Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr. Essay

stop of direct action type protest in Birmingham, Alabama that Martin Luther King was leading.

Throughout his Letter King uses rhetoric devices such as Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to support the claim that, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." His use of ethos induces understanding

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King uses pathos, logos, and ethos to really convey his message. Though he uses all three very effectively, King most effectively uses pathos and logos by giving illustrations of what African Americans faced every day, examples in history in which the law was not right, and the make-up of a just or unjust law.

King utilizes ethos and pathos effectively throughout his book “On Writing” in order to progress his thoughts and experiences to make his argument stronger. The author makes some notable points in each section of the book by implementing rhetoric to accomplish the purpose, which is to get across to the reader’s minds what they must do in order to better themselves as writers and become successful in the writing world. King’s paramount argument was that writing isn’t about the materialistic rewards you will receive, such as money, getting famous, etc.; it is about bettering yourself and inspiring others who read your work as well as yourself as you journey the wonders of your mind.

In these sessions of negotiation, the merchants had agreed to take down their “humiliating racial signs” if the “leaders of the Alabama Movement agreed to call a moratorium on any type of demonstrations” (King 233). Though after they had negotiated this, they realized after months went by that they had been lied to, and the merchants had no intention of taking down their signs. By showing that he understands the people of Birmingham’s call for negotiation, King is bringing more credibility to himself. King is also furthering his own argument by showing them that he had already tried to resolve the racial discrimination their way, and that is why more drastic measures are justified.

Along with logos and ethos strategies, King uses pathos to cause declarative imagery and false flattery. King understands why those who haven’t been hurt by segregation “but when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your

In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.

King is also showing the clergymen that society and government can be wrong in what that they believe to be just, and therefore, we should act in our own conscience, rather in the faith of those in power over us. King justifies his reasoning with another logical appeal which states, "A Law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected?" (Letter From a Birmingham Jail p.91). This appeal tells the clergymen that as a minority in Alabama, how can his people just sit back and accept the unruly actions that the state

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he emphasizes a number of rhetorical devices, a few of which are: allusions, antithesis, and syntax, to “point out” his ideas. King builds pathos with an audience of eight white clergymen in order to justify his reasons for being in Birmingham. To establish pathos to the eight clergymen of

The most rhetorical appeal used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his letter is Pathos. Pathos is an element that brings out emotions of pity, sadness, and compassion. Dr. King uses this rhetorical appeal in his letter to convince the public about the injustice African Americans face. Dr. King also gave details of information about what is happening to blacks in the society, so the public can easily relate to. An example of pathos used in this letter is he states, “Injustice anywhere is a treat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects all indirectly’’.

King also used pathos in his speech to show emotion. “And those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.” (King 262) King is showing emotion in this patho by saying that even though the

Dr. King effectively used the rhetorical strategy of pathos effectively through “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to pull at the reader's emotion and sense of

## 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).

He writes, “Shallow understanding from people [clergyman or priest] of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will” (King3). In my personal experience, I have encounter some people who always say “I do not get it” despite having that feeling they do. When we have others with knowledge of what is going on in the community, but claim they cannot be much help is much more disappointing than those who admit they truly can’t. Using my own experiences, I understand where King’s frustration is coming from. When I was in high school, I would always ask the school secretary why my school does not have a lot of resources. She would either respond saying, “I don’t know” or “We don’t have money,” and it would frustrate me. If I would ask a student that very same question and get the same response, I would understand because they do not have full access to the school’s information. I also believe King is frustrated because the white church would claim the cause for the movement was not inspired by segregation in the

The letter from Birmingham was written by Martin Luther King Jr.. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist during the time of segregation that aimed to make life equally among all. The location of the letter being a Birmingham jail cell is due to the lack of permits that a march, lead by Dr.King, had. Due to this, police officers detained Dr.King. Im jail, he had heard of the scolding he indirectly received from clergymen about the circumstances of his arrest. Martin Luther King Jr. saw fit to offer further clarification to his motives of beginning the march and the lack of proper precautions before setting forth with their efforts to advocate equality.