Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, spoke out to eight clergymen about why not standing with him during this time of discrimination is ultimately an unwise choice if they want to consider themselves “men of God.” Likewise, Jonathan Edwards, one of the most powerful and persuasive Puritan preachers, spoke out to everyone in the countless communities he visited to convince them that it is vital to recommit their life to God. Both MLK and Edwards pieces are effective. An effective piece is a piece that keeps a single focus and successfully convinced an audience to adopt the author's point of view. MLK and Edwards share a sophisticated use of the same techniques to persuade …show more content…
In his piece, MLK compares the body of Christ and the church to emphasize the idea that the clergymen are doing more harm than good by being nonconformists. MLK states, “Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists” (Shea, Pg. 271). MLK encourages the idea that the clergymen are supposed to be men of God and that they should be doing everything humanly possible to become more “Christ-like”; however, by neglecting to acknowledge segregation as an issue-they are doing more harm than good. In the same fashion, Edwards convinces the reader that they should be grateful God has graced them from eternal damnation by comparing the listeners to being “heavy as lead.” Edwards states ““Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell” (Edwards). Edwards compares the reader to being as “heavy as lead” to illustrate that they should express their gratitude to God for bearing their “heaviness” and saving them from Hell. MLK’s use of figurative language falls to be inferior to Edwards’ use. Edwards’ use of figurative language creates a more effective essay because Edwards directly compares the audience to something, pushing them to relate more closely to Edwards’ argument, rather than MLK who indirectly states that the clergymen are blemishing the “body of christ” by social
The All Lives Matter supporters believe that black people who were killed recently showed violence against the policemen and they were not innocents. The president of Amherst College Republicans Robert Lucido responses, “First, the Black Lives Matter group was originally titled ‘F--- the Police.’ The organizers of the Awareness week claimed that every 28 hours a black man is killed by a law enforcement officer, but they never mentioned that a law enforcement officer is killed every 48 hours in the line of duty. The organizers may have thought it clever, but such a title is utterly shameful” (Lucido). The author uses ethos by showing facts in his response that illustrates the opposite of what Black Lives Matter group claimed; however, these
Through Martin Luther King Jr.’s brilliant usage of sensible logos, thought-provoking rhetorical questions, and accentuating parallel structure in his persuasive letter, the white clergymen were influenced to at least alter their perspectives towards the treatment of blacks and promote supplementary equality rights for all. As a noble advocator of desegregation, social justice, and human dignity through diplomatic methods, he ignites a new social movement that brought about freedom from oppression and democratic reformation. With a long-standing desire for a peaceful community among all races, King encourages those he targets with the letter to achieve God’s will and overturn racial intolerance caused by misjudgment.
Lou Gehrig was able to write a successful rhetorically effective speech. Gehrig was able to use his honest personality and character, which allowed him to establish credibility. Next, Gehrig was successful in reasoning that he has an awful lot to live for and he shares a personal experience that touches the reader emotionally. Gehrig created a successful rhetoric speech.
In the novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the author, Rebecca Skloot, tries to convince the audience that her argument regarding, Henrietta and her cells is worth thinking about. Skloot argues that the woman whose body contained these life-changing cells deserved to be recognized. While trying to prove her side of the argument, Skloot uses logos within the novel to emphasize to the audience just how important her cells are, by providing the science behind the cells and their accomplishments.
Elie Weisel once said this: “I know and I speak from experience, that even in the midst of darkness, it is possible to create light and share warmth with one another; that even on the edge of the abyss, it is possible to dream exalted dreams of compassion; that it is possible to be free and strengthen the ideals of freedom, even within prison walls; that even in exile, friendship becomes an anchor.” Compassion is not something that is easy to understand, or even easy to show sometimes. The Holocaust was a difficult time to comprehend: how could one man have so much power and hate towards a society of people that he started a genocide? There may never be the right emotional explanation to describe the disturbing events that happened during the Holocaust, but Elie Weisel was able to share his. His message was that compassion and friendship can refrain someone from sinking so deep into a dark sea like the Holocaust.
In Mr. King’s writing, he creates feelings of guilt in the clergymen’s hearts. In addition, knowing the church is what the clergyman value the most, he accuses the church for not attempting to take a stand on the sinful behavior of the white moderate. Mr. King recognizes this will change their outlook on segregation and inequality. Also, he knows that with suffering comes victory, just as Christ Jesus had to endure. In addition, he believes that Jesus is the most influential spiritual being known to the clergyman. Mr. King brought to their attention that he is an extremist just like Jesus. His view toward the clergyman is if he is to die for the sake of his beliefs, at least he will die with dignity.
