The Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King, Jr.

On April 16, 1963, from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. composed an extensive letter to eight clergymen who condemned the timing of the civil rights movement. Although the letter was addressed to these eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience, especially King’s “Christian and Jewish brothers”(King, 29). His peaceful but firm letter serves as a remarkably persuasive voice to an immensely chaotic mess, and is seen as a major turning point in the civil rights movement. King believes that without direct action, the full rights for African Americans could never be achieved. He defends the impatience of people in the civil rights movement, upholding that without forceful

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

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history. Martin Luther King Jr. was a masterful speaker, who established a strong command of rhetorical strategies. By his eloquent use of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as his command of presentation skills and rhetorical devices, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free" (King 1). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on as an everlasting masterpiece.

Anecdotes are one of the core rhetorical devices in King’s letter because by providing examples of discrimination King and others have faced, he better gets across his point that the discrimination should end. For example, King’s quote, “...tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that funtown is closed to colored children...” shows how King effectively uses anecdotes to boost the appeal pathos, by adding in details about a crying little girl. Another instances of anecdote in the same paragraph are, “...when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodyness,"” as well as, “when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored". Both of these inform the

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

Finally, racism was a major theme, and it was even the cause of the letter’s writing. For example, Dr. King said that though “it is unfortunate that so-called demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham at this time, but . . . it is even more unfortunate that the white power structure of this city left the Negro community with no other alternative” (78), describing how it was racism that forced his actions which led him to be jailed. Dr. King further described the immense racism present at the time by noting that “There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation” (78).

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.

Perhaps one of the greatest paragraphs that Martin Luther King Jr. ever put on paper was his outline of the ethical implications of systematic racism in the Letter from Birmingham Jail, in which King describes with vivid imagery how he has seen “vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers” for their

Throughout the letter, King illustrates the struggles systematic racism have on the psyches on black people within the nation and how it propagates socioeconomic imbalances, “twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society,” (King #15) by the usage of vivid imagery King invites audiences, primarily white America to glimpse at the reality of black struggle insteading of purposefully veiling themselves in ignorance. Capturing emotional responses through short narratives involving his own children and life experiences to accomplish the set goal of creating a conversation of raw honesty for true change to occur on a judicial level, “see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky.” (King #15) Through wholeheartedly eliudiating segregation impact on the youth of the time King strikes a fundamental cord in audiences -- the impact institutionalized racism has on future generations and in turn the future of

Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 wrote “Letter From Birmingham Jail” in largely in response to “Public Statement By Eight Clergymen” and the rising racial tension in the United States. In the letter, Dr. King addresses many of the arguments made against his civil rights protests and the timeliness of his actions. Dr. King illustrates his points by using pathos of the audience describing horrific and solemn scenes caused by segregation. He also supports his points using ethos quoting the bible, activists, and philosophers. Dr. king also uses logos making logical conclusions and arguments that defend his actions.

Dr. King begins by giving a recount of the events that brought him to Birmingham and the injustice that lead to their demonstrations. He then addresses common critiques of their campaign, answering them through logical arguments, as well as empathic appeals. The latter half of the piece deviates in that it aims not to justify their actions, but to shame everyone who doesn’t support their cause. Rather ironically, yet strategically, he expresses disappointment in “the white moderate” (pg.3), who he describes as: “more devoted to order than to justice” (pg.3). In addition to “the white moderate”, he calls out the clergymen, and “the white church”, for ignoring and even at times opposing their cause. Finally to conclude his letter, he prophecies the inevitable end of segregation “One

Dr. King uses pathos appeal on paragraph two to get the reader feel that there is hope for the racial equality situation. The hope will make them more willing to fight this battle. On paragraph 2 of the speech, Dr. King says, “great beacon light” and “joyous daybreak to end the long night.” This brings hope to the reader because usually when someone hears light, they associate it with something good going to happen. Light is a symbol of something nice and good happening. When King talks about the “joyous daybreak,” he is talking about how even through the dark, there is light. This gives the audience hope that in the end there will be equal rights for everyone no matter what color they are. It is also a way to describe something hopeful. Paragraph

First, Martin Luther King Jr. establishes his credibility as an honorable and trustworthy man to effectively convince his audience of his moral and just actions. To begin his letter, he acknowledges the fact that the clergymen see him and his allies as “outsiders coming in” (King Jr. 1). However, he counteracts their false claim by introducing himself as “president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state” with “some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (King Jr. 1). By doing so, King Jr. puts himself in a position of authority to demonstrate to the clergymen that he is not just an average man trying

We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.

King describes the hardships black people have endured, both emotionally and physically at the hands of racial segregation. He does this by using lines such as “unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches”, “…hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity”, “…long years of oppression”, as well as “blemished and scarred [the body of Christ] through social neglect and fear”. By using words such as “kick,” “brutalize” and “kill”