Martin Luther King And Bern's Speech : My Philosophy For A Happy Life

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”, King asserts that the war in Vietnam is a “symptom” (7) of a much larger disease that affects the “American spirit” (7). The disease King mentions is causing destruction where ever it is found, and in the case of the Vietnam war, it has led to their oppression and the death of people. In the section, Strange Liberators, King states, “They move sadly and apathetically as we heard them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know they must move or be destroyed by our bombs” (8). King believed that the disease was leading the United States to take drastic actions against the Vietnamese people. The U.S.

Racism has always been a major problem in America. However, it was known to be the most problematic in the late 1950s. On August 28 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his infamous speech “I Have a Dream” to America. His dream highlighted the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that took place in this nation every single day. Dr. King inspired thousands despite the color of their skin, to take a stance against racism, with his powerful way with words. In his speech MLK efficaciously uses, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos by using allusions, developing credibility, in his speech to persuade all Americans to be aware of the problems with racism.

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King uses pathos, logos, and ethos to really convey his message. Though he uses all three very effectively, King most effectively uses pathos and logos by giving illustrations of what African Americans faced every day, examples in history in which the law was not right, and the make-up of a just or unjust law.

What are ethos, pathos, and logos and how are they incorporated in with the persuasive pieces of literature to the presidential speeches that we see every day? They all are forms of persuasion per say, each

In Martin Luther King Jr.ʻs (MLK) “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” excessive use of rhetoric devices are used such as logos (logical), pathos (emotional) and ethos (ethical). Although all examples of rhetoric are present, some seem to appeal more than others. Some of the most effective rhetoric used in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are logos and pathos. While there are multiple examples of ethical (ethos) rhetoric and many more additional rhetorical devices, logical and emotional appliances seem to have an abundant amount of examples relative to these two devices. Therefore, in this prompt, I will further explore the meanings of these implements and examples referring to this topic.

How do writers and speakers keep their audiences interested? Many speakers today use a method, which consists of ethos, logos, and pathos. Two popular men, Martin Luther King and Sam Berns, both utilize ethos, logos, and pathos in a way to build their speeches, “The Street Sweeper” and “My Philosophy for a Happy Life.” Even though they both portray those, they don’t always do it in the same manner. When watching speeches, the speaker always needs to be trusted by the audience, which is another way of saying, displaying ethos. They do this in order to hook the reader’s attention. Along with that, they also want to hear logical words and phrases, logos, from the speaker. Putting an emotional twist on things helps others stay interested in what they are discussing as well. Despite the many ways that King and Berns favor each other, there are many ways in which they differ throughout their speeches.

Written by Martin Luther King Jr., the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a paragon of persuasive writing that takes advantage of ethos, pathos, and logos in order to convince its readers to take MLK’s side during the American civil rights movement. The use of ethos defines MLK as a credible writer; the use of pathos appeals to his audience on a personal level; and the use of logos layers his arguments and claims with irrefutable reasoning and logic. By using all three techniques, MLK is able to hold the attention of his readers and persuade them to take his side in the battle against segregation.

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail that went on to become one of the most controversial and important pieces of work during the Civil Rights Movement. Like many other well written rhetorics, King alludes and uses Aristotle’s three main appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. How does King uses these appeals in his rhetoric? King effectively uses these appeals to evoke his audience’s emotion to feel remorseful for the extremity that African Americans went through and dealt with.

Frederick Douglass, the author of his biography “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, uses rhetoric in order to persuade his readers towards his ideas. Frederick Douglass uses Ethos in order to convince the author that he knows what he is talking about and how he himself is a credible source for the information he is delivering to thee reader. He uses Pathos to emotionally connect the reader to the text with relatability and through a manipulation of emotions. Lastly Frederick Douglass uses Logos in order to convince the reader and persuade them with factual information.

The rhetorical triangle has been used for many centuries in writings, and speeches. The triangle is composed of three parts, and all three parts influence each other in communicating the information being delivered. The first part of the triangle is the Logos (logic) which provides facts, statistics, evidence from studies, and historical precedent. The second part of the triangle is the emotion known as the Pathos. On the pathos, the person delivering the communication appeals to the reader’s superiority with personalized issues, and associates with admirable people. The third part of the rhetorical triangle deals with ethics referred to as the Ethos. The ethos establishes credibility, trustworthiness, educational background, and challenges conventional wisdom. Many people have used the rhetorical triangle throughout history to convey information, one person to use the triangle effectively was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On a “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King used the three parts of the triangle to explain to the clergymen the motives for protesting.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are all ways of persuasion used in anything spoken or written by someone with a purpose. The address to Congress on Women's Suffrage uses each of these ways of rhetoric within the excerpt. In the second paragraph, Ethos is used by referring to the Declaration of Independence. Logos is used by using historical evidence such as the Revolution and Abraham Lincoln. Pathos is also expressed by using adjectives to describe our country with emotion.

Writing from the heart, expressing feelings, having a strong emotional impact on ones audience, using an appeal to emotion and logic, using facts and presenting arguments in a professional way, to the enlightenment of one's viewers; Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail; consists of three Rhetorical Strategies throughout his letter that is known and taught around the world as ETHOS, PATHOS and LOGOS. An appeal to ethics, a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader (ethos), an appeal to emotion, and a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response (Pathos), and finally, an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason (Logos); these three Rhetorical Strategies are used countless times throughout Martin Luther King’s Letter for Birmingham Jail.

Martin Luther King’s use of Pathos and Logos in “I have a Dream” showcases how he uses the devices to inspire others, compared to how he uses these rhetorical devices in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to persuade the Clergymen. Martin Luther King, also referred to MLK, uses both Pathos and Logos to fit the audiences and occasions for each text. His uses of Pathos and Logos in these two texts are examples of how words can inspire change.

Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer all delivered powerful, persuasive speeches that will go down in history. The use of these creative individuals’ language and persuasion played a pivotal role within the civil rights movement. We can observe this in the speakers’ rhetoric devices like ethos, logos and pathos.

What is it about some people that make others just stop whatever they are doing and listen to their words? Well, it is more than just magnetism, it is strategy. There are many tools and techniques to employ when writing or speaking to connect with one’s audience. Ethos, pathos, and logos are a simple but effective representation of these techniques. In her passionate TED talk, “The Power of Introverts”, Susan Cain employs many rhetorical strategies that allow her to connect with her audience and make her talk more powerful.