civil diobedience Essay

Lastly, King appeals to character as well as establishing his creditability. For starters, the the vocabulary King chose to use shows that he is educated and possesses the knowledge to respond to the clergymen. King also informed the clergymen that he had previous experience in conducting and participating in non-violent campaigns. This provides credibility because it showed that he had prior knowledge of the behavior and purpose of those participating, while also addressing that past campaigns have always been “untimely”, but with desired outcome. The last and most obvious proof of credibility, is that King was a black man that faced the same adversities that he referred to in the last paragraph of this section. The example being of having to personally tell his daughter why she could not be allowed to go to a public amusement park because she was black and looked at as less than.

King discusses the morals and types of laws, those “just and unjust”. By explaining laws and using reason to portray situations when laws can and should be broken, King guides the clergymen through his rationalization. To strengthen the sympathetic pathos in his letter, King discusses historical people and events and because something is legal, it doesn't make it moral, like segregation. He emphasizes that although everything Hitler did, such as murdering millions of Jews and cruel scientific experiments, was legal, it was not morally right. "It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal." King is comparing American segregation to Hitler's anti-Semitic Germany. King quotes St. Augustine, “an unjust law is no law at all.” Because King comes off as being moral and fair, ethos is established. He is seen as an integral leader. Through this, King is able to argue why he links segregation to being an unjust law.

King made the white churches feel guilty for doing nothing to help the African American protests and violating morals established by the early church. King mentions the word

King quotes St. Augustine in paragraph fifteen, saying “an unjust law is no law at all.” Using this quote adds strength to his views, implying that St. Augustine would support him if he were still alive. He then states “all segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality” (para 16). After this begins King’s use of examples of how Christians broke unjust laws because of their beliefs in God. He reminds readers that civil disobedience “was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar”(para 21). He then goes on to another instance saying civil disobedience “was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to

In Dr. King's essay 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' he addresses the claims made about his arrest by the eight clergymen. His responses are very long and detailed, giving a very compelling and moving point of view. His letter is directed to his audience, which consists of white middle class citizens who Dr. King refers to as the 'white moderates'. Dr. King's letter is very persuasive because his use of pathos makes the audience think or imagine themselves in the situation. It is very poignant of him to write his letter this way. He is in touch with the views of his audience, which makes a greater impact on his readers. Dr. King uses antecdotes to make his readers see the injustice

In, “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King writes about the criticisms placed on him by the Clergy and to all the white Americans who believe they are superior and do not wrong. For example when King writes, “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King 3), King is speaking to the clergy who dislike his motives and actions. King is stating his innocence and that he is doing nothing wrong and that action needs to be taken in order to initiate a change. The purpose of King’s letter is not all to inspire a change in America and just address the criticism towards him and his actions but it is also a call to action. King takes on the time of a courageous, righteous, and disciplined man who

King brings up several emotions in his letter. King uses his children and how they ask him why the white men are so mean and why can’t they do what the other kids do, and how he would have to concoct an answer for his five year old son on why colored people are treated like trash. This is very sad on how a father has to explain to his kids why they can’t do anything and why they are called niggers instead of their first name, while the women aren’t even granted the respect of being called “Mrs.”. Imagine telling your child that they couldn’t do anything just because they were different. King also appeals to his beliefs in God, often quoting bible verses such as “I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus”(6) referring to how Jesus was whipped just like the black men were for standing up for his beliefs or his people.

In Dr. King’s, "Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King specifically writes to the Clergymen of Birmingham, AL. While taking into consideration those who might hear his acknowledgments of what’s going on, to justify and explain his intentions, while also trying to appeal to these audiences to make them see the harsh consequences of unfair and biased inequalities that consume the city of Birmingham Al., during this time. Dr. King specifically writes this letter to the priest who had insinuated that the situation of racial discrimination was controlled by those of the law and authority, which they felt was not to involve Dr. King and his followers.

when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; 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 asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?" King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, raise empathy in the hearts of white conservatives, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.Ethos are present throughout the “Letter” but there was one specific example that caught my attention. “Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code

King continues to say that some of the preachers of God have understood the need for justice, but some have suppressed the blacks themselves. He believes that the preachers have to break the traditional, unjustified rules of the society to allow for the freedom of the children of God. The true meaning of the Bible lies in justice and co-existence. He wants moral justice to overcome the traditional norms which were unjust in nature. He conveys this message well in his letter. He further writes: “One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage” (King 6).

By making such a comparison, King is establishing credibility and essentially saying to the clergymen, “listen up”.

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.

King begs for a civil and peaceful resolution to the unjust laws and unfair treatment of African Americans. But, as history shows, the clergymen were not going to have anything to do with that. King says that he is trying to do this in the best way possible but it will not seem that way, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law… One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”(par. 12)

King combines the use of ethos and pathos as he compares himself and the rights of men to religious backgrounds. His first comparison is with the Apostle Paul, where Paul had “carried the gospel of Jesus Christ,” as to Kings carrying of “the gospel of freedom.” King addresses this similarity to show why he felt committed to go to Birmingham, because like Paul, he needed to respond as an aid to his people. Towards the end of Kings letter; he exemplifies courageousness in the Negro demonstrations by relating them to the actions of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they refused to follow what they believed to be unjust laws. Saying that if they are supposed heroes by going against unjust laws, why shouldn't the people see Negro demonstrators the same way? They are also God's children and by those disobedience’s, they were really showing the grace of God. These connections to religion supports their fighting against unjust laws as a divine cause.

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” addresses the issue of individual civil rights. In the context of the racially segregated south, Martin Luther King argues that civil rights are not being protected for the power minority. An oppressed group has their civil rights unprotected and thus are marginalized; an oppressed individual does not have equal civil rights to an oppressed individual and it is this difference that creates the distinction between the oppressed and unoppressed. King mentions examples of how the black minority is being oppressed and not given equal civil rights, such as police brutality and unfair prosecution, racial humiliation, and restricted economic and social opportunities. In order to protect individual civil rights for all the oppressed group, which lacks equal civil rights, must strongly and unwaveringly pursue these rights. Like how the black civil rights movement pursued equal civil rights, an oppressed group must repeatedly actively pursue equality from their oppressors and thus restore individual civil rights. Laws that impede these rights are unjust according to King. An unjust law is an immoral law. King uses religious reasoning as well as objective reasoning in order to determine what is just versus unjust. In terms of religion, an unjust law is a law that corrupts the soul by preventing people from feeling as equals and thus goes against the religious idea that all people are equal under god. In terms of objective