Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
What are peoples reactions to the letter from birmingham jail from martin luther king
Analysis of a letter from a birmingham jail
Analysis of a letter from a birmingham jail
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. provided many appealing persuasive speeches and essays throughout his illustrious and distinguished life, but if any one paragraph could be given the preeminent title of the most universally powerful memory , it would have to be page 5 paragraph 11 in Letter from Birmingham City Jail (King, p 5). Not only is the paragraph unnervingly and poignantly illustrative of the plight of African-American people at the time; King was able to appeal to both the ethical and logical minds of his readers by anchoring his rhetoric in universal conception of rights, American and Christian ideals, and family values.
Let’s first define exactly what is meant by the strongest argument. According to Aristotle’s tripartite conception
There wouldn’t have been the Man of the Year acknowledgement in Time magazine. There wouldn’t have been the Nobel Peace Prize the following year” (Carson). The success of the Letter was pivotal in formulating the figure of King that is known
It follows a somewhat simplistic logic, but one that has roots stretching back into the history of time.
The way that King describes an African-American father’s interaction with his child appeals so eagerly to one’s pathos because it in itself contains a fundamentally logical flow of events that one could easily and readily imagine.
Throughout his illustrious, and unfortunately short, life Martin Luther King Jr. had provided many thought-provoking and illuminating speeches and essays to the peoples of the world. All of them unique and important in themselves to a certain time and place in history.
But, without a doubt, Letter from Birmingham City Jail is amongst the most influential. Not only because it’s vast appeal and emotional resonance to the time but also because it was King’s cornerstone. It was the sole document that propagated the rest of King’s awards, medals, and accolades.
Lastly, within that pivotal document, no other paragraph encapsulates the entirety of King’s unique style of metaphors, such as his moving emotional appeals rooted in fundamental logic and Christian /American ideals quite like paragraph 11, page
In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.
In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses his personal experience to convince others of the importance of revising the segregation laws that were in place during 1960’s. In paragraphs 13 and 14 in particular, there is a lot of language used to persuade the reader’s opinions and emotions toward King’s argument. He does this not only convince his fellow clergymen, but to inform others of the reality that African Americans faced in the 60’s.
... and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" are very different in terms of literary technique and approach, the two works bear some uncanny similarities that yield some surprising likenesses in many aspects. The comparisons and contrasts drawn here highlight the most significant of those features with respect to the works of two men who are both revered for the virtues they espoused during their lifetimes.
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.
Granted, both essays effectively implement both emotional and ethical appeal to the reader in order to be persuasive, and each, given the right conditions has the potential to be equally effective. But, given the conditions we are under, including the time frame, ("Civil Disobedience" was written over one hundred years before "Letter From a Birmingham Jail") King's essay, overall, features more of the characteristics, as well as the accessibility to produce a higher level of comprehension and relevance for the reader.
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.
The letter provoked King and “the Letter from Birmingham jail” was a written response to the white clergy men and to defend the strategy of non-violent protesting. Throughout the letter, King used many stylistic writing elements and effective emotional appeal to make people want to join his case. His emotional appeal begins when he stated: “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” And his emotional appeal continues and gets more effective when he describes the suffering life of black people who are suffering from racism and injustice:” when you take a country-cross drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the corner of an automobile because no hotel would accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out, you are by nagging signs reading ‘white’ and ‘colored’”. This makes people want to join his case and makes his followers more determined about protesting against racial injustice.
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...
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.
After being arrested in downtown Birmingham on a Good Friday, Reverend Martian Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” responding to the criticism demonstrated by eight prominent white clergymen. This letter has been found important through out history because it expresses King’s feelings towards the un-just event and it is an example of a well-written argument.
King writes the letter to defend his organization's actions and the letter is also an appeal to the people, both the white and black American society, the social, political, and religious community, and the whole of American society to encourage desegregation and encourage solidarity and equality among all Americans, with no stratifications according to racial differences. King's letter from Birmingham Jail addresses the American society, particularly the political and religious community of the American society.
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.
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Letter from the Birmingham jail.” Why We Can't Wait 1963: 77-100.
King’s letter was influenced by “Apology”, The Bible, and The Tanakh, some of the most important pieces of philosophical literature in history. Socrates in “Apology” is known to be one of the founders of Western philosophy because he was successful in challenging and persuading his audience. And it is because of Socrates, the art of philosophy is so successful today. King used this source to justify disobedience and defend his reason for his actions as an advocate of desegregation. The Bible and The Tanakh were used as Christian references to justify the moral justification of his actions.
The injustice of segregation laws is leading to a violent impact throughout the African American community, as they strive to have equal rights. In the essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. describes many struggles the African American community is going through. Dr. King effectively uses rhetorical appeals to persuade the clergymen that segregation laws are unjust and must end.