Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity (King 279). The unfairness as they are seen as extremists, the activism of taking extreme measures, for their nonviolent direct-action protest just because they want the same freedom as whites. He uses such intense words in this short sentence that really just leaves a picture in your mind. Showing that even if he remained unbiased that the black community would have acted regardless, and that the nonviolent action could very well have turned violent without the help of his organization. Michelle Singh's art of inclusion with Prezi; Feb. 15, 2023 Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert. MLK wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to an essay written by white clergymen. Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/rhetorical-analysis-of-the-letter-of-birmingham-jail/. His idea was that nobody ever got anywhere by waiting for change to come to them. His perspective was that of a disappointed, black man in America, who had been subjected to all sorts of racial discrimination and segregation through the span of his life. King does this by opening his letter with his accomplishments such as being the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which had 85 affiliate organizations all over the south. The clergy also asserted that King and his constituents were extreme. He explained how black Americans have waited over 300 years to acquire basic constitutional rights. Hi! Some may say Martian Luther King could persuade anyone and anything, by the choice of his words and how he made them flow together. MLK wants to bring about a change to what the world sees of the Civil Rights movement. King says having to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cant go to the public amusement park, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told the fun town is closed to color 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 towards white people (King 275). But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim. (P. 429) This quote comes from King expressing just how serious and emotional this cause is for him and members of the black community. The letter of Birmingham Jail was written by Martin Luther King on April 16, 1963. King used many rhetorical devices in his writing, from repetition, allusion and imagery, all the way to ethos, logos, and pathos. King uses this truth to appeal to the readers emotions. He wrote this letter from his jail cell after him and several of his associates were arrested as they nonviolently protested segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. The eight clergy men called his present activity unwise and untimely and stated that racial matters should be properly pursued in the courts and not the streets. One of these partnerships includes the esteemed Christian Movement for Human Rights. Martin Luther King then backs up his view of just and unjust laws with many political figures who set laws that were made to be broken for the rights of the people that faced injustices. King made use of ethos, pathos, and logos in his letter; three powerful rhetorical devices that make various appeals to the target audience. The anaphora If you were to is meant to inspire his readers to emp. Another example of this appeal is when King is arguing the paradoxical nature of breaking laws. He was leading a peaceful protest that lead to his arrest for not having a permit. He continues to go on and on about the things they go through every day. King had to use his platform to set it straight as there were only newspapers at the time to capture the major brutalitys if they were lucky. When the clergy said that Kings actions were untimely, he describes the urgency of the situation. Quick action is typically a product of this appeal, which makes it the perfect secret weapon for Kings letter. Our writers can help you with any type of essay. Make sure your essay is plagiarism-free or hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. includes a large volume of allusions and direct references that can be divided into several categories. The text shown above is just an extract. Ethos is a useful technique in developing trustworthiness in a writer, but King uses logos as well. Nevertheless, he was also a reverend, who was very patient, and well versed in the philosophy and execution of civil disobedience. 270 students ordered this very topic and got An allusion is an indirect reference to people, events, literature, etc. The text includes numerous instances when the writer uses descriptive and metaphorical language to make his arguments more dynamic and appealing. Showing that he takes the cultural ideas of him and his followers very seriously and is there to fight for them. Don't know where to start? His famous Letter from Birmingham offered a detailed response to the white moderate of his time, rebutting their claims that the direct actions of Kings cause, were untimely and unwise. The prejudices of the white moderate who say they agree with the goal they seek of freedom but cannot agree with their methods of direct actions. 467 students ordered this very topic and got This tool is used so that the words coming from his letter do not go over the clergys heads. King was in Birmingham Jail when he composed this response. That direct action was the only choice for negation as they were victims of broken promises by the courts and given no alternative choice. These themes of injustice were the push for his plan of direct action as he states and supports each theme with clear and factual evidence. MLK then establishes his credibility by saying, 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. Therefore, tugging at the heartstrings was an extremely powerful way to send a message. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Pay the writer only for a finished, plagiarism-free essay that meets all your requirements. Logical Fallacies in Letter from Birmingham Jail, The Effects that World War i and World War II had on Minority Groups in America, The Causes of Hysteria from the Salem Witch Trials, Letter from Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis, Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr, North or South: who Killed Reconstruction, King, Martin Luther. Letter from Birmingham Jail, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Logical Fallacies in Letter from Birmingham Jail, Policing and Community Relations in America, Rhetorical Analysis of The Letter of Birmingham Jail, A Rhetorical Analysis of the Letter from Birmingham Jail and Malala Yousafzais Speech, Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr, What does Kings Speech i have a Dream Mean. He Compares his fight for freedom with the Apostle Paul and the prophets fight for the gospel of Jesus Christ. He makes this statement to show he is not an outsider but presents himself as an insider, as he is the president