The Three Characteristics Of Ethos In Dr. Martin Luther King

The most prevalent form of arguments that appears in Modern Romance is the use of logos, which helps offer trustworthy evidence to aid Ansari’s overall argument. The two fundamental arguments of logos are artistic proofs versus inartistic proofs. Conversely, Ansari weaves in countless examples of both forms in his book. Artistic proofs pertain to the “constructed argument having to do with appeals to reason and common sense; while

“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” was once said by the African-American rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. He was arrested in the summer of 1961 for parading without a permit and wrote the infamous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to white clergymen about rights of blacks. Although Martin Luther King Jr.'s various applications of rhetorical appeals and devices added to the "Letter From Birmingham Jail,” pathos and ethos had the most advantage to enhance the letter because they allowed the audience to have an emotional connection to African-American lives and shows the education and trustworthiness of MLK.

Pathos trickles from the pages of Dr. King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail to depict the crucifixion of those of a darker pigment in addition to sympathising with the clergy men. Colored men, women, and children plagued by the -unjustified self endowed- privilege of the fair skinned man. King wrote of a destructive singularity in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail proclaiming “Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue.”Through manipulation of pathos King demonstrated the South had become dominated by the white man's proclamation that shredded away the freedom of opinion from the darker skinned. Result of having claimed jurisdiction of the South by the infringement of African American rights the whites gained ,unconditional, superiority. Pinning up signs

Direct proofs are tangible evidence used to support the speaker’s argument. Direct proofs serve as evidence for the speaker’s proposition. These proofs range from the overall argument, to facts and statistics or simply the words within the speech. Direct proofs also contribute to the logical reasoning of the argument. Logos is a form of a direct proof. Logos describes a mode of persuasion based on logical reasoning. This uses reasons to back up the speakers ideas. These reasons make a logical appeal to the truth. According to Aristotle (3) logos is an “apparent proof, provided by the words of speech itself.” Logos stands for all physical parts of the speech and its arguments, such as the content, words, and logic of the speech.

Martin Luther King Jr., used ethos in his speech, “I Have a Dream” to build on trust and connections with the audience. He made the audience know he knew exactly what was going on currently with their struggles and racism issues. In this quote King Jr. explains how African Americans have been mistreated, stripped from their self-hood, and robbed their dignity over millions of years and it has to be stopped and changed.

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an open letter to African-Americans and all Americans who care about the civil right movement. In order to defend the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism and respond to being called an outsider, King wrote his famous letter “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” So why the King’s letter is so powerful and convincing to the readers? Is it because of his identity of civil-rights leader and his credibility(ethos)? Is it by the reason of the argument “there are just laws and unjust laws" (King) which he exerted numerous theoretical basis with utmost efforts(logos)? Or, It’s due to his passionate writing style and the description of the image of the oppressed black people(pathos). Actually, It’s all of them. These are the rhetorical method King used in his letter.

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.

In the year of 1963, Martin Luther King was imprisoned for peacefully marching in a parade as a nonviolent campaign against segregation. In Martin Luther King’s essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the paragraphs that have the most emotional appeal are, just as the critics say, paragraphs thirteen and fourteen. King tugs at the reader’s emotions in these specific paragraphs using very detailed examples about the difficult, heart-wrenching misfortunes that have happened to the African American society and what they had to endure on a daily basis in Birmingham by using metaphors, contrasts, alliteration, anaphora, and imagery. As taken from an excerpt of “MLK - Letter From A Birmingham Jail,” In paragraphs thirteen and fourteen of Letter

Obviously, again my primary motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is that this is a requirement for my English Composition Class. My heartfelt motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis is the respect I have for Martin Luther King’s intelligence and commitment that he displayed for the equality of the African American population. In analyzing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, I developed an even stronger understanding of the dedication Mr. King had for the disadvantaged poor black population and the injustice that victimized them on a daily basis.

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.

Ever wonder how logos and pathos are used in writings and compared? We you can always learn how when reading MLK speeches and letters. “I Have a Dream” spoken by Martin Luther King in front of the Lincoln Memorial with thousands of black and whites listening. “Letter From Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King in Birmingham jail to eight clergymen. In this paper I will compare how Martin Luther King uses logos and pathos from his letter and speech.

King in the Birmingham jail letter is logos. Logos is a statement, or an argument the writer uses to help convince his or her targeted audience by way of reasoning. Dr. King use of logos was a successful plan because it helped the audience become more aware of how blacks are being treated unfairly. It also helped the public understand that it is unhuman like the way blacks are treated. He gave an example in the first page of this letter by saying “ If I sought to answer all the criticism that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such corresponding in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work”. Dr. King uses this statement to reason with the public that even though he is being criticized, he does not focus on his critics because he has a more important goals in mind; which is to stop

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

Martin Luther King’s use of Pathos and Logos in “I have a Dream” showcases how he uses the devices to inspire others, compared to how he uses these rhetorical devices in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to persuade the Clergymen. Martin Luther King, also referred to MLK, uses both Pathos and Logos to fit the audiences and occasions for each text. His uses of Pathos and Logos in these two texts are examples of how words can inspire change.

Through pathos he uses emotion to connect to the audience with using real life events. "I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death" (Line 4-5). He says this to show he is not ignorant to want the true world is like to people who have different skin color. People who want equality are served the racial injustices from people, who do not want equality. "I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeking to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered" (Line 5-6). Inequality gave innocent people struggles to live a regular life. Martin Luther King uses pathos to make his audience think about the injustices of