During the early 1960s, segregation and racism was still a common and influential issue. The ensuing conflict between the whites and the blacks led to violence, hate, and anger within the community. It was very difficult for either side to understand each other’s opinions and views; as the whites seemed to provide irrational and hateful views, while the blacks responded with peace (most-part) and presented a more rational and empathetic view. Martin Luther King Jr. was a staple in the Civil Rights movement, where he organized many protests, boycotts, and masses, to help increase the morale of the African American community. In 1963, during his time spent in Birmingham Jail, he wrote a letter in response to criticizers. In order to help persuade …show more content…
the criticizers, Dr. King Jr. utilized emphatic diction, as well as rhetorical devices which would help him capitalize and efficiently persuade them. Martin Luther King Jr.
specializes at creating powerful, and impactful statements and sentence patterns, where it almost seems as if he had a consistent rhythm in his words. This form of writing creates a very interesting tone, where he presented a valid defense for himself and his actions. He utilizes a lot of rhetorical questions such as in Paragraph 6, where he asks “are you able to accept the blows without retaliating? Are you able to endure the ordeals of jail?” This is very effective, since it makes the audience take a step back and question themselves -- “Do I truly believe that colored people should have lower rights and opportunities?” Through creating empathetic emotions, it is a method that can make people open their minds, and effectively garnering more supporters. Another useful tactic Dr. King Jr. employed in his letter, was the use of anaphora. In paragraph(s) 16, 17, and 19, he states respectively, “I have been gravely disappointed”,”At first I was rather disappointed”,”But again I have been disappointed.” This repetition is there to constantly remind the audience what his point is, when such information is consistently coming back into your mind, it can be really impact someone’s perspective. Generally, his diction is very formal; presentable diction can come a long way -- as it impresses the …show more content…
audience. One of the most powerful strategies he employed in his writing is the utilization of syntax, ethos, and pathos.
The creative form of sentence structure in his writing complements the personal stories of black citizens in the community, and bringing up the moral stance on laws that oppress blacks in society. Parallelism was a clever usage of syntax, where this is portrayed clearly to be in favor of King’s side, justifying his protests and expression of the oppression blacks faced in America. In paragraph 11, MLK discusses the responsibility of following laws, which coincides with the following point, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws,” which is very effective in making the audience realize how protesting and expressing their free will isn’t really bad at all, and that it is morally right for them to fight for their freedom-- even if it means breaking laws in order to do so. As mentioned previously, this falls hand-in-hand with ethos, the moral justification of the whole situation. Dr. King utilizes parallelism in that statement to define the difference between “just and “unjust” laws, which shows how this is more of a battle of morality than government. “Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim;...” is
the use of Pathos in paragraph 10. He creates an emphatic visualization that puts the reader in a position where they can possibly understand the struggle and pain that the oppressed black community face frequently, forcing strong emotions and empathetic attitudes. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he expertly utilizes rhetorical devices such as syntax, ethos, anaphora and rhetorical questions; this letter proves to be a strong factor in the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. Although Dr. King did not specifically address a counterargument, he still thoroughly explained his point, and in-doing so fueling the Civil Rights Movement during his time. This letter stands as a landmark to equality in our country, The United States of America, and an example for future issues involving a similar conflict in this manner. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr truly stands as an inspiration to Civil Rights Activists, with his expert diction and understanding of controlling words and emotions, through his struggles and personal experiences.
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 the 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 to convince his fellow clergymen, but to inform others of the reality that African Americans faced in the 60’s. Right away in paragraph 13, King uses irony to give his earlier statements about freedom the sense of urgency that it needs: “For years now, I have heard the word ‘Wait!’. It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity.
During Martin Luther King Jr’s letter written for the call of social injustice, King utilizes juxtaposition and parallelism to also show the importance of nonviolent action in order to achieve that justice. King voices himself and his message in a very mannerly way. This enables the readers to view both sides of the disputation, and allows the audience to agree and see King’s position clearly. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted his readers to understand that the only thing worse than hate and opposition, is
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, 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 means to convince the clergymen and the white moderate that the nonviolent demonstrations that had got him arrested, were a necessity and to enlighten them on why the segregation laws in the southern states needed to be changed. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King uses logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade the clergymen and convince them in assisting him in putting an end to segregation laws of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama.
