Word count 492) I feel emotionally traumatized while reading the letter from Birmingham jail by Martin Luther King. I cannot imagine that although many people were Christians, black people were still inhumanely treated and marginalized during segregation period. I believe Martin Luther King is a hero, considering the way he was so courageous and optimist to peacefully fight for freedom of black community regardless of the consequences. He says that whatever happens to one of them will affect the whole community, so they should work together as people of United State. This essay reminds me of the history of my own country, Rwanda, where many people lived abroad as refugees for many years due to the ethnicity segregation, fortunately some courageous men among them decided to fight for freedom, many of them died but their good cause has been achieved. The letter is primarily addressed to clergymen as a response to their previous criticisms, but it seems that King writes to the public audience too, especially the white authorities. He starts his letter in a polite way to appeal to his audience, where he states that he can only take time to answer criticisms from genuine people. His purpose is to convince the audience …show more content…
He uses historical and biblical examples to support his main idea to end segregation. King’s audience is mostly Christian, so he uses gospel message to justify his acts when he defines Jesus as “Extremist of love, truth and justice,” and further explains that it is sometimes important to be extreme if it is for a good cause such as justice. King also uses his historical knowledge to clarify the meaning of some words such as “just” and “unjust”, “legal” and “illegal”, where he justifies that their meaning depends on the purpose of the user, for example according to Adolph Hitler, Jewish persecution was “legal”, and King declares he would not do the same as a
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.
Social activist, Martin Luther King Jr, in his letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, addresses the exigency of changing segregation laws. King’s purpose is to emphasize the damage the segregation laws have brought upon black people. He adopts an urgent tone in order to establish that he is tired of waiting for change to occur in his clergymen readers. King appeals to emotion in his letter to the clergymen from Birmingham by declaring that he is tired of hearing the world “wait” by the people who have never felt the effects of the segregation laws.
The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the criticisms of his fellow clergymen and makes them feel ashamed toward their viewpoints and actions of African Americans and racial segregation. By using various rhetorical strategies, primarily the appeal to unity and various allusions, to influence the clergymen to join his fight against racial injustice. King uses “Fellow Clergymen” as his greeting in order to create a sense of unity and create a comradery based pathway to express his message. Being a clergyman himself he uses it specifically in order target the white clergyman audience, but also opens it for the rest of America to express his message of anti-segregation. This allows a respectful greeting of
Having served as a minister, King deeply understood Christianity, which he used to address the white clergy in his open letter. King aimed to highlight the immorality of discrimination, especially to those in powerful or religious positions who could bring about change. Further, these individuals should be aware of the unjust and unchristian nature of allowing such bigotries. It did not matter to King whether others ignored or condoned the situation. Social change was necessary to eradicate racial injustices, and King’s mission was to convey that change.
An activist and leader in the civil rights movement Martin Luther King Jr, has given out many inspirational speeches with the use of rhetoric to put an end to racial segregation. MLK is known to be president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was called to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program in Birmingham. With the injustice happening, MLK participated in a march with no parade permit that lead him to an arrest. In jail on April 12,1963 he wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, an response to eight clergymen who published “A Call for Unity” in the newspaper. Not only does he write to the clergymen but also to the people as a whole calling for unity in peace.
The right to fight Martin Luther King Jr. faced many difficulties when he visited Birmingham, but one he did not expect to face was the discrimination of his fellow clergymen, who stated that his decision to travel was unwise. King responded to their comment with the “Letter from Birmingham jail”. A well written piece which was eloquently written and geared to effectively prove to his peers that he deserves and has the right to be in Birmingham, having a profound effect on his audience due to his expert use of pathos, ethos, and logos. This provides a myriad of references and reasons to address the inhumanity of segregation, as well as his personal struggle to dissolve
The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963. He wrote this essay in jail after he was arrested for protesting at a lunch counter for segregation. The purpose of this essay was to respond to a statement made by eight clergy members that declared his actions in the fight for equal rights as “unwise and untimely”. In this essay Martin Luther King Jr. made sure that he remained calm and wrote down his response that would remind the men how wise and just he was. His word choice was one that expressed his thoughts and emotions in great detail and allowed the reader to experience the pain that he has felt for his entire life.
6477043 In Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he discusses the reasoning behind his movement to end segregation using non-violent strategies that were often questioned by those around him. These non-violent actions often took him to places all across the southern United States where discrimination and segregation was rampant. In this letter, King used many literary strategies that helped him convey his ideas.
In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, author Martin Luther King, is writing the clergymen, white moderate, ministers, police etc. to respond to all criticisms they have and to tell them why he is in Birmingham. In doing so he lets them know that they have no other choice but to employ direct action towards segregation. When it comes to the injustices that African Americans are facing not only in Birmingham but everywhere with segregation. He goes over them with the upmost intelligence and respect.
With this information, King noted that those Christians were all extremists in their own right and that that extremism is the form of extremists that King associates himself with. He even went as far as noting hat “Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness.” As result, King defends his methods of nonviolent protesting as a method Christians practiced for centuries and in the process accepted the label extremist, but on his own terms. This effectively rebuttals the clergymen’s arguments and distaste of nonviolent protests by calling them out on their hypocrisy for worshipping a deceased man who practiced the same strategies as King, but turning against him in a time where he needed their utmost
According to King, the “white moderate” poses a very real threat to justice by their refusal to recognize the rectitude of disobeying unjust laws. They are supposed to be people who understand the law and uphold it. King is disappointed with the “white moderate” because he felt that they “would understand that the law and order exists for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose there becomes a dangerously structured dam that block the flow of social progress.” The segregation law caused a lot of conflict between both King and the “white moderate.” Therefore in order to understand King’s concept of justice, we examined his distinction between just and unjust laws, his disappointment in the church, and the danger of the “white moderate.”
The entire letter of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” presents an African American view of cultural and political issues -- everything needs to take action. As King informs the reader, when he was participating in the parade, nonviolently as ever, he would end up arrested for not providing a “permit” while he knew that was not the truth. King was the person to acknowledge what needs to be done, it shows in the letter what motivated him to write one of the outstanding archives in civil rights verbalization. Ultimately this is coming from the man who defends injustice for African Americans. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Sympathy for the South “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. conveyed an array of emotion. While reading, I felt feelings ranging from hope to complete outrage. The most prevalent emotion for me was sympathy. I also felt a sense of gratitude for the changes we were able to make in our society and culture. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” did a great job of inspiring sympathy in its readers by sharing examples of injustice, violence and dehumanization as it related to African-Americans of that era.
King uses biblical allusions to appeal to the eight white clergymen and their religious affiliation when he states his duty to carry the “gospel of freedom beyond his home town... Like Paul.” His final point of this section is the clergymen’s failure to recognize the underlying causes of the demonstrations they so harshly condemn, a failure causing further ignorance and confusion on racial
Have you ever read an article or book that express a lot of sympathy and it made you feel as if you can feel their pain. “The Letter From Birmingham Jail” displays the true meaning of pathos. After reading this” letter” emotions will overflow. Dr. King wrote with so much passion and courage, that it makes his readers feel as if they were part of the movement. He shows his concerns for the African American community by expressing their thoughts and feelings because they feel as if they have no voice.