Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Through the use of many rhetorical devices, Martin Luther King expertly writes this piece using those devices to improve and influence the response of his audience. This introduction to his book, Why We Can’t Wait, is used to bring injustice to light and as a call to action piece. His goal is to inform the whites of America about racial inequality and to rally the African Americans to continue working towards a desegregated world.

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’s use of many rhetorical devices in these three paragraphs of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” solidify his conviction that segregation needs to be quelled immediately. Dr. King’s explanations justify the demonstrations and protests that he is participating in. Although this was a letter meant for clergymen, Dr. King simultaneously taught all of America a very important lesson: justice is a universal natural right, and when it is denied, it needs to be demanded. Racial equality is the form of justice in this case, as segregation was the culprit that divided society into two racial groups. Thus, Dr. King successfully advocated civil rights through this letter with powerful, clever

During the 1960’s, racism was still a prominent problem in America. The Civil Rights Movement was under way. African Americans were fighting for their basic human rights. One of the most notable figures of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. He fought for African American’s rights using nonviolent resistance; however, during a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was thrown into jail. While in his jail cell, Dr. King wrote a letter to clergymen from the Birmingham jail claiming his stance on peaceful confrontation on defending African American’s human rights. In his letter, Dr. King uses rhetorical devices to strengthen his argument in his letter to the clergymen. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s response to a public statement of concern from multiple Southern white religious leaders entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is perhaps one of the most important and influential pieces dedicated to the fight for equality written in the last one hundred years. It is striking just how much of the content within this letter continues to ring true. Numerous arguments King makes are still extremely relevant today, and it is nearly impossible to engage with and reflect on this text without drawing parallels to the current political landscape. This paper will discuss exactly how particular points

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he refutes the statements made by the eight clergymen who denounce the demonstration taking place in Birmingham. His letter which he directs to middle class citizens, otherwise known as “white moderates,” is very compelling because King is very in tune to his audience, making them imagine themselves under specific circumstances. King explains that the intent of their “direct-action” is to cause a tension powerful enough to force a response, to direct change. Although the clergymen placed blame on timing of the demonstration, calling it “unwise and untimely,” King, declares they have waited long enough to be further delayed. Throughout his letter, King uses many biblical references to make his readers see the inequality of their society, and what it would continue to be like without change.

In the midst of the Civil Rights movement, Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. found himself in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the most segregated cities in the United States at the time. While in that jail cell, King wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to the city’s religious leaders. Through his use of ethos, pathos, and logos, King made a thought-provoking and powerful argument for the Civil Rights movement which continues to inspire change in the hearts of his audience, both implied and actual.

The Letter from Birmingham Jail is a letter that explains the events that occurred when clergymen criticized Martin Luther King Jr.’s entrancing the Birmingham. Mr. King writes this letter to the clergymen who says racial discrimination was in control by the law administrators and should not be changed by Mr. King or any other outsider that are not white race. Mr. King’s statement letter addresses that he wants to form and restore an organize community where all human race can fight and have equal rights. I will explain how Mr. King used the literal tools as ethos, logos, pathos and others to clearly show the content, mood and situation of writing the letter and to respond to the clergymen’s enquiries.

How does one effectively convince another person from a radically contradictory viewpoint? Exemplified by Martin Luther King, Jr., one must be concise, calm, and aware. In August 1963, King composed the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to bring awareness to the severe injustices acted towards his fellow African American people. King kept a collected and professional tone, always reverent to his oppressor’s opinion. His letter addressed and responded to the statement made by a collection of eight, white, male religious leaders of the South. These men verbally attacked King, his credibility, and his intentions, only fueling the fire. The issues these men provoked included, intense racism, segregation, inequality, injustice, and further demeaning factors. The men felt threatened by King and his organization. As a result, King publicized the nonviolent approach he and his organization would take. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King composed a response to the white religious leaders regarding injustice, by utilizing the rhetorical persuasive techniques of ethos, logos, and pathos.

Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent protest against segregation that led to equality for African-Americans; however, not everyone agreed that King conducted his actions in a “timely manner.” After eight Alabaman clergyman criticized King for making the situation in Alabama worse, King writes the “Letter from Birmingham Jail as a response to the clergyman and a justification for his actions. King uses pathos, ethos, and logos to prove his claim that his actions occurred in a timely manner.

Mr. King states that the white community "express a great deal of anxiety" over the fact that he and the colored community break laws so unwillingly, yet the white community does not speak out against the unjust laws that they themselves follow so willingly. Mr. King argues that he is "the first to advocate obeying just laws", but "has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws" (3). Although Mr. King does not refer to the “white moderates” as hypocrites, it is their actions, or better yet, their inactions that shout hypocrisy (5). Mr. King makes a powerful argument against the white

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an eloquent speaker and a powerful figure during the Civil Rights Movement. In “Letters from Birmingham Jail,” he uses the classical rhetoric to engage his audience and present his ideas clearly. This particular text was initiated due to the non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, which led to the arrest of many African-Americans, including King himself. Although this was not a spoken document, the letter was directed to several targeted audiences: first, the clergymen who wrote “A Call for Unity,” secondly, the “white moderate” (47), and finally, to black men and women across the nation who lacked the initial courage to fight for their rights. Dr. King establishes himself as an authoritative voice

Dr. King taps into the emotions of his audience while simultaneously calling them to action by asking them to take a stand against the ever looming fog of segregation. He puts emphasis on the pathos presented in the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” in order to gain the compassion of his readers so that they will join his movement for equality. Rev. King claims in his “Letter,” “We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands” (6). Martin Luther King, Jr. introduces an idea similar to Manifest Destiny in that it was “God’s will” for African Americans to gain their freedom in an attempt to foster a better understanding in his audience. He wanted to expose them to a situation that they could sympathize with so that they would be able to comprehend the emotional ties in wanting to attain “God’s will.”

As the presidents figure conspicuously in this account of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King is vividly the hero… the movement’s embodiment” together with its shrewdest leader (p.163). The foot soldiers performed their role, but King perfumed the central role in the greatest achievement of the movement. Salmond highlights the dangers posed by high-profile leadership role of King. King does not respond to his critics, just as Ella Baker, who predicted the dangers and favored a more decentralized grass roots approach. As Baker says, “strong people do not require strong leaders.” The author, Salmond accepts and comes into defense of leadership of King and his stand on the issues. Salmond favors the approach of King and criticizes the

The speech of Martin Luther King was a brief eighteen minutes that conveyed a powerful message of freedom. The audience comprised both whites and blacks from all over the country, who had traveled to witness ‘a revolution like no other’, as King says at the start of his speech (Younge, 2013; King & Shepard, 2002; Staley, 2014). This