Martin Luther King Jr. Letter Essay To begin, Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American rights activist and an impressive preacher. One day during a peaceful protest, he was arrested and sent to the Birmingham Jail. In jail, he wrote a detailed, metaphoric letter to the clergy men, speaking about the recent racism problems and how to fix it. He wrote page after page of issues, using several examples and many iconic phrases from history. Martin Luther King Jr. was not an uneducated fool, as many seen him. He knew that if he used ethos, pathos, and logos, he would get many people on his side, consisting his notable character known by the church, his ability to evoke sympathy, and his logical way to present this problem. First of all, Martin Luther King Jr. introduced himself as president of SCLC, or Southern Christian Leadership Conference. By introducing himself as a powerful man in the Christian community, he is using ethos. He lets everyone know he’s got some credibility to his name. Also, by starting out with ‘My Dear Fellow Clergymen’, he is showing respect for the clergy and he knows their power. He knows that a clergy is normally seen as trustworthy, respectable, and credible. Also, it is said that these clergy men are white, so by saying ‘fellow’, he is saying they’re all equal. Also, Martin Luther King Jr. used many examples of pathos in this letter. To really get through to his audience, ethos is not enough. People sympathize quicker than they understand their high ranking in the community. Martin Luther King Jr. paints a vivid picture about how blacks really feel about their treatment. “…when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expresses pathos in his letter by convincing his audience to believe the argument of segregation. He shows credibility through appealing to his audience by having them understand him as a religious figure. Martin Luther King Jr. expresses why the dangers of segregation should be put to an end for the eight white
King use of pathos was to say that he and his people were organizing gatherings due to the fact that white people were not listening to the black people outcry. He utilizes pathos to describe the occurrences he was receiving. “I would not hesitate to say that it is unfortunate that so-called demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham at this time, but I would say in more emphatic terms that it is even more unfortunate that the white power structure of this city left the Negro community with no other alternative” (King p5). This quote made the structure of white power rethink their actions that made the African American community retaliate. He also includes detail to explain his emotion to emphasize n the racial hierarchy structure. Dr. King revealed his disappointment within his racial community through the treatment blacks undergo. His use of pathos in this letter was to signify that the treatment he received in Birmingham was a insight view of the treatment of African Americans in the
Martin Luther King Jr. built his speech around fighting unjust conditions placed on both African Americans and soldiers of the Vietnam war with non-violent protest. King is arguably the best speaker the world has seen, he knows how to get his audience passionate about the problems America faces while also informing them of what causes these problems.
Martin Luther King Jr. skillfully uses ethos throughout his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In paragraph two, he establishes credibility by writing, “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference." The SCLC is a legitimate organization that has organized nonviolent resistance against racism in the south, and by saying that he leads this group King is implying that he is in a position to where he can be trusted. Throughout the letter King repeatedly establishes his ethos to his target audience, the white clergymen from “A Call for Unity”, by referencing to important biblical figures such as Jesus Christ and Apostle Paul. In paragraph three, King compares his work on the Civil Rights Movement with the
King had a vision that one day all races would be treated equally. Being the educated man that he was, receiving his Doctorate from Boston University, Dr. King never saw failure as an option. King was a third generation Baptist Minister and was the Leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Dr. King was from the South and was very familiar with the city of Birmingham which was known as the most violently segregated city in the United States. An affiliate of Dr. King’s invited him to Birmingham to engage in a nonviolent protest to which he agreed. During the nonviolent protest Dr. King was arrested for protesting without a permit. While in a Birmingham County jail cell Martin Luther King explains issues within the past day’s society that needed to be addressed including the church, the white moderates, and how he had been labeled an extremist.
King’s purposeful use of appealing to reason gave him an upper hand throughout his piece, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and established security in his statements. Taking ethos into consideration from Martin Luther King’s text, we saw why he presented himself in such a formal manner. “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia” (Paragraph 2, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”). By using this appeal to credibility, King earned his audience’s respect and varnished his message. Connecting to his readers, Martin Luther King also utilized pathos throughout his letter to add just another foothold on his audience. “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr extensively establishes his ethos and proves his authority on the matter of racial injustice. “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King 1). King was the focal point of the Civil Rights movement and continues to symbolize the equality of all races to this very day. His authority to advocate on the
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, written to the Clergymen from Birmingham Prison, he uses the rhetorical appeal of ethos to establish his credibility on the subject of racial discrimination and injustice. He starts off the letter with “My Dear Fellow Clergymen”. By him saying this, he is putting himself on the same “level” as the clergymen, sending the message that he is no less than them and they are no better than him. He then goes on to say, “I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here”. He is telling them that he has credibility on the matter of injustice, not because he is the recipient of white privilege, but because he is well researched on the subject. King says, “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern
Martin Luther King Jr. had written the Letter from the Birmingham Jail in 1963. King was a well-known minister-- particularly throughout the southern region, and a great advocate who fought non-violently for justice and equality for the Negro. The use of the word “Negro” sets the timeline. King used every approach from the Aristotelian appeal in order to seize the moment while writing this letter. Immediately, the use of the rhetorical tools of logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos carried the words in his letter and credibly formed a discourse of morality, knowledge, and purpose. A valid, and credible argument was designed by using ethos-- for the most part in maintaining an assertive and persuasive tone, while simultaneously refuting the ideals of the opposing views and criticisms from the authority and his fellow white clergymen who also supposedly shared religious ideologies as Martin Luther King Jr.
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 Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK uses ethos, logos, and pathos powerfully and effectively to present his argument that the discrimination of African Americans all over the country is unbearable and should be outlawed forever. King wrote the letter in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation which was King’s way of reinforcing his belief that without forceful, direct actions (such as his own), true civil rights could never be achieved.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Mr. King writes to the Clergymen from Birmingham Prison and establishes credibility on the subject of racial discrimination and discusses all the injustice that is going on during this time. King sends out the message that they are no better than he is by starting off his letter with “My Dear Fellow Clergymen”, which puts him at the same level as all clergyman. He puts himself out to be a legitimated authority in the eyes of the people, by speaking of the intolerable acts being put on all black people to be able to justify his cause. Martin Luther King uses ethos to establish all his credibility on the matter that he is trying to get across, that justice cannot be waited on and that
Many people believe that their voice won’t be heard in this world but this mans voice changed the nation. It was 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. when king delivered his greatest speech on the facts of injustices to the black community. King makes an effective argument about the inequality of treatment the black community through his use of ethos, pathos, logos, and alliteration. King builds his credibility through the use of personal events for injustice done to him, his family and friends.
In this letter Martin Luther King responds to the criticism he received from several Clergymen which basically articulated that Mr. King should withhold from any further acts of demonstration for the Negro community. Mr. King goes on to explain how although the clergymen feel his actions were “unwise and untimely”, he has taken the proper steps in trying to provide peace among the Negro and white communities. However, he states how the empty promises and absence of change that the Negro community was assured would never actually ensue, leading to Martin Luther King pursuing further and more extreme actions.
Martin Luther King Jr. is an activist and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, he fought to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through nonviolent means. In the 1930’s Martin Luther King Jr. was thrown into jail during the protest of Alabama Christian Movement of Human Rights, where colored people peacefully protested for their rights. He then wrote a letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” why he has been placed in Birmingham Jail and why it is wrong that peaceful colored protesters were placed in jail.