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the impact of martin luther king today
themes in letter from birmingham jail
themes in letter from birmingham jail
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Themes of The Holy Bible and Letter from Birmingham Jail
Arguably, throughout history, the most influential book ever written has been “The Holy Bible.” Whether it is a historical document, a children’s story, a fable, a story of moral lessons, or a multitude of novels; “The Holy Bible” and its themes have been passed down through generations. If one were to look at “The Holy Bible” as a whole then one could say that the themes of the Bible are all about freedom and how one has a responsibility to keep that freedom. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King relates to several themes mentioned in “The Holy Bible.” Themes such as justice, non-violence, equality, and freedom in King’s work greatly reflect what freedom and responsibility really mean.
First of all, one of King’s biggest themes that he supported in his life was justice. In his letter, he says, “Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”(708)King is saying at this point that it is unjust that he is here because he was only leading a non-violent protest. He also says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”(708) Here King is saying that if injustice is started it in one area it could eventually spread and then what is justice could be consumed by injustice everywhere. “The Holy Bible” mentions justice several times. In Psalms of “The Holy Bible” one verse says, “Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.”(Psalms 106:3)The meaning of this verse is that the people who try to maintain justice and always try to do what is right will be blessed. King strongly believed this biblical theme. He is saying that he was only trying to do what he thought was good justice. He led a non-violent protest to help the...
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...ng he is in jail for only doing what is right, by trying to achieve what is right through non-violence. The fact that he is in jail is unjust, does not support equality, and does not give them freedom. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as a way of enforcing what they thought was right through non-violence. King was only doing the same as the Founding Fathers in that he was trying to re-establish Christian themes in the United States through non-violence. Therefore, it is a shame for the United States law to be carried out in this way when it was supposedly founded on much different principles. King is brilliantly portraying how he is being more responsible than the United States. The United States has more freedom than anyone other country. King is trying to make them start having responsibility for it.
He remarks on his surprise and disappointment with the church and white Christians in general when he says, “I felt we would be supported by the white church. I felt that the white ministers, priests, and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders” (King 9). This statement is incredibly powerful because he and other colored people have been hurt by the very system that is supposed to be accepting of all people. King thought that people of the church would act as an ally and support the colored people, but they did exactly the opposite. By saying this, King places guilt on the clergymen that hits deeper than individual guilt but on the church as a whole. Clergymen typically have an attitude where they want people to think highly of them and think they are good people, and this opposes that
...lse. “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal.’” Everything that Hitler did was legal, but immoral and wrong, and things that Hungarian Freedom Fighters were doing was illegal, but was the right thing. This alludes to King doing the right thing, but having it is illegal, and doing the right thing and doing the legal thing do not always go hand in hand. In addition to that, he also makes reference to the “Boston Tea Party” showing that civil disobedience as not a new idea.
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.
In paragraph 11, King declares, “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed,” but he feels that negroes tend to “wait” for change to happen. He then juxtaposes how Asia and Africa are eager to gain political independence and we linger around wanting change, but we will not take direct action. King uses biblical allusion in paragraph 17 when he analogizes civil disobedience to the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey laws of higher morality. Biblical allusion is demonstrated in paragraph 20 when he compares the statement of his peaceful actions precipitating violence and should be condemned to Jesus being condemned because his never-ceasing devotion to his will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion. King challenges the use of unjust laws in paragraph 18 by commenting on how Hitler’s actions in Germany were considered legal which exemplifies historical allusion. Although there were different types of allusions administered, I felt that King magnified biblical allusion more because he, indeed, is a preacher and his audience was a group of
...to jail. He was beaten and put down in jail, but he never gave up on his idea of God and never once regret they steps he took to spread the work of God, despite where he ended up. “Whether our dreams have been crushed by forces beyond our control – injustice, disaster, or the death of a love one – or we’ve shattered them ourselves through cowardice, poor judgment, moral laxity, or laziness, hope is not beyond us. Nor are we beyond hope – as long as we press on in Gods direction.” Dr. King uses this powerful statement along with several others like it to really get the point across that you need to fight for what you believe in and don’t lose hope. The process to gain desegregation of African-Americans and whites will be a fight, but they key is to follow in the line of God and keep moving forward, while pushing aside and stepping over any despair you may encounter.
In the following quote he writes, “I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. If you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.” In this quote, King shows how the police officers would let the dogs out to bite the Negroes. It would be more understanding if the Negros were retaliating with violence. However, they were doing nonviolence protest and the police would use violent attack against the people. The police were treating the Negros as if they were not human just because they look physically different. This is unbelievable because you would not expect law enforcers to mistreat old Negro women and young Negro girls. They were not just picking on one group of people; they would bully people from young to old. Dr. King agrees to the point that they need to have law enforcement; however, he cannot join this group of law enforcers. They are not being fair to the people in the community and they are using their power in a negative
Dr. Martin Luther King addressed many topics in, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He answered all the issues that were aimed towards him in a very skillful and well thought out manner. These issues came from, “A Call For Unity”, which was a letter published by eight local clergymen expressing their feelings about what Dr. King was doing. One concern in particular that King did an outstanding job of confronting was that of the clergymen’s anxiety about him breaking the law. King addresses the question of, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” by clarifying that there are just and unjust laws. He also goes on to explain the difference between the two, the effect of unjust laws on the people that they are aimed towards, as
“In spite of my shattered dreams of the past, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and with deep moral concern serve as the channel through which our just grievances could get to the power structure.” This appeal seems logical enough, the church is typically the first to offer aid and is usually quick to join a cause that benefits mankind. However in the case of Birmingham King said, “But again I have been disappointed.” This is because of the inaction of the southern white church who stood passively as their Christian brethren struggled, this is perhaps the greatest cause of King’s frustration. The idea that Christians would ignore the suffering of those around them was, perhaps, novel to King, who strongly believed in loving thy neighbor as thyself. For him this inaction was possibly similar to a slap in the face, to be ignored by other Christians whom he should have been able to rely on based on principle. King does mention a few noble white churches whom helped in the struggle such as “Reverend Stallings, for your Christian stand this past Sunday in welcoming Negroes to your Baptist Church worship service on a
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
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written while he was “confined in the Birmingham city jail.” His letter was a direct response to the eight Alabama clergymen who insisted that King’s use of nonviolent direct action was unlawful. The clergymen questioned his method of protests even though they had similar goals as King. In his letter, King illustrates the hardships and injustices that African Americans in the United States were enduring during the mid-twentieth century; doing so allows King to justify the nonviolent actions of his fellow protestors. King uses the classical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, along with his rhetorical situation, to support his claims about the racial discrimination and segregation in the United States.
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.
King uses logos to convince the clergymen that he is not going everywhere causing troubles and that the demonstrations were necessary for change in the south. In the letter king says “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.” In this quote King is saying that he is going around extending the notion of freedom rather than going around causing harm. This quote was persuasive because the clergymen are religious men and connecting your activi...
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.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written to address the public criticism he and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference received from eight clergymen. In his letter, King shows off his fiery emotion throughout his letter. However, King does not force his beliefs upon his readers. Rather, he hopes that his readers will see his perspective on the situation through an emotional appeal. If the readers are able to recognize the injustice and inequality suffered by the African American community, perhaps they can. The fourteenth and fifteenth paragraphs were a true testament to his passion and ambition for equal rights.
This letter was primarily written towards the clergymen, but is viewed by the the entire nation. King was sent to jail for parading around town without a permit. The eight days spent in jail allowed him to develop this letter to refute the clergymen. In his letter, King’s heart and soul was poured into this letter which can be seen through the length and the way he articulated himself towards the issue of segregation and racial injustice.