Persuading an audience requires a bit of tact and respect. A successful persuasive article treats their opposing side’s position as a valid stance, but respectfully informs that side why their stance does not hold up as an argument as it doesn’t have realistic data to support their claim. Alfred Edmond Jr. is a vice president and editor of the magazine, Black Enterprise, and his argument that he articulates, which he published in the magazine he works for, is that business employers should be able to ask for an employee's Facebook password. Edmond fails in succeeding in his argument because he lacks to support his claims substantially, provide credibility and reliability to his ability to take a stance on this issue, and understand and respect
Was Robert.F Kennedy’s eulogy for MLK effective? I believe yes indeed, Kennedy uses rhetoric to make his speech more adequate. He used many techniques to band together and make his audience feel like they were all one with society. He gave them choices, he repeated a few words that made the audience feel unified, and he bonded with them by comparing them with himself with his brother's assassination.
He begins to talk about how “in the time when the early Christians rejoiced of being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed” and how the church before “was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion”, but a “thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” (MLK 12) He uses logic in order to convince them by using solid evidence in order to back up his argument. This amount of logic that MLK gives demonstrates that he knows a lot about society, even though he is African
During the 1950s and 1960s, violence and protests wreaked havoc in cities, because at this time, segregation was the main focus for a divided America. Advocating for himself and followers, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. makes appealing arguments in response to a public statement sent to him by eight Alabama clergymen. In a letter from Dr. Martin King Jr., the iconic civil rights leader, King uses emotional appeals to defend the nonviolent resistance effort. To enumerate, when King addressed the clergymen, he used “my dear fellow clergymen,” rather than addressing them formally, which would allow a separation of conversing individuals. The significance of this statement is meant to invoke a sense of common ground between the clergymen and himself in order to establish a sense of unity. The effect of this specific appeal is that King grasped the attention of people with conflicting viewpoints
On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., a hero to the United States was assassinated. He was a leader that represented the ideas of unity and peace for people of all colors, religions, and ethnicities. Robert F. Kennedy persuades his predominantly african american audience to act responsibly by mentioning Martin Luther King Jr.’s recent death at the time and the legacy he left behind, describing the state of the country during 1968, and how we need to move forward as a nation.
In 1899, when The Awakening was published, Kate Chopin shocked the public with her portrayal of a woman’s spiritual, sexual, and social awakening. During the late nineteenth century, a woman's place in society was strictly to exalt her children and comply to her husband’s every wish and desire.The Awakening exhibits the exasperations and the victories in a woman's life as she tries to deal with uncompromising cultural demands. Disregarding the cliche of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures that force her to be a completely devoted housewife. Even though Edna's suicide is a waste of her struggles against that way of life, The Awakening motivates feminism as a method for women to acquire sexual freedom, to be financially stable without a man, and their own identity.
Through his vivid descriptions, passionate tone, and expressive examples, King’s arguments evoke an emotional response in his readers. King’s use of pathos gives him the ability to inspire fellow civil rights activists, evoke empathy in white conservatives, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergymen and the rest of his national audience. King seeks to lessen the aggression of white citizens while revitalizing the passion for nonviolent protest in the minds of African Americans. King cautions, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (K...
Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is an emotional gaze into the authenticity of racial discrimination in 1960s America. King established this letter to his fellow clergymen which aims to address their concerns on the subject of the wisdom and timing of the nonviolent actions and the unjust demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that he and other fellow leaders carried out in 1963. King employs all three types of appeals ethos, pathos and logos; however, I discover that I am particularly moved by pathos and ethos in his letter. So much thought that I must admit I was
"God of the Oppressed" is brilliantly organized into ten chapters. These chapters serve as the building blocks to the true understanding of Cone’s Black Theology. This progressive movement begins with an introduction of both him and his viewpoint. He explains that his childhood in Bearden, Arkansas and his membership to Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E) has taught him about the black Church experience and the sociopolitical significance of white people. “My point is that one’s social and historical context decides not only the questions we address to God but also the mode of form of the answers given to the questions.” (14) The idea of “speaking the truth” is added at this point because to go any further the reader must understand the reason and goal for Black Theology. Through the two sources in that shape theology, experience and scripture, white theology concludes that the black situation is not a main point of focus. Cone explains the cause for this ignorance, “Theology is not a universal language; it is interested language and thus is always a reflection of the goals and aspirations of a particular people in a definite social setting.” (36) This implies that one’s social context shapes their theology and white’s do not know the life and history of blacks. As the reader completes the detailed analysis of society’s role in shaping experiences, Cone adds to the second source, scripture.