Martin Luther King Rhetorical Analysis

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.

Logos is one of the strongest appeals in his letter, critical as it helps and ensures that the reader establishes trust and confidence in the writer. Martin Luther King makes use of his experiences and the characters he has encountered in his life to writing his letter. For instance, Luther refers to St. Augustine who says that an unjust law is no law at all. He also refers to Paul in the Bible when he states that like Paul, he must react to the Macedonian call for help. In addition, he also refers to a number of his own life experiences, stating that “Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily” (King Jr., 1968). This brings out King as a caring person ready to help society. Using logical appeals helps to develop the reader’s confidence in the

In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King demonstrates the need for extreme action by depicting Birmingham’s dire future if the Clergymen continue to simply wait for the city to change. He claims that without extreme action one of two possible scenarios will play out, either nothing will ever change in Birmingham and people will continue to suffer under injustice, or worse, the African American community in Birmingham will be forced to resort to violence in order to accomplish their goal of equality. In the quote “millions of Negroes will… seek solace and security in a black nationalist ideology - a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare,” Dr. King demonstrates the consequences of the clergymen condemning his protest by explaining that his protests are the only way for many of the African American people to work out their frustrations, and without them, the majority of the black populace in Birmingham has no way to release its

Martin Luther King Jr. 's 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail", a rhetorical masterpiece, was written in response to eight clergymen’s statements condemning his nonviolent direct actions. He defends the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights nonviolent, direct action against individuals, institutions, and laws that look the other way while unjust racial prejudice against African Americans runs rampant in Birmingham. Using three main appeals, Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Dr. King communicates the struggle that was the essence of human rights, equality. Appealing to the logic, ethics, and emotions of the reader strengthens his rebuttal of the opposition, helps him gain support, and clearly justify the recent direct action he led. King uses logos to illustrate his argument and invalidate the opposition to his claim, leading the reader to side with his position. Exampling this, he demonstrates that direct action is not opposed to negotiation, contrary to what his fellow clergyman believe, and states “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King par 9).

Is it not ironic that Martin Luther King Jr. s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which testifies to his struggle for Civil Rights; not only contradicts the time Martin Luther King wrote it in, but also echoes the same sentiments of today’s moral causes and laws? . Dr. King (&*) then known as Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter to Birmingham in response to his fellow clergymen’s criticisms of him being locked up for his actions in Birmingham’s Civil Rights protest. The letter’s emotional appeal of pathos and uprightness are apparent as Dr. King likens his reasons for writing the letter to that of the eighth century prophets, who wanted to carry forth the righteous word of the lord. Just as these prophets, chose to

In the 1960’s Birmingham, Alabama was a much different place. Strict segregation laws caused anger among the African American citizens of Birmingham, along with most people of America. Many nonviolent protestors were arrested and put in jail, cramming 60 people in a jail cell, which was meant to hold 10 people. Martin Luther King Jr. tried to stop segregation and even went to jail due to a nonviolent campaign. While he was in jail, he received a letter from the minsters of Birmingham claiming his campaigns and demonstrations were unwise. King wrote the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” as a peaceful response. Martin Luther King Jr. uses logical appeal to catch the attention of the ministers of Birmingham.

On April 3, 1963, blacks began a campaign against discrimination in Birmingham with the help of Martin Luther King, Jr. the court ordered King not to hold a protest in Birmingham. The reason for the protest was the segregation of the races was absurd and it became hard for blacks to reside. Segregation in Birmingham included everything from churches to libraries to restaurants, and even schools. The constant discrimination turned into a rage of violence against the minority group. Through the Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. the author appeals to the rhetorical devices such as logos, pathos, and ethos to argue his letter which addresses the contradiction in the community of the clergymen.

A determinate of how effective a piece is can be recognized by how the piece affects the intended audience in the long run. In the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, both authors use several different effective rhetorical methods to convey their messages to the audience. Edwards (one of the best speakers in his time) and King (one of the most influential Civil Rights activists) both use these methods in an effective way. King and Edwards both use different methods to convey their messages, but it is important to analyze what one is the most effective on the intended audience. You must analyze how Edwards uses direct addressing

I think Dr King had a better argument because he spoke for the community in an intelligent manner with a sense of equality at hand. I think he also is more appealing on an emotional level and used pathos more efficiently while calling out injustices and demanding change in a peaceful manner. His overall message really came across as if he was speaking for all the people in his community. When he talked about the police and how he simply couldn't agree with what they are doing, he still was respectful when stating his grievances. I think a level headed mindset is something people can gravitate towards too, especially in a time of racial tension. Dr.King also uses some rhetorical devices to convey the indisticed of segregation.

First, Martin Luther King Jr. establishes his credibility as an honorable and trustworthy man to effectively convince his audience of his moral and just actions. To begin his letter, he acknowledges the fact that the clergymen see him and his allies as “outsiders coming in” (King Jr. 1). However, he counteracts their false claim by introducing himself as “president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state” with “some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (King Jr. 1). By doing so, King Jr. puts himself in a position of authority to demonstrate to the clergymen that he is not just an average man trying

Martin Luther King Jr. uses ethos to create credibility as well as believability to persuade the audience at the Lincoln Memorial for the necessary means for change and the potential for hope in American society. Martin Luther King Jr. giving the speech “I Have a Dream” forms credibility because he was an activist who was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Many people of the American society both blacks and whites saw Martin as an inspiration in the 1960s as well as the twenty first century because he would always reiterating the end goal. Most of the time Martin would succeed and meet his end goal was because of all of the followers he had. He was able to have so many followers because in his speeches like “I Have a Dream” includes credible

Martin Luther King Jr. finds himself in Birmingham due to the fact of the unfairness there. When people are in need of help, King describes that he feels he has to answer their pleas for assistance (King, par. 4). However, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Birmingham is flooded with discrimination, explains King (King, par. 7). The whole nation is aware of Birmingham, states king; and they distinguish it by how savagely the law enforcement treats colored people. “Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality” affirms King (King, par. 8).

Martin Luther King Jr. used his knowledge as a minister and his leadership in the community to advance his argument to end segregation. “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their ‘thus saith 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 home town.” (King Letter from Birmingham). King knew that the clergymen could not go against his arguments because they would then look like hypocrites going against the world of the bible as Catholics. According to King, Jesus Christ preached his beliefs and thoughts of freedom in ancient times. King argues that he to is arguing and fighting for the freedom of his people just as Jesus did.

Today, in this corner of the Internet dedicated to the Oratory and the techniques of public speaking, I can not fail to remember that fifty years ago, one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century was celebrated yesterday: the one he delivered fifty years ago yesterday, Marin Luther King, in Washington, at the foot of the Lincon Memorial, before more than two hundred thousand black rights defenders in the USA, and remembered by the famous phrase "I have a dream" dream).

In the Martin Luther King Jr. writing piece there are some amazing quotes in it that stand out to all of his readers and audiences as well as his fellow clergyman. A golden line that stood out to me was the line that reads “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (King Jr. 4) The reason why this quote stood out to me was the deep and kind of soft tone that King used he was writing his letter. I had a very strong connection to this quote when we read this quote out loud. It has a very strong and meaningful message that seem very speech like. This is a quote that caught my attention with its message that relate to this world and present time. The way that is used in present time is that when we have a situation of