Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Dr. King’s letter, Letter from the Birmingham Jail, talked about some things on why there shouldn’t be segregation. In his speech he used a rhetorical device such as when he made a Juxtaposition statement, “ Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” This means that if you do something bad to one person, like telling a black person that she cannot sit here it is for whites only, will affect other black people even though the action was not towards them. This happened and affected every black person during the time of segregation.

Another reason that the “Letter” is so successful in getting King’s message across is his ability to relate to and show deep understanding for his audience(s). To clarify, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s letter had multiple functions geared toward multiple audiences: the one he directly addresses and the wider audience of all Americans (Osborn 27). He does a

It is known to all that Martin Luther King is a famous person in America, who strongly goes against the racial discrimination all the time. Here, in this letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, it is easy for us to realize that racial discrimination appears and the non-violence action is still serious at that time. As a matter of fact, this letter is coming from the people in the Birmingham jail, stating their inner thoughts about the non-violence action, which just goes against the violence and the injustice in most cases. Although this essay response intends to provide the people in the Birmingham Jail of how to solve the serious problems of the

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.

King’s salutation establishes his credibility by proving that he knows his audience and purpose, and it immediately reveals that his goal is to justify his position and not unleash a vicious attack on the clergymen. This simple salutation makes the audience more open to his thoughts, as they realize that the goal isn’t to vilify. His immediate audience is the Birmingham clergymen, and his broader audience is the group of white segregationists. In addition, one of his main points in the article is unity, and addressing the clergymen in this manner emphasizes that theme from the beginning.

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. was a powerful speaker and a major contributor in the Civil Rights movement. One would think that because of the type of person he was, he would never end up in jail. Unfortunately that is exactly where he ended up due to the injustice that he faced in Birmingham, Alabama. He wrote a persuasive, straight to the point letter directed towards the white church and to those who sit idly by doing nothing about the racial injustice that engulfs the community of Birmingham. Kings argument in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was so coercive and successful at piquing the readers’ emotions by his use of pathos in a way that typifies inactions and hypocrisy.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an argumentative letter to respond to the editorial that the white clergymen of Birmingham, Alabama wrote. Dr. King was parading without a permit and therefore was arrested. Dr. King's attempt to obtain a permit was shot down by the local white government. He was determined to march against unjust laws and the right to vote. The result of his actions brought condemnation from the local white clergy. Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” uses logos, ethos, and pathos to display criticism of the white moderate clergy. good opening paragraph. Nice revision on the model I placed on the board.

In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. starts off by using ethos to establish his credibility. By beginning the letter saying “My Dear Fellow Clergymen,” King is positioning himself to show that he is at equal status with the Birmingham Prison Clergymen and establishing that they are both on the same level. King then goes on to say that he is the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He continues and says that they have eighty-five

Civil rights leader and pastor, Martin Luther King, was arrested April 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, for being head of the protests against anti-segregation. Eight clergymen wrote to him, expressing their opinion on what they think the non-violent protests are causing. Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, uses elements of syntax, techniques of diction, and types of imagery to refute the criticism received from the clergymen and to also address the issue of segregation. King selects anaphora, rhetorical questions, and periodic sentences to achieve his purpose. The author employs anaphora to support his idea.

Late civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, in his detrimental letter to the eight religious leaders, “The Birmingham Jail” , conveys and expresses his feelings of religious and civil injustice of segregation against not just African Americans but also the general public. King primarily aimed his letter at the eight religious leaders of the Southern Church but also extended it to encompass the president down to those of ordinary citizens. To persuade his readers King prominently exercising the three basic appeals of ethos, logos and pathos, by not only appealing to his own insight but invoking feelings of morality, sympathy , and justice in the readers. Finally we see him appeal to logic, but supporting his assertions with evidence

Martin Luther King Draws in the readers of his letter with heavy emotion. He describes in great detail the horrific events that occur from racism and segregation. He draws in the Negro people by comforting them and condoling them telling them that everything is going to be all right all they have to do is stay positive and strong. He accomplishes this with his expert use of pathos that draws the nation in like a mouse to a cheese. As well as that he uses emotion in his writing and place of writing. King had been condemned and was sitting in jail at the time that he wrote this. “ Never before have I written I letter so long (or should I say book). I’m afraid that it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been a lot shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk” (King #5). He says that he apologizes it for being so long and that he has never written a letter so long in his life but he is doing this because it needs to be done and apologizes if for being to long but that was just because he is in jail. He also uses emotions ands states that if any information that he has included in this letter that is incorrect or false that he doesn’t mean for it to be. “If I have said anything in this letter that is an overstatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience. I beg you to forgive me” (King

Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices “out the wazoo” throughout his letter directed specifically at his fellow clergymen (or fellow ministers and christian leaders), otherwise known as his peers. He seems to stress many different inequities over history, specifically occurrences with the African American community. Narrowing down and focusing in on paragraph's 13-14, we can analyze his specific usage of rhetoric that justifies his argument on the timeliness and reasoning for changing the inequitable laws of segregation. King’s major usage of ethos, and especially pathos, really “hits home” in its goal to disarm the the claims opposing King’s statement, “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” This quote defines King’s goal so well to me because it clearly defines the problem as well as solution which consists of a timely journey into the seemingly unreachable depths of freedom and equality. The problem lying in the delayed justification that the laws of segregation that must be revised so that the brotherhood of the American heart may be reunited once and for all.

Martin Luther King Jr. targets the social injustice and racial discrimination prominent specifically in Birmingham, Alabama through his Letter from Birmingham Jail to instigate nonviolent actions in detriment to the violent racism and aggression toward the African American community. Martin Luther King Jr. underlines that hopes for the abolishment of racial discrimination have been wrongfully abated in Birmingham by false expectations, and he is attempting to take leadership as an insightful outsider to fight for fundamental civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. alludes to historical instances of insurgent civil disobedience in his Letter to appeal to ethos and establish his credibility. He also claims this racial discrimination is a shadow of the slavery in the South prior to abolition, and he appeals to logos and pathos as he underlines his indignation over this archaic mindset.

“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr illustrates a letter written for the purpose of refuting the clergymen’s statement on Luther’s push for protest. King felt it wise to respond to the clergyman for their prejudice towards the civil rights movement and wrote a letter that has changed history drastically. Therefore while incarcerated within the Birmingham jail, Martin Luther still fought for his rights and people of “color”. Throughout his letter, King uses rhetorical devices such as Pathos, Logos and figurative language to help cultivate his counterclaim towards his “unwise” and “untimely” protests.