Parallelism In Letter From Birmingham Jail

The most effective rhetorical device Martin Luther King Jr. used in “Letters from Birmingham Jail” was allusions which strengthened his message. Since King was talking to clergymen, he made many references to biblical events which helped to strengthen his message.

Through his use of antithesis, rhetorical questions, and allusions in Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. was able

In Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he uses many examples of rhetorical devices in order for him to be able to reach out to the clergymen in the way he wishes to. He wants to get his point, that there should be a strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, across without upsetting his readers. King uses many examples of ethos, pathos, and parallelism in order for him to convince his readers that nonviolence in the answer.

John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech is certainly one to remember. It’s memorable not for its length, but for the effective content that it beholds. He entices readers by the use of strong rhetoric techniques. His inaugural analyzes style of writing, such as diction, tropes, schemes, and syntax, and applies the concept of it effectively throughout the speech. A reader performs rhetorical analysis to examine how authors attempt to persuade their audiences by looking at the various components that make up the art of persuasion. Moreover, it is most essential to be able to understand the relationship among the speaker, subject, and audience, which President Kennedy adequately exploits in his speech.

Words have the ability to spark change in the world around us; the way one conducts and organizes his words can start an innovation among a world of blind people. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned in the Birmingham Jail for being a participant in a non-violent demonstration against segregation. While imprisoned, he wrote the infamous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in response to a public statement of concern issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. King brings hope for positive change that the white clergymen will understand the underlying problems and the necessity for an alternative mindset . He stresses on the need for action and acceptance of colored people with his influential words, rather sooner than later. By inspiring sympathy through emotional and credible appeals and demonstrating an obvious logic through sophisticated syntax, King effectively argues the need for a civil rights movement.

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.

Seas of glass varying in shape, size, and hue work together to form a stunning mosaic of the broken, working as one. Radiating above its inexorable admirer, the fluid contrast in such intoxicating amounts hypnotizes the soul -- permanently leaving shards of 1960. Such a piece represents the corruption embedded in history that afflicted the black community. Exploiting the rhetoric of appealing to reason, allusion, and anthesis, Dr. King stained his proclamation of civil inequality with these devices in his renowned, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was serving a prison sentence in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama for nonviolently protesting through sit ins and marches.. It was during this time that King, outraged by the criticism of his methods of nonviolent direct action, wrote one of the most thoughtful arguments for civil disobedience and direct action against unjust and immoral laws. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail was a poignant rebuttal to critics and clarified his argument, inspiring much of the American youth to rebel against the racial injustices occurring in America at the time. Martin Luther King’s arguments in Letter from Birmingham Jail are effective because they draw the reader’s attention to the dehumanizing nature of systematic racism and force them to consider the ethical implications of large scale racial discrimination through intense imagery, articulate through reasonable rhetoric the philosophy behind civil disobedience and why direct action is the only path to achieve racial equality, and use practical and logical arguments to methodically refute the arguments of the Alabama clergymen who criticized him.

The primary source chosen is the “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,”  written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was a letter sent to the clergyman of Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. The actual document was written inside the Birmingham city jail on articles of newspaper and scrapes that Dr. King had near by in his cell. Throughout the letter Dr. King addresses the comments made by the Birmingham clergymen about his civil rights demonstrations. He understands that someone will have to break the racial barrier. The question that may arise is that, “If Dr. King’s message went to most southern states and did not go to all including Alabama, would the action be centered toward equal opportunity or segregation with the idea that each race would be a product of their resources?”

What do you think the author’s thesis, or main argument is, and why? Be sure to put his thesis in your own words.

In the letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. informs the readers of the reasons how and why he is giving a nonviolent protest to racism. King begins the letter stating how he was invited to Birmingham and how he is trying to fight against the “injustice.” In his letter King continues on to explain that the black men have waited to long for justice and they are still fighting it in the present today through the unjust laws. The white churches were brought up negatively through the letter numerous times especially since the letter was specifically written to the clergy members. Dr. King ends his letter in personal hope that the clergy men will see what is wrong in the overall picture of injustice in Birmingham and

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. to the clergymen of Birmingham, in which he speaks up against the nonviolence demonstration criticisms by white modernists. In it King suggests that Socrates is civilly disobedient, despite Socrates’ assertions of breaking the law in the Crito, the prison conversation between Socrates and his friend Crito days before his death. Socrates repeatedly states that it would be morally wrong for him to escape prison and go against the laws, however, King believes that he is civilly disobedient. I, too, believe that Socrates was in some form rebellious to the law, and that he was misunderstood and rejected by society. The Apology and Crito are two dialogues that discuss the intent of Socrates’ “crimes;” and the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” goes along the reasoning behind King’s claim against Socrates.

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King used ethos, pathos, and logos. He did not use ethos as much as he used pathos and logos. These rhetorical strategies was used to persuade his listeners. Pathos and logos was the most effectively used rhetorical strategies used. In paragraphs twelve through fourteen is were he uses rhetorical strategies the most, which means these were the paragraphs he persuaded he listeners to end

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but rather, the silence of our friends. (MLK)” This quote from the inspirational civil rights leader captures the motivation behind his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” He wrote this letter in 1963--after he had been jailed--in response to southern white clergy who called his actions “unwise and untimely.” Although MLK utilizes many varying appeals and devices, Kairos and anaphora are the most forceful because they pressure the white clergy and stimulate guilt in them.

Dr. King was arrested in 1963 in the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written a few days after King’s arrest, defended Dr. King’s argument about the civil rights movement. He uses the pathos, ethos, and logos modes of persuasion and uses several rhetorical strategies such as metaphors, citing authority, parallelism, Rogerian strategy, and anaphora to defend his argument against racism and segregation.