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.
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
King gets his point across, that segregation is unfair and morally not right, and that man has a responsibility to act against unjust laws, by using many different strategies throughout the letter. He uses logos, pathos, and ethos to do so. While using these devices he shows emotion, gives logic to his reasoning’s and gives credibility as well. First and foremost, King calmly responded to the statement from the clergymen that his non-violent direct action was “unwise and untimely”. King logically does so by describing the situation where the negro leaders tried many times to negotiate with the city fathers to remove racial barriers, but the promises never held true.
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written in 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr. During this period, the African Americans were involved in a battle for white and black equality. This is evident from the vocabulary used by King including “Negro” which was common during that period but not used commonly afterwards. Moreover, the letter’s context tells it argues that King wanted was African Americans to have freedom. The letter’s purpose is that King wants to persuade the clergymen what he together with his people were demonstrating since it was extremely necessary during that period. In achieving this, King utilizes persuasive and condemnatory tones so that the reader can consent with him. King Luther King, the author of Letter from Birmingham Jail, presents a valid argument through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in the entire piece with the intention of explaining his actions and changing the audience’s opinions.
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, 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.
Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, was well known for his nonviolent movement to bring justice and to an end to the segregation of the people in the United States back in the 1950s. With King being the leader of a peaceful protest, it failed to bring equally to the colored people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled as an “outsider” who was “hatred and violence” and that his actions were “unwise and untimely” from the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen (clergymen). In response, on the day of April 16, 1963, he wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to declare and defense his movement was not “unwise and untimely” at all. To analyze his points, King used the powerful literary devices of pathos- use of an emotional appeal.ethos-
While strengthening his argument of changing segregation laws, King utilizes metaphors that appeal to the audience’s emotional views. To begin with, King states “the disease of segregation,” (207) which immediately places segregation in a negative perspective. A disease is something that harms someone, and segregation does harm people in many ways. For example, segregation creates the barrier between blacks and whites and creates injustice in the daily lives of African Americans, which leads to police brutality, lynching, etc. Nevertheless, just as most diseases can be cured, King implies that segregation can also be cured. However, just like there is a battle to find a cure, there is also a battle to change segregation laws before it spreads any further to newer generations. Another metaphor King writes is the “air tight cage of poverty” (207) while referring to the life African Americans live in. Through this metaphor, King argues how segregation ultimately places black people into a cage of poverty. Because segregation denies blacks of more successful opportunities, there is an airtight cage that African Americans cannot leave. The cage is
Dr. King effectively expresses why his critics are wrong in a passionate tone. He is extremely zealous about the rights that African-Americans have been neglected to have and should have, as well as everyone else. Mr. King was criticized for his “untimely” actions in Birmingham. “This wait has almost always meant ‘never.’” (King 264) Martin Luther King isn’t just a bystander witnessing the injustice; he is a victim and one of the few who is willing to fight for justice well deserved. His tone also evokes similar passion in the audience. The reader will feel that strong passion and by doing so they will realize that Dr. King does know what he is doing. Since Dr. King is directly affected and is relatable, his writing is able to effortlessly capture his determination and courage. All while having a passionate tone he is able to remain a respectable and calm tone throughout his letter. Dr. King’s tone shifts from brusque to a conciliatory manner. His non-aggressive tone benefits Dr. King’s argument and makes it more effective. If Dr. King had written in an hostile tone, the clergymen would feel attacked and would not want to support his cause....
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.
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
I think that Martin Luther King Jr. uses many contrasts in his letter because he wants to show his audience, the eight white religious clergymen, how his argument and views are better than the those of the men by directly contrasting and comparing them. For instance, the eight clergymen claimed that MLK’s unwarranted parade was “violent” and that he took “extreme” measures to advocate for such violence. The men questioned why MLK go through such measures to do such a violent demonstration when he should how just done something more peaceful instead like negotiation. MLK later proceeds to counter argue that by saying that his intentions were in no way violent as no one get physically hurt. He refutes their proposal for negotiation by saying