Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist best known for his "I have a Dream" Speech that helped further the abolishment of segregation in the United States. In this letter towards his fellow clergymen, Dr. Martin Luther King is elucidating that he is not an outsider; it is his God given right to be able to speak out on the injustice the colored community is facing. While writing his letter, King uses rhetorical devices and appeals to develop his argument that his actions along with the civil rights movement protestors are not unwise and untimely. Dr. King establishes his credibility by presenting his many organizational ties to the clergy. He consistently mentions his presidency and involvement in "the Southern Christian Leadership Conference" to show that he understands the clergymen. He does this so he can be viewed as more of a person instead of an outsider when talking about these topics. Similarly, in this letter Dr. King uses many Biblical allusions to appeal to the clergymen. He references the Bible in phrases such as "the prophets" and …show more content…
King uses credible sources to prove to the clergymen that his nonviolent protests and actions are necessary. He brings up the "Supreme Court's decision of 1954" which states that schools being segregated by race is unconstitutional. This is important because the Supreme Court decides whether laws are valid or not based on the Constitution. And then deciding that this is unjust and unconstitutional just makes people realize what else they do that is unjust and unconstitutional. Along with this Dr. King also references St Augustine saying "an unjust law is no law at all." St Augustine being a skilled preacher appeals to the clergymen in himself and this shows that Dr. King was motivated by someone who was once in his field. Dr. King uses logic from credible sources to disprove what the clergymen said in their article about him, so they can see his point of view and why the nonviolent protests need to
Clergymen, Recently you have received a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In Dr. King’s letter he illustrates the motives and reasoning for the extremist action of the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1960’s. In the course of Dr. King’s letter to you, he uses rhetorical questioning and logistical reasoning, imagery and metaphors, and many other rhetorical devices to broaden your perspectives. I am writing this analysis in hopes you might reconsider the current
Rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King’s “A letter from Birmingham jail” The United States of America as a nation suffered multiple racial and social forms of segregation even before its formation, but as the years passed and as each group fought for the right of freedom, they all united under one flag and fought for the values they all believed in such as freedom, dignity and democracy until they gained independence. After the British left and the end of slavery, Americans started to build
Rhetorical Analysis of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a letter written inside Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism and is addressed to several clergymen who had written an open letter criticizing the actions of Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during their protests in Birmingham. In this letter, Dr. King tells the clergymen that he was upset about
Rhetorical Analysis “Letter from Birmingham Jail” In 1963 on April 16th, Martin Luther King Jr, who was in the Birmingham jail for non-violent protesting wrote a letter in response to a statement from eight white Clergymen, in which they stated that his recent activities were “unwise and untimely.” In this letter King proceeds to state his purpose and reasons for his timing and his protests and powerfully he does so. He most obviously directs the letter to the Clergymen but there seems to be a many
ago, in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., a Civil Rights leader, wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail addressed to eight clergymen. In his letter, King uses language tools to convey his concerns to the clergymen. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. manipulated language by using rhetorical devices to effectively transmit his message to readers. King uses methods such as repetition, anaphora, syntax, and more. In Letter From Birmingham, Martin Luther King Jr. uses repeated words and phrases at the beginning
Martin Luther King Jr. incorporates many rhetorical strategies in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He construes to the Clergymen why he is eager to adjust segregation laws. King relays his contradictions and arguments in a clear, considerate demeanor through the application of ethos, logos, and pathos. By appealing to ethos, King establishes his credibility and trustworthiness as a writer. King quotes, “We have waited more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights.” This quote alludes
King utilizes the rhetorical strategy of ethos to justify his presence in Birmingham to the white clergymen. He was in Birmingham to help the civil rights movement, using peaceful protests. While he resided in jail for parading without a permit he received a letter from a group of clergymen. These clergymen told King that he should not be using such drastic means to achieve his goal of equality. King peacefully replies with his Letter From Birmingham Jail proving to these men that he had every right
A Profound Message from Jail Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed America with his non-violent campaigns during the civil rights movement. Although his campaigns consisted of morally legal protests, speeches, and marches, he was still sentenced to jail on multiple occasions due to unjust laws. In King's “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” he addresses the issues and injustices in Alabama with his responses to his fellow clergymen. King’s letter effectively uses Aristotle’s strategies of ethos (credibility)
analyzing the rhetorical strategies King employs to promote racial uplift and social change. Cite textual evidence from Two or Three works. Intro Dr. King produced many popular and powerful pieces throughout the Civil Rights Movement. Also King led many demonstrations against the Jim Crow Laws.While reading “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and The Drum Major Instinct Speech, I analyzed the different uses of the rhetorical strategies Dr. King used in his writings. Dr. King uses rhetorical strategies to
Letter from Birmingham Jail is a letter that explains the controversy that occurred when the clergymen purportedly criticized Luther’s entrance into Birmingham. Luther King Jr writes this letter to the clergymen who had insinuated that the situation of racial discrimination was in control by the law administrators and was not to be intervened by King and his group, the outsiders. The letter is published by the program of Teaching American History - Ashland University and dated on the day and date
the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail) written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the three artistic appeals of Aristotle are plainly apparent, especially logos. Dr. King repeatedly appeals to logos (Ruszkiewicz) throughout the entire piece; particularly when he says he was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist then gradually gained a matter of satisfaction from the label. He is very impassioned in his language and tone in this part of the letter, yet
in Birmingham, for having a protest without a proper permit. On the exact day King was arrested, eight clergymen from Alabama wrote a letter called “A Call for Unity.” The letter called for termination of civil activities and demonstrations and designated King an “outsider” and saying that outsiders were the problems in Birmingham and not the blacks that are from there. On April 16 King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which was his responds to his fellow clergymen. He wrote the letter as a
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of several civil rights activists who were arrested in Birmingham Alabama, after protesting against racial injustices in Alabama. Dr. King wrote this letter in response to a statement titled A Call for Unity, which was published on Good Friday by eight of his fellow clergymen from Alabama. Dr. King uses his letter to eloquently refute the article. In the letter dr. king uses
status quo. These peaceful demonstrations ultimately led to his incarceration in the Birmingham, Alabama jail in 1963. Letter from Birmingham Jail written by King during his stint in jail acknowledges some of the motivations he had behind his protests and actions. In his letter, King utilizes pathos in order to appeal to the critiquing clergy men, he addresses their criticisms head on whilst
In the touching, influential letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. responds to the white, Alabama clergymen who condemned his movement as “unwise and untimely” (1) and delineates his motives for traveling to Birmingham, where whites consider him an “outsider” (1). Hoping to express his ambition of nonviolent protest in a sympathetic, deferential manner, he implores the white clergy to join the struggle for Civil Rights. Throughout the letter, he addresses and disputes against