Henry David Thoreau, a transcendentalist who demanded for a “better government”, and Dr. Martin Luther KIng Jr, an activist who protested against the violently unjust laws, were both historical figures that we illustrate in today’s world. Ever since Thoreau’s essay, “Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau’s ideas influenced the world, for defining and using civil disobedience as it means of protest. Approximately 114 years later, one of the influenced people was Martin Luther King Jr , who wrote, “ Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, that expand and supported Thoreau’s ideas, from including direct action to American tradition of protest. Although the ideas expressed in, “Civil Disobedience” and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, are quite similar, however the authors were fundamentally different between the occasion, their purpose, and appeals.
“On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” and “ Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, were written in different time, place, and the setting of the piece. Thoreau wrote the essay during the Mexican-American War in 1849. Thoreau
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Thoreau’s tone is critical as he explains, “To devote himself to the eradication…(Thoreau 5),” how the government does not protect the citizens and unjust laws. He ends illustrating this tone for the understanding on why citizens should opposed. Although, KIng’s tone was also critical,but somewhat changes it. King hoped that the white moderates would help KIng fight injustice. His change of tone was changed from being calm to being furious by explaining, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given right (King 3).” At this point he includes lot’s of emotions, also uses religious examples by adding God, to touch on the fact that his audience are pastors and reverends. Both historical figures uses a lot emotional or logical tone for the corruption and persuading to oppose the
While the differences between the Letter from Birmingham Jail, written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Benjamin Banneker letter are noticeable, the similarities are striking. Through the use of strong allusions, logos, and pathos, these two remarkable letters provide intriguing arguments against slavery and oppression, promoting equality with two different perspectives, allowing the reader to understand the difficulties segregation and racism placed upon the African American society.
The “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” is a text directed to all of America in 1963, written by Martin Luther King Jr., during his stay in one of the of Birmingham’s prisons. His intention of writing an open letter was to tell the world the injustice “the white people” had done not only to him, but to all Afro-Americans. The main stimulus was a statement made by a Clergymen naming the actions and the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as unwise and untimely. However, the purpose of this letter is to show that those actions are totally wise and timely.
This letter covers the ways in which peaceful protest and standing up against injustice can lead to positive results. Both pieces conveyed a similar message of standing up for what is right. The strongest rhetorical methods which Thoreau uses are allusions, logos, ethos and rhetorical questions. However, King’s use of Thoreau’s piece was written prior to the civil war, and was in response to the Mexican-American war and slavery in some territories. It was intended for US citizens; more specifically, those who are unhappy with the way the United States government is ran.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail Is an individual morally justified in breaking a law? The answer to this question is yes,. There are several reasons that have made me believe that it is morally justifiable in breaking the law; however, the most convincing comes from Dr. Martin Luther King in his letter from the Birmingham Jail. " We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal." (Classic Arguments 668 -.
Throughout modern American culture certain laws passed by the majority have been considered unjust by a wise minority. However, with the logical and emotional appeal of hard fought battles, voices have been heard, and the minds of the majority can sometimes be converted to see the truth. Thoreau, after spending a night in jail and seeing the truth hidden behind the propaganda of the majority, became convinced that he could no longer accept his government’s behavior of passing laws that benefit the majority with degrading the minority. It’s quite ironic that by the government imprisoning Thoreau he became freer then ever before. He was able to see how the government turned peaceably inclined men into controllable machines. Thoreau saw how the government dealt with its citizens as only a body, while completely disregarding the sense, intellect, and moral beliefs of its people. In his essay “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau stated that “a government ruled by majority in all cases cannot be based on justice.” He further believed that “under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also prison.” This point made by Thoreau can be seen as the truth throughout history. A just man never sits by quietly watching the majority degrade the minority to suit their own immoral purposes. Like Thoreau, another just man who stood out from the quiet minority was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King was, as well, willing to suffer for his views to put an end to racial segregation, and was arrested on numerous occasions for holding strong in his believes and spreading his message throughout the minds of all God’s children. King often cited conscience as a guide to obeying just laws and disobeying unjust ones. In an essay written by King titled “A letter from Birmingham Jail,” King clearly defines the interpretation of the differerence between the two kinds of laws. “An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is a difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.” To further understand this King quotes from St. Augustine himself who once stated “any law that uplifts human personality is just.
