King first shows the intended audience why exactly he is writing this letter then builds on his previous experiences and intentions. In very first paragraph he says that because of the criticisms that the clergyman wrote were “sincerely set forth”(214) that he decided to write the letter. He then uses his position as President of the SCLU to explain that he is in Birmingham “because injustice is here”(214). After fully explaining why he is there he builds into his support and leadership of direct action to help end discrimination. Direct action is the first step after negotiations fail to get support for a cause, mainly civil rights. A supporting example for direct action is when anti-segregation leaders were at a conference they were promised …show more content…
It starts by convincing the reader that it is just to break an unjust law particularly when moral laws conflict. He says that he used to have high hopes that white moderates would help support African Americans in the name of Patriotism.This leads to the discussion of whether or not there actions have to be condemned because the “precipitate violence. Thirdly, King becomes frustrated at white moderates for saying that eventually we will all have equal rights so we don’t have to push for …show more content…
He connected extrinsically with his audience because of his notoriety and educational experience. King graduated from Boston University with a doctorate in Theology. King’s public notoriety helped him “Change attitudes in the south”, that “benefited all Americans”(212). Thus, as a result of King persuading people he is an activist. In reality, King is a connector too because he exceptionally educated and helped to connect people of all colors together to make a more equal America. In King's letter he humbly stresses his experience as a leader in the civil rights movement as in “I have the honor of serving as the leader of the (SCLC)”(214). This is the basis for his letter that convinces the audience using “utmost
then appeals to the rhetorical element of pathos by putting in view of them the trials that his people have had to go through and obviously of which whites are not victims. It is expressed in this way "when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim,"(pg. 3) and "when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters"(pg.3). In these expressions he uses a strong language as "vicious mobs" and parallelism as "lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim" he uses this language to convey what he had to live in own meat through the same or through relatives or friends. During the development of this paragraph using this type of grammatical and visual structure, the audience begins to feel what it would be like to be in King's position and feel the pain and problems he had to go through. In this part King captures the attention of the audience since its development is very emotive and strong thus arriving at the sensitivity of the reader.
Segregationist, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail” emphasizes the need for integration and racial equality. After reading text written by clergymen, King felt the responsibility to explain his cause. He adapts a diplomatic tone in order to convince society to integrate and end racial injustice. King begins his letter by introducing the reason for being in Birmingham.
He writes this letter to defend his organization and peaceful protesting, yet also identifies the racial injustices he, and many other citizens received. King’s writing was very effective in accomplishing his goal to get his point across that segregation is a very serious thing. King hopes that his powerful and emotional message in his letter will impact how the clergymen, the whites, and many others approach and take action towards segregation. He hopes that they will see how terrible inequality truly is and make the American Society have less hate and more
He approaches his audience in a very calm and mature manner saying, “I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms”(King 1). He chooses to talk to his audience in a very non aggressive and confronting way, making it an effective letter. He is able to voice and argue his point without offending or attacking the opposing view. King establishes his common ground by mentioning that some of his audience is taken back by the idea of his traveling outside of his hometown to Birmingham, but he has the right to be doing so.
Letter From Birmingham Jail – A Rhetorical Analysis In April of 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting the mistreatment of blacks in the American South. During his time in jail, King produced a letter intended for his fellow clergymen, a response to the criticism he received for his work and ideas. One of King’s main arguments in this rhetorical work is that people have a moral responsibility to peacefully reject unjust laws. King’s position is that laws that are out of harmony with the moral law or the law of God are unjust and should be rejected.
The most noticeable form of persuasion Dr.King uses is Logos. In the beginning of the letter Dr.King gives his reasoning for being in Birmingham to protest and why he is in jail. He states: “Just as the eight–century prophets left their little villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of the freedom beyond my particular hometown.” (14-17) Stated by Dr.King. He is trying to say that his goal isn't to cause chaos rather to spread the idea of freedom.
In the very first line, King states “while confined here in the Birmingham city jail” (King 1) to set an emotional tone by showing that his imprisonment was not warranted. King later explains that the demonstration was justified with another emotional play by claiming the African Americans in the community “were victims of a broken promise” and that their “hopes had been blasted” (King 2). King explains this was because they previously met with the Birmingham economic community in September to negotiate certain conditions to help resolve the racial issues. King asserts the promises of those conditions were not kept. Though King’s use of emotional appeals are abundant, King’s most potent example may come at the end of his letter when
He appeals to the furious emotions of his audience by explaining how countries such as Asia and Africa have allowed social equality to remain in their societies, while his own country has banned young children from “go[ing] to public” parks based on their skin and not their actions. He intervenes in this time of social inequality in order to unite the people and persuade his fellow negros to have no tolerance for social injustice. This release of emotion from King conveys an
Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most important men in history. He is the spear head of the equal right movement. His goals were to have equal right between all people no matter what you skin color is. King was imprisoned in a Birmingham jail, the reason why, he was a part of a non-violent campaign. King wrote "letter from Birmingham Jail" for eight white religious leaders.
Martin Luther King Jr. made a decision to write back to the clergyman after they addressed him. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his reasons why he fights for everyone 's rights because we all deserve to be equal and the clergyman did not see the reason why it was necessary for the King to act against the clergyman. King wrote a profound letter that must have influence everyone. King used pathos, logos, and ethos. Martin Luther King Jr. used various types of techniques to persuade the clergyman and the other critics, but the method that I believe that was the most effective convincing the audience was pathos.
Response to “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he responded to statements written in a Birmingham newspaper that criticized his actions in the city. He undermined these disapprovals by explaining his belief in nonviolent direct action. King also went on to give opinions on other topics, such as, the lack of support from white moderates and white churches. He used technique and structure to develop his ideas and justify his methods.
In his letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes in response, a public state of concern to his clergymen. The letter was written in April 1963 based on the racial segregation that took place in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King was in jail because he was protesting segregation against blacks in Birmingham. He also uses logos when giving logical reasoning to better explain current events to catch the reader’s attention. He also uses ethos to gain credibility on the matter of racial inequality and negligence, to get the audience’s attention.
In the early 1960s, Birmingham was one of the most racially divided cities in the United States that was enforced by law and culture. Black citizens faced legal and economic disparities, and violent retribution when they attempted to draw attention to their problems. That was a cause of the Birmingham campaign led by Martin Luther King , Jr. It was a nonviolent direct action organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Alabama.
At the end of his letter he addresses the clergymen " I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader, but as a fellow clergymen and a Christian brother" (paragraph 7). This statement makes a claim the king wants to meet these seven clergymen in person and speak about the issues he wrote in this letter. Another rhetorical tool king uses in his letter are similes. This rhetorical tool helps king compare two things and address the point as he sees it. " Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek" (paragraph 3).
He was their voice. Throughout the “letter” Dr. King demonstrated pathos by engaging his readers of the struggle of being an African American descent. Dr. King starts off by letting his readers know that he was confined during the time of the letter was written and he was addressing the eight clergymen who called his action of a peaceful protest “untimely and unwise”. (King Jr., p. 645) However, he continues to explain his reason for being in Birmingham by saying that injustice was present and he could not just sit in another state and watch it;” Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”