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Importance of pathos
Martin luther king jr and the fight against racism
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In the letter to Birmingham jail, MLK uses pathos and the use of allusion to persuade readers on the value of civil disobedience. Dr. king often used the literary device of allusion, for example, when he mentioned the Holocaust, “We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal, and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was illegal” (King 2). What this quote means is that even though Hitler’s actions were justified, they were not kind or correct. On the other hand, the freedom fighters actions were outlawed even though they were good. King most likely alluded to this particular scenario because it was an obvious display of social vs. judicial righteousness. An example of when king used pathos in his letter
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther Kind JR. uses ethos and antithesis to advocate his view on civil rights. Dr. King’s use of ethos is shown when he says, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King, 7). Dr. King uses this quote to build his credibility through the use of the word “we”. With this, King tells the reader he is a credible source as he has experience fighting in the Civil Rights Movement in the past, and being a member of the oppressed minority. As a result, King is getting the reader to use this information to believe King’s points more. Along with ethos, Dr. King also uses antithesis to further elaborate on his message,
To establish ethos, arguments must attain three things: credibility, authority, and unselfish motives. Together, Martin Luther King has an excellent display of ethos in his letter, “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”. King “came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause … Struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice” (1963) His dream of equality is not selfish at all. He goes on to explain his experience being black, being segregated and treated badly as if his people was an exile in their own land. Containing personal experiences and knowing this topic very well, King has an authority to speak. He affirms his credibility by showing he has done his homework by referencing to hard evidence like Jesus Christ, Thomas Jefferson, John Bunyan, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther to support his own cause. Once
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. uses a catalogue of personal experiences in order to appeal to the emotions of the reader, also called pathos, by utilizing concrete language, semicolons, and lengthy sentences. He not only entices the emotions of the fellow clergymen he is addressing, but also society in general, attempting to reveal the true situation of the oppressed Negroes during this time in the Civil Rights Movement.
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.
The letter from Birmingham jail by Dr. Marin Luther King was written as a response of King to nine criticisms made against the Southern Christian leaders and King’s participation in demonstration in Birmingham. King handled many rhetorical devices to convince his opponents such as the white clergymen with his rights to protest, create tension for direct action and to achieve the racial justice. The devices fluctuate between Logos, Pathos and Ethos in a clever way to appeal to his audience and criticize them at the same time. King provided logical supports such as biblical figures, historical and philosophical references. In addition, he used verities of metaphors, allergy and poetic language. In my essay, I will point out some of the rhetorical devices and
Martin Luther King Junior's letter from a Birmingham Jail was an expression of his encouragement for protest against tradition and established laws and a justification for his actions. King, a leader of a civil-rights group that supported protest against traditional views, encouraged protesting against tradition and established laws that are unjust. In his letter from Birmingham Jail King states: "It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's anti-religious laws." This excerpt shows that King encourages protest because in some situations he deems it necessary, be it in Hitler's Germany, a Communist country, or any situation in which injustices are occurring. In the last sentence of the excerpt King openly admits that he would protest against established laws or traditions. King was against the traditional views and unjust laws, which discriminated against him and his fellow people.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of a peaceful movement to end segregation in the United States this mission led him in 1963 to Birmingham, Alabama where officials and leaders in the community actively fought against desegregation. While performing sit-ins, marches and other nonviolent protests, King was imprisoned by authorities for violating the strict segregation laws. While imprisoned King wrote a letter entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, in which he expresses his disappointment in the clergy, officials, and people of Birmingham. This letter employed pathos to argue that the leaders and ‘heroes’ in Birmingham during the struggle were at fault or went against their beliefs.
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 -.
In 1963, Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the South, so civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. brought his campaign of nonviolent resistance to Birmingham. After leading a demonstration on April 12, 1963, King was arrested for violating demonstration ordinances. Shortly after, eight white clergymen in Birmingham sent out a public statement claiming that although they support desegregation, they advise against anymore protests advocated by King, stating that the “demonstrations are unwise and untimely” (Carpenter et al). While in jail, King took an opportunity to continue his campaign by responding to these eight white clergymen. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King uses religious and philosophical allusions to effectively convey his intellect and credibility to his audience: the clergymen and his followers.
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King effectively persuades the reader of the value of civil disobedience through his use of Ethos and Allusion. An example of this is shown here “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (Martin Luther King, Jr. 6). By King telling the reader that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference it makes them really believe he knew what he was doing to help move the cause forward. As the president he understood something had to be done to draw attention to it and in the future change. Civil obedience was such a huge issue that he was willing to do anything including getting arrested. Those sort of actions persuaded the reader due
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known to be a civil rights activist, humanitarian, a father, and a clergyman. He is well known for fighting for the equal rights of colored people and ending discrimination. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is an important part of history that showed King’s opinion of a letter that he happened to read in the newspaper written by a group of clergyman. In this letter, the group of clergyman report that colored people, also known as black people, are being violent towards Birmingham City. Also, the clergymen believed the time that will allow segregation to be diminished was not happening anytime soon because it is not convenient. King refuted the clergymen’s argument in a variety of ways using tactics of argumentation and persuasion like appeal to emotion through real life examples, appeal to logic, and even articulating certain phrases through metaphors and word choice. Many of these different tactics of argumentation and persuasion made his letter very effective and is now seen as a great piece that is looked upon highly today.
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.
In Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Jail, pathos, ethos, and logos are vividly expressed throughout it. All three rhetorical devices are vital to the meaning of the letter; the most influential being pathos. MLK takes advantage of the human body’s strong response to emotion. It is illustrated in his appeal to empathy, exercised mainly through gruesome depictions; his call for action to his peers, as shown when he expresses his disappointment in them as they preserve order over justice; and his strategic use of pathos as a supporting effort for both ethos and logos arguments.
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 different audiences he wishes to enlighten on his thoughts. From what I gather he wants public figures and everyday men to read his letter, and by doing so he hopes to raise awareness of the cruel acts that have been done to the blacks.
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King is able to effectively argue against criticisms through the use of passionate and calm tones, vivid metaphors, and biblical and historical allusions. King uses numerous biblical allusions to resonate with his clergymen audience and to make them realize that they were condemning a righteous movement. The vivid language in metaphors captures emotion and expands understanding. Mr. King was able to do anything to end the injustice in Birmingham and his commitment was shown in his tone.