Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King’s inspiration for writing his, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was mainly to appeal to an undeniable injustice that occurred during his time. His letter was in response tos eight white clergymen, who objected to King protesting in Birmingham. Dr. King effectively crafted his counterargument after analyzing the clergymen’s unjust proposals and then he was able to present his rebuttal. Dr. King effectively formed his counterargument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen and then using logos, pathos and egos to present his own perspective on his opponent’s statements.

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is written by Martin Luther King Jr. from the Birmingham jail after he was imprisoned for being a participant in a nonviolent campaign against segregation. It was written in regards to the statement made by the white clergymen of the South. He employs rhetorical devices in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to develop the central idea of how action can no longer be delayed in regards to the oppression of the African American community by appealing to the white clergymen. King makes several sub-claims to support this central idea emphasizing that the need for action is now.

Throughout his letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses a number of rhetorical strategies to craft a well-written letter. By doing this, his letter respectfully responds to the clergymen and delivers a powerful letter. In paragraphs 27-31 of the letter, he uses quite a few strategies to respond to the clergymen’s accusation that his nonviolent protest is “extreme.” King uses a number of allusions, different forms of repetition, and figurative language in this section to form an effective response.

In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," his thoughts and ideas are directly stated, well expressed, explained, and illustrated. King's style of writing gives the reader a clear glimpse into the world with which he struggled and allows his letter to be powerfully effective.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, there are lots of rhetorical strategies that he uses in response to the eight Alabama clergymen’s letter, A Call for Unity. The clergymen’s letter was criticising Dr. King’s civil rights demonstrations taking place in Alabama. The letter encouraged civil rights activists to negotiate instead of protesting and King’s letter responded arguing that it is necessary for them to take civil action and counters their claim by using ethos, asking rhetorical questions, and using numerous biblical and historical allusions.

The civil rights movement has caused many issues for African Americans, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes “Letter From Birmingham Jail” as a response to the clergymen who share a different view with segregation. King placed his views from the idea that everyone is equal, rather than one is better because of their skin color. His letter from Birmingham jail shared many points, with the ending of segregation being the main goal. With his familiar clergymen with disagreements, he rebukes their letters with his take on the civil rights movement. His letter has an amazing pull from different views that unites America as one. Dr. King uses incites from the black community to share their side of segregation, while also presenting an argument using ethics, facts and emotion that establish his letter as unique.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who genuinely knew how to capture his audiences with his words. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” makes an appeal to his reader about the injustices that have been set in place by the oppressor. In the letter he talks about numerous things, mortal authority in Christian communities, American ideas, and the suffering of the African American community. Dr. King uses logos to persuade the reader why he s protesting in the first place because the oppressor has broken the negotiation between the whites and the African American. His logical argument to why the ideal way to proceed with non-violent protests is because of the political decisions that have been made. An example he brings up is the idea of there being just and unjust laws in America and as citizens those unjust should be deliberately disobeyed. Dr. King says, “Conversely, one has a mortal responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all” he soon starts to define what both type of laws means…”A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law…An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the mortal law.” In order to persuade his reader about the idea he has do more than engage with the readers emotions. By Dr. King defining what the difference between the two laws sets a more conceiving idea of the treatment towards African American. Martin Luther King basic point is unjust laws do not just hurt the one being oppressed but also the one doing the oppressing. This is more of logos appeal for the reason he is not trying to connect with the reader emotionally but rather make sure the reader understands his cause for the protests.

In paragraphs 10 through 19 of Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he argues for the urgency of changing segregation laws. King’s arguments in this letter are in response to a publication in the local newspaper by “Eight Alabama Clergymen.” These clergymen were white moderates who basically straddled the fence on the issue of segregation. Due to their neutral stance, King felt he could really convince these men that some laws needed to be changed. In paragraphs 10 and 11, King is refuting the clergymen’s statement that he should not be causing tension through demonstrations. In paragraphs 12, 13, and 14, King is responding to the clergymen's declaration that his demonstrations were “untimely.” In paragraphs 15 through 19, King provides a rebuttal to the clergymen’s statement that he is an extremist that breaks the law. In these paragraphs, King uses various rhetorical strategies or devices to make his argument.

In a response to the Alabama clergymen's’ letter Martin Luther King Jr. addresses their concerns and works to connect with his audience by establishing his credentials by describing his work. He uses imagery and sets up his character to not only unify people, but to also to separate groups. From the start of the letter, he respectfully puts himself into a place of importance to coerce the reader to see the relevance of his words. King manages to display himself as a respectful fighter of injustice from the very start of the letter where he positions himself alongside his “dear fellow clergymen”(1). To show his status of someone with power he describes the image of his secretaries not being able to be efficient if he were to respond to every

     Martin Luther King Jr. writes the Clergymen that have written him a letter disputing his actions in Birmingham. King is disturbed and offended by the Clergymen disagreeing with his purpose in Birmingham. King say he normally does not respond to criticism because it would waste to much precious time, but since these were men of good will he wanted to give his answers to their statements. In King's letter he appeals to many emotions as pathos, ethos, and logos to appeal to his audience.

Martin Luther King gains the clergymen’s trust and belief by establishing his moral character through ethos. King first accomplishes this by employing a tone of respect. He addresses the clergymen in the beginning paragraph as “men of genuine good will” whose criticisms “are sincerely set forth” (6-7). This makes the clergymen feel that their integrity and their concerns are heavily valued. When King later denounces their beliefs and actions, they are more likely to accept it as King’s effort to achieve understanding between the two groups rather than an attack on their personal characteristics. A reverent tone is further built with King’s choice to refer to the clergymen as “sirs” (121), “my Christian and Jewish brothers” (175), and other honorifics throughout the letter. Even as his frustration escalates, using these titles compel the white clergymen to continue reading the arguments, believing the writer because the writer believes in their morality. Another major

Martin Luther King started his letter right off placing himself on an equal playing field as the white clergy that was criticizing him when he wrote his salutation “My dear Fellow Clergymen” (King, 2017, p. 1). From those beginning words it is evident that Mr. King was using Rhetorical appeal of ethos, pathos and logos to establish ethical

In April 1963, the city of Birmingham, Alabama, was caught in the midst of massive civil rights protests. Protestors advocating for desegregation brought the city to a halt with widespread disruptive yet peaceful protests. After a circuit court placed an injunction against protesting, parading and picketing King was arrested for his involvement. While in jail King received a letter written by eight Alabama clergymen criticizing King for his disruptive protests and the breaking of laws which lead to his arrest. In response King wrote an open letter explaining his actions that would be known as “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In his letter Dr. King effectively addresses an unsympathetic audience by focusing on building his credibility rather than seeking an emotional response.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” after an unjust proposal made by eight white clergymen. Their claims were to be that no Negro “outsider” should be allowed to establish or lead any protest and should leave them to their local neighborhoods. King replied directly to the clergymen, but used religious ties to also have his voice heard in the public. In his counter argument, King strategically used logical evidence, emotional aspects and good motives to present his perspective to the clergymen.

## Considering Dr. King is writing to clergymen, his emotional appeal may not have only been to elicit sympathy or empathy from his detractors, but cause some shame as well, when he expresses his disappointment with them. He indicates that because of their religious beliefs, they should be taking a proactive stance on the side of justice, rather than supporting the status quo because it is orderly (King, 1963).