of the conference. One of his biggest issues was that the leadership of the church claimed to be in his corner, yet shrugged their shoulders at every turn of the cause and would refuse to stand with him when things did not seem to be going smoothly. For any subject. Ethos Convinces the audience that the speaker will be worth listening to and is a credible source. Various rhetorical questions help the writer introduces new topics he addresses in reply to criticism from white clergymen: You may well ask: Why direct action? Kimberly Bautista. An allusion is an indirect reference to people, events, literature, etc. In other words, King borrows from the ethos of these figures to gain credibility and legitimacy in front of his readers. Analogies are comparisons through which the writer uses one event or person to describe another, creating associations for the readers. He then addresses the clergymens anxiety over their willingness to break laws. Just expressing his background as a minister goes towards the development of ethos. Don't know where to start? MLK also includes many metaphors in the letter to create that image in the readers mind and to make important arguments. Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+! This is an appeal to the emotions of the reader. Kings message would not be well received if he did not have his background. The Letter of Birmingham Jail. Discovering Arguments: An, Introduction to Critical Thinking and Writing, with Readings, by Dean Memering and William Palmer, Prentice Hall, 2005, pp. He recognized that this was an effective way to bring further into the light the atrocities of racism and segregation. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored (King 274). The 1954 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation in public schools was disobeyed. Sun Dec 02 2012. For any subject. This essay is available online and might have been used by another student. All of these men went down in history as extraordinary individuals. He used numerous examples of sad and heart aching pathos, he did it to get his point across, making the white moderates feel what it was like to live in the life of a colored person. This appeals to ethos as it validates kings quality educational background. Why sit ins, marches and so forth? He is informed about the crisis going on in Birmingham as he has a chapter in their state and was invited there to help fight the discrimination. If you want a unique paper, order it from our professional writers. your personal assistant! I'm Amy, To get a custom and plagiarism-free essay. Additionally, King uses rhetorical questions to describe how activists think and make readers understand the logic behind the protests: we repeatedly asked o. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, King typically uses repetition in the form of anaphora repeating the same word(s) atthe beginning of consecutive clauses. Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case (King 274). King organized the letter by stating each critique from the white moderate and then explaining why direct action was justified. Kings culmination of ethos, pathos, and logos plays a large part in why his Letter from Birmingham was so effective and so well received by his society, and continues to be a piece that future societies are able to learn from. For example, Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. After stating the racial injustices that have been going on for too long he continues to logically reply to the question asked Why direct action? This aspect of Kings argument actually forced them to evaluate the facts and state of the issue. aimed at creating associations for the readers and to add further emphasis to the writer's views. 2023 PapersOwl.com - All rights reserved. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that states segregation laws was democratically elected (King 277)? Rhetorical Analysis of The Letter of Birmingham Jail". Kings target audience was the white moderate but at the same time, his letter was renowned nationwide. King kept a serious but sincere voice getting straight to the point, but also persuading his audience. His hope was that people would feel not just one emotion, but a plethora of emotions: sadness, anger, remorse, love, regret, empathy, etc. One of the statements made by the clergymen was that they warmly commended the Birmingham police for keeping order and preventing violence. In order to get people to agree with him on just vs. unjust laws he needs to do more than appeal to the readers pathos and ethos. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire (King 277). Make sure your essay is plagiarism-free or hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs. This eventually gave King a sense of appreciation and satisfaction during his letter because he was regarded as an extremist, just as the influential men that came before him. In Letter of Birmingham Jail MLK does just that. Logos is all about making sense. March 23, 2023. He wrote this letter from his jail cell after him and several of his associates were arrested as they nonviolently protested segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. was a well known clergyman, turned affluent civil rights activists. Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+! This went to his point of how patience was no longer possible and that was the reason why his actions may have been misconstrued as untimely. King also uses a strong sense of logos when describing the two sides of the community one is a force of complacency, made up in part of negros who, as a result of long years of oppression, that have adjusted to segregation (King 279), and The other force is bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence (King 279). He apologizes for not being able to hold his silence, and be patient in his fight. He said that he has watched his brothers and sisters be referred to as niggers and boys, be punched and kicked, lynched, burned, drowned, cursed, and brutalized. He would simply be regarded as an unreliable activist. The best example of this appeal is when King explains the urgency behind his cause. He is a reverend from the south and it is his business to advocate against segregation. Martin Luther Kings major claims in this letter are to bring forward the injustices that went on in Birmingham. Only members can read the full content. He uses logos to first bring forward the racial injustices that engulf Birmingham stating, Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. This letter is about ending indifference toward the subject of discrimination. Specify your topic, deadline, number of pages and other requirements. Kings most memorable, most effective arguments were those that relied on taking a deep look at inner human emotion. King mentions several disappointments over the course of his letter.
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