use of logos helps is arguments strength and irrefutability. King states facts that cannot be argued, facts that are accepted by all as true. He states that fact that he is in jail “because injustice is [in Birmingham]” (King, 10), a statement that is nonnegotiable. He continues to say that Birmingham is “probably one of the most segregated
The use of logos (Ruszkiewicz) in the argument made by Dr. King proves that reason does rule over emotion, at least in the words he was able to get on paper. Even the use of paper was withheld initially to Dr. King and yet his words shine through the murk of politics and the depths of pathos. No matter what beliefs were held throughout Alabama at the time, it is hard to disagree with a point made so obvious through common sense. Just after the passage mentioned above he uses a great deal of pathos to back up his point. He asks “Will we be extremists for hate or for love:”, while this is an appeal to pathos it is directly backing up the conclusion reached through using logos. While initially disappointed, after thinking it through he decides being an extremist is really very satisfactory. He even uses ethos to back up the logos of his prior statements by comparing himself to historical and biblical figures once also deemed extreme. By keeping a clear head unclouded by ethos or pathos, he was able to speak precisely and profoundly to the heart of the matter.
appeals to emotions by using pathos to invoke empathy and passion. He uses Ethos throughout his letter to establish credibility and authority. Dr King also uses logos to provide logical reasons
Laila Romero Rachel Christie Advanced English 9 February 29, 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King's Use of Pathos and logos Martin Luther King effectively uses pathos and logos in his “I Have a Dream” speech and “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to persuade the specific audience for each occasion. This is my first piece of evidence and it’s explaining his use of logic in the first half of his I Have a Dream Speech. “Five score one years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity” (I
Some varieties of inspiration come as passionate love while others appeal as injustice as did Martin Luther King in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter argument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen, and then using logos, pathos, and ethos to refute his opponent's statements and present his own perspective. After stating the general purpose of his letter, Martin Luther King Jr. specifically addressed the clergymen to set up for his logical counterargument.
Martin Luther King Jr’s “letter from Birmingham jail relates to the civil rights timeline because the letter made a difference, more people stood up for racial equality, more people started fighting for their rights.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr has wrote many letters but the two most important and ones to remember were his “I Have a Dream” and “Letter to Birmingham Jail” he changed America by these speeches they both talked about segregation and equalities it talked about how bad it was people who were treated unfair because the color of their skin was different and they weren't the same as the rest, how it was unfair and blacks were treated with disrespect and hate the whites treated the blacks with such hate, Dr.King decided to write these to end segregation and make things right. In “I Have a Dream” he used pathos to show the change of language he used during it and in “Letter to Birmingham Jail” he used lagos which helped everyone understand and think about what is happening.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key figure in the civil rights movements that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is an open letter written by King defending nonviolent resistance against racism. The letter argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust and unethical laws. The letter also stresses themes of unity among brothers in order to overcome racism. I will argue in support of King’s stance that citizens are morally justified in breaking unjust laws and that openly and responsibly opposing unjust laws is itself a duty of every citizen.
The 1960’s was a sad time when segregation existed. Although the colored people were technically free, were they really free? This time in history was filled with colored people being disgraced, threatened, held in captivity, and “vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sister” (King). Children ripped apart from their families, not being able to socialize with certain people, or even go to the local amusement park. It was a hard time to be a colored person, and there was one hope. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that one day blacks and whites could one day come together peacefully. King tried to do what he believed was right with everything in his will to finally join forces and not be talked down on by whites. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he includes several events that affect not only him but thousands of others emotionally, he uses creative examples to get his points across, and lastly King includes multiple past and present historical facts.
After reading and analyzing Dr.Kings “Remaining Awake during a Revolution” commencement speech that he presented at Oberlin College during his graduation ceremony; he wanted the people to have a good visual on what he was explaining and talking about. King wanted to inform the people about what was going; so he used allusions, statics, and logos.
This activity was part of a two-week lesson where students had to analyze Letter From Birmingham Jail to complete a graphic organizer to introduce argumentative writing. Before receiving this packet, students were frontloaded information on the historical context of the letter. Additionally, I divided the letter into three parts, so students were able to comprehend due to the length of the letter (9 pages). Throughout the course of two weeks, students participated in a whole group discussion to analyze how Dr. King used rhetorical devices to convey the message of peaceful protest tactics. During the discussions, students were prompted to annotate a minimum of three paragraphs to exhibit close reading strategies. At the end of the letter, students had to complete a graphic organizer stating either Dr. King’s claims or the opponent’s counterclaims. The lesson supported students to use the annotations created or shared by peers to complete the graphic
Although, King did also use logos in an effective way as well. For King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, it appeals more the emotion of his audience. He also uses a religious approach, referencing texts and quotes, which was great for appealing at the time for the people he was trying to reach. Though these references take up more of what could have been more logical statements, and to other audience, it may not be considered logos or perhaps a reasoned argument.