Aristotle is a very citable man when it comes to the way we think today. His rhetoric techniques are still being used in today's society. The Neo-Aristotelian Criticism is three different appeals of persuasion. This is ethos, pathos and logos, which makes one heck of a convincing argument. Ethos gives credibility, pathos shows emotion and logos uses words. In the text, Letter from Birmingham Jail, we find many examples of the criticism. Martin Luther King Jr. is writing a letter from inside the jail of Birmingham in April of 1963. This letter King wrote was in response to a letter he received from the religious leaders after King is making a stand against the racial issues in Alabama. These leaders stand firm in their letter when they say that when rights are being denied, they should be handled in the courts with negotiations and not in the streets. The authorities have placed Martin Luther King Jr. against his own will after his demonstration of desegregation. While incarcerated, King managed to find anything and everything to write this letter that is now famous for being a link to the end of public racism all over the nation. The content of the letter is filled with appeals of ethos, pathos and logos, which is necessary to make a strong argument.
In Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he cites conscience as a guide to obeying just laws and disobeying unjust laws. In the same way, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his famous essay, “Civil Disobedience,” that people should do what their conscience tells them and refuse to follow unjust laws. The positions of the two writers are very close; they both use a common theme of conscience, and they use a similar rhetorical appeal to ethos.
In the past in this country, Thoreau wrote an essay on Civil disobedience saying that people make the law and have a right to disobey unjust laws, to try and get those laws changed.
History has encountered many different individuals whom have each impacted the 21 in one way or another; two important men whom have revolted against the government in order to achieve justice are Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. Both men impacted numerous individuals with their powerful words, their words carried the ability to inspire both men and women to do right by their morality and not follow unjust laws. “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” by David Henry Thoreau along with King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, allow the audience to understand what it means to protest for what is moral.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 while he was imprisoned in the Birmingham Jail for being involved in nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter is directed at eight white clergymen from Alabama who were very cynical and critical towards African Americans in one of their statements. Throughout the letter, King maintains an understanding yet persistent tone by arguing the points of the clergymen and providing answers to any counterarguments they may have. In the letter, King outlines the goals of his movement and says that he will fight racial inequality wherever it may be. Dr. King uses the appeal three main rhetorical devices – ethos, logos, and pathos – in order to firmly, yet politely, argue the clergymen on the injustices spoken of in their statement.
When reading historical letters and or other types of reading materials, one cannot bear to become intrigued when reading these didactic and informative pieces of art. For example, one of the most known and most important pieces of historical masterpieces’ would have to be Martin Luther King’s “ Letter From Birmingham Jail.” This letter was written in response to the published statement that was written by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama. Those eight fellow Alabama clergymen were Bishop C.C.J. Carpenter, Bishop Joseph A. Durick, Rabbi Hilton L. Grafman, Bishop Paul Hardin, Bishop Holan B. Harmon, the Reverend George M. Murray, the Reverend Edward V. Ramage, and the Reverend Earl Stallings.
Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each write exemplary persuasive essays that depict social injustice and discuss civil disobedience, which is the refusal to comply with the law in order to prove a point. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King speaks to a specific audience: the African Americans, and discusses why he feels they should bring an end to segregation. Thoreau on the other hand, in “Civil Disobedience,” speaks to a broader, non-addressed audience as he largely expresses his feelings towards what he feels is an unjust government. Both essays however, focus on the mutual topics of morality and justice and use these topics to inform and motivate their audience to, at times, defy the government in order to establish the necessary justice.
The ideas of King are very similar to the ideas of Thoreau. Moreover, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” shows that King, read the writings of many famous people. From these two reasons, King had probably read “Civil Disobedience” as an important document regarding justice and injustice. Therefore, the positions of the two writers are very close, and they cite conscience as a guide to obeying just laws.
In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," his thoughts and ideas are directly stated, well expressed, explained, and illustrated. King's style of writing gives the reader a clear glimpse into the world with which he struggled and allows his letter to be powerfully effective.
Injustice must be discussed, it is constantly seen throughout history and continues to occur today. Many people have stood for the idea of what makes a law just and makes it unjust, including the most familiar like Martin Luther King and Thoreau. These men obtained similar ideas of what is right in a society and how to confront their situations successfully. Although originated from different backgrounds, Thoreau an American transcendentalist philosopher, and King an African American activist; both about 114 years, with the same mentality on the similar issues. In both “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “ On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” King and Thoreau