Martin Luther King Rhetorical Analysis

In paragraphs 12-14 King uses a combination of rhetorical strategies to argue the urgency for changing current segregation laws. Kings selective use of imagery, parallel structure, and metaphors helps bring out the emotions of the eight clergymen, making them feel sympathy and understand Martin Luther King Jr.s point of view.

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.

King writing this letter from behind bars. He walked the statement that he makes in the letter that says, "I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do-nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro church, the way of nonviolence became an integral part of our struggle" (530).

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history. Martin Luther King Jr. was a masterful speaker, who established a strong command of rhetorical strategies. By his eloquent use of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as his command of presentation skills and rhetorical devices, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free" (King 1). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on as an everlasting masterpiece.

King is too idealistic with his approach. When dealing with racism and oppression, one must deal with it pragmatically because it is a serious issue. Malcolm X said a person with self respect will stand up against oppression and disrespect against him/herself because if they don’t, “their children will look at them and think “shame”. Dr. King certainly would sympathize with Malcolm X’s thinking that witnessing racial discrimination and oppression and he wouldn’t wait patiently either, but he would tell Malcolm X: one thing. He believes that a self-respecting human being will die for his rights. For Malcolm, it is better for him “to rather die than let someone oppress him”. Again, the theme here is that non-violence does not distinguish the individual as a person or self-respecting human being. Non-violence doesn’t distinguish you at all. It is the stance of any means necessary that distinguishing you as someone to be reckoned with. How do you demonstrate to others that you are a person and that you have genuine self-respect? You let them know that you will do whatever it takes, even if you may die in the process, to end the oppression; “I would rather die than let you oppress

“But more basically,I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C.left their villages and carried their,”thus saint the lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns,and just as the Apostle 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 to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.like Paul,I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of caution that was issued by several religious leaders of the South. During the midst of the nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested and felt compelled to respond to their statement as he saw these fellow religious men as sincere and of good nature. In this letter he defends the use of nonviolent resistance to the racism occurring. He states that there is a moral responsibility to break unjust laws when taking direct action, in order to further the cause for justice which does not occur on its own.

The argument of the letter is that direct action must be taken in specific ways for changes to be brought about. King says that nonviolent action can only be achieved by following four specific steps. The first step he says is to determine if there really are injustices being made towards a certain group. He shows these injustices with examples of violent acts against Negroes including police attacks, bombing of homes and churches, and lynching by mobs. He says that Negroes have been victims of discrimination in their inability to receive the benefits that their white counterparts receive. More have also been in poverty due to prejudices against them. He sees a flourishing, affluent society in which blacks are not allowed to play a role in. King knows that the Negroes are not free and in order for freedom to be gained it must "be demanded" because it "is simply not given". The second step in the process of starting a nonviolent movement is the attempt to negotiate with your oppressors. King spoke with white merchants in Birmingham and asked that racial signs be removed from store windows. These merchants promised

King demonstrates how his peaceful, non-violent protests do not advocate violence, which is exactly what the clergymen feared from Malcolm. Kings intensity and magnitude of his statements show that he believes both paths he mentions are wrong, as he states, “I have tried to stand between these two forces.” King attempts to stay between the extremes and remind people that he is the middle ground. King emphasizes that he is not an extremist, rather, he is a moderate attempting to find the most favorable solution to both his and the clergymen’s problems. In conclusion, King juxtaposes these two extremist views in order to demonstrate how his practical and non-violent protests should be encouraged.

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black."1

In his letter to the clergy he justified the use of ‘nonviolent direct action’ as tactical means to bringing parties together to negotiate. He vehemently condemned all forms of violent action but insisted that it was strategic and constructive to employ the nonviolent tension as a powerful alternate to negotiation. Similarly, Dr. King Jr. stressed to his audience in his momentous speech in Washington DC, that the desire to attain set goal must not be tainted by any acts of retaliation and cautioned the crowd to avoid the temptation of being ‘guilty of wrong doing”. He emphasized the importance of adhering to strict discipline and conducting their struggle in the highest form of respect for human dignity.

With Civil Rights supporters surrounding the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. spends a hot August day emphasizing the necessity of equality amongst each American. While capturing the attention of Civil Rights activists, he discusses racial injustice and the actions that need to be taken in order to create an equal society. King presents nonviolent protest ideas that he hopes will help further their fight for equality. King relays his goal of freedom to the Civil Rights activists encompassing the Lincoln Memorial through pathos matched with an array of rhetorical devices such as anaphora and metaphors.

King applied this concept to his teachings by stressing the idea of brotherhood, that everyman must love his neighbor, ““We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools” . This notion of brotherhood, combined with his non-violent approach inspired by Gandhi, was why King stressed unity and equality, instead of simply more rights for black people. King did not advocate that African American’s should have more power over their oppressors, instead he fought to end oppression and discrimination universally.

Martin Luther King Jr. not only directs his speech towards African Americans, but also towards white people. He appeals to emotion when he communicates that “this note was a promise to all men- yes, black men as well as white men- would be guaranteed the unreliable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King, 342), in order, to unite all races. King’s motives cannot be achieved unless everyone has the same goals and is on an united front. In order to be successful they have to conduct theirselves with dignity and discipline, and “must not be guilty of wrongful deeds” (King, 343). It is evident from history that violence does not solve our problems, and that nonviolent action is the way to

Martin Luther King Jr., during the final years of his life, became increasingly vocal about his frustration with the progress of the Civil Rights movement; his integrationist sermons of the early 1960s became progressively more leftist as he realized non-violent protests were not strong enough to combat white hatred. King’s early activism was very agreeable with white liberal activism of the North and the success of the movement hinged heavily on using white liberals and televised Black suffering to appeal to the conscious of white America. However, after the mid-1960s and the lull in progress of the movement King’s stance on the Civil Rights Movement changed as seen in the following quote from September 1967: