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History grade 12 essay civil rights movement
Critical analysis of letter from birmingham jail
Critical analysis of letter from birmingham jail
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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 stance you have taken up regarding the issues at hand. “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others? Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust?” These rhetorical questions …show more content…
King in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” also utilizes both imagery and metaphors. An example the pulls both imagery and metaphors together comes from the twenty-sixth paragraph of his letter. “Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.” The words quicksand as well as solid rock are a reference to the biblical parable of the wise and foolish builders. The builder who built his house on the sand got destroyed in a flood, while the house that was built on the rock stood strong. Mr. King uses this reference and the visual representation to depict how, due to racial injustice, the national policies are not sturdy, and are sinking in the sands. An alternative example “… so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.” In this quote Dr. King racism and prejudice to dark depths, he also compares understanding and brotherhood to majestic heights. Mr. King’s effective usage of imagery and metaphors is used to clarify his points through comparisons to draw attention to distinctive aspects of his arguments throughout the …show more content…
King employs numerous rhetorical devices weaved into “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Apart from rhetorical questioning and metaphors Mr. King’s use of antithesis and polysyndeton are also noticeable. Polysyndeton is used many times, but is most evident in the following quote. “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the amusement park that has just been advertised on television…” Yes, this is a long quote, but it is the perfect use of the rhetorical device called polysyndeton. Dr. King’s abnormal and frequent use of the phrases/words brother, sisters, when, and and add a strong dramatic effect to this quote. Antithesis is also practiced many a time in Dr. King’s letter to you. Antithesis is used when King constructs two sentences with contrasting meaning in a close proximity to each other. Phrases like “moving with jet like speed” and “creep at a horse and buggy pace” completely contradict one another, but instead of using this device once King uses it twice in the same quote. “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at a horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at
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,
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
The forceful subjugation of a people has been a common stain on history; Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail was written during the cusp of the civil rights movement in the US on finding a good life above oppressive racism. Birmingham “is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known,” and King’s overall goal is to find equality for all people under this brutality (King). King states “I cannot sit idly… and not be concerned about what happens,” when people object to his means to garner attention and focus on his cause; justifying his search for the good life with “a law is just on its face and unjust in its application,” (King). Through King’s peaceful protest, he works to find his definition of good life in equality, where p...
In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written by Martin Luther King Jr., King delivers a well structured response to eight clergymen who had accused him of misuse of the law. During this letter, King then uses the time to unroot the occasion of nonviolent protests in BIrmingham and the disappointing leadership of the clergy. King relies heavily on the two rhetorical devices, juxtaposition and parallelism, to bolster his argument and aid to make his reasoning more compelling.
wrote his Letter from a Birmingham Jail with a more literary kind of antithesis to express the need for the fellowship of the black people and the white people. In the fourth paragraph, King made the statement, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere”; the marginalization of one group and their rights showed that other groups were willing to oppress one another, and this should have been seen as a threat (Letter from a Birmingham). Using this antithesis gave King the ability to tug at the clergymen’s heartstrings, as they at the very least advocated for their own justice and wanted it left untouched. Similarly, while elaborating on the need for justice, King wrote, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail, paragraph four). Only those in the focus would feel the immediate shock, but all would feel the aftermath, and by turning the phrase on itself and telling that anything that harms one, harms all, King created a sense of urgency, for the clergy didn’t want the side effects of something that otherwise didn’t affect them. In another account of King attempting to show the need for change, he noted, “... Our beloved Southland has been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail, paragraph ten). Many called the South home; however, the purported greatness of their homeland was only suffering due to the parochial views that caused the citizens to rather read their own soliloquies than participate in the drama unfolding before them. This carried much of an emotional effect, as King’s target audience consisted of southerners -- such a powerful statement had the ability to hit them close to home and truly open their eyes to the sins committed. By employing the use of antitheses, King was able to show the contrast between the different sides of the same moral coin and
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.
The Report of King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” a letter addressing eight Alabama Clergymen, depicts King’s response to their public. During the time King articulated his response, Birmingham Jail had imprisoned him for not following the court order to cease his protests against segregation. In his rebuttal against their public statement King masters the art of an argument. King’s mastery of argument shines through when looking at his capability of addressing every side of an argument, his ability to use analogies, and his easily understandable repetition.
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.
Kirk, J. (2007). Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement: controversies and debates. Basingstoke New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
King spreads logos throughout the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” He spaces it out evenly to keep the argument going with actual facts and not just his beliefs.“If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work.”(LFABJ) “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”(LFABJ) He is telling them that he has credibility on the matter of injustice, not because he is the recipient of white privilege, but because he is well researched on the subject. “And so God being the charter member means that everybody who's in that has a kind of divinity, a kind of superiority. And think of what has happened in history as a result of this perverted use of the drum major instinct. It has led to the most tragic prejudice, the most tragic expressions of man's inhumanity to man.”(TDMI) His imagery, personal experiences, and appeals to logos throughout make a strong, well rounded
In accordance to the TRACE elements needed in a rhetorical situation, all five are present. The text includes a letter type written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explaining why he is in a Birmingham city jail and the injustices he sees in the state of Alabama. The targeted audience is the eight fellow clergymen whom he is replying to after being presented a letter by those clergymen. The audience also includes the general public like the whites and the blacks in the community. The author of the letter is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself, a Baptist minister who preached nonviolence and was a pivotal leader in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Dr. King was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a vital group that led many affiliations to peaceful marches and sit-ins throughout the civil rights movement. The main motivation for this letter is Dr. King’s own view of the injustices apparent in the Negro community and the intended actions the community is taking. Some constraints Dr. King faces...
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.
In 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 still makes a strong argument for logic. Despite the overwhelming emotional and personal investment involved Dr. King still allows logic to prevail thus lending him a huge amount of credibility. As a member of the community being persecuted in this case, he might have had trouble remaining objective but clearly he doesn’t let his own pathos take center stage. All in all the use of logic and concise reasoning make a strong argument for the effectiveness of the letter in general.