Letters From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Just because someone is locked up does not mean they cannot get the message they want to people who are not in prison. The most effective way for a prisoner to get their message to the person they want is through literature. The function of literature in prison is demonstrated in “Soledad Brother”, “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, “Soul On Ice”, and ‘How Writers In Prisons Empower inmates”.

Letters from prison can be used to address someone outside of prison “my dear fellow clergymen” (DiYanni, 174). the letter that martin luther king jr. wrote was addressed to some fellow clergymen, which had criticized him for being in birmingham. He used the letter to explain the reasons for him being in birmingham. This was a letter used to address a group

of people outside of prison. he used the letter to clarify his reasons for being in birmingham and what he planned on doing. Another situation when a letter from prison influenced someone outside of prison was george jackson’s letters to his little brother. Jonathan took hostages at a courthouse because he wanted his brother to be released from prison. the letters that george sent to jonathan had a great influence on jonathan’s actions the day he took hostages at the courthouse. His letters also influenced a lot more of jonathan’s actions, because jonathan looked up to george.

George also influenced other inmates in soledad and other prisons.

George’s letters also had great influence on the black panthers party. George wrote alot of letters to his parents, describing what they should do and also some mistakes they made while he was growing up. He also gave them advice on how to raise jonathan and what they should not do or put him

through.

Eldridge Cleaver talks about experiences of being black. Eldridge talked about being black in the ghetto. he also talked about his experiences being black in prison. The letter that Martin Luther King wrote also talks how the SCLC confirmed that birmingham practiced institutionalized racism. The SCLC planned to protest through direct action. George jackson believed in overthrowing the government by any means, this was seen in his letters. George’s letters had a great influence on how the black panthers protested and took action.

Dr. king also addresses the clergymen statement that the SCLC action is extreme. He describes himself as standing between two opposing forces of black change. him saying this in his letter shows that while his approach might not be violent, he is still an extremist.
George jackson’s letters express how he thinks he is a victim of the system, because he got one year to life in prison, and every year he got denied parole. George’s letters also affected people in other prisons, many people had a lot of respect for george, and what he talked about in his letters.

Dr. king used his letter to address the people who were criticizing him for going to birmingham, but he mostly used his letter to explain why he was in birmingham and what he planned on doing. him doing this was important because it allowed him to clarify why he was doing what he was doing and his intentions.

George Jackson used his prison letters to address his parents about what they do and raising jonathan. He also uses his letters to greatly influence his brother jonathan. He also used the letters to influence the black panthers. George jackson also talked about how lonely he was in his letters. He also talked about how he is better off in prison than in normal society. George Jackson seemed to be institutionalized, due to the way he talked about prison and society on the outside.

Eldridge Cleaver used his essays to talk about his experience in prison as a black man.

He also used his writing to find out more about himself. he also wrote outside of prison talking about his experience as a black man in society, and also the experience as a black man in the ghetto. The book basically compares and contrast being a black man in three very different scenarios.

“How Writers In Prisons Empower Inmates” talks about how some prisoners that write some kind of literature while in prison have a better chance of not going back to prison when they are released. It also talks about how the literature that other inmates write can greatly influence and empower other inmates. The literature of another inmate can really affect someone because the literature is coming from someone in the same situation as them. the inmate can use the literature as advice or just something they can relate to.

literature from a prisoner can have great effects on a lot of people.

all four of these selection demonstrate that a prisoner’s literature can affect many people such as family, which was shown in soledad brother. the general public can also be affected this was show with the publications of all of these pieces of work. movements such as the civil rights movement were affected by dr. Kings letter and also

George
Jackson’s letters. Other prisoners can also be affected by prisoners literature, this was demonstrated by Soledad Brother and explained by “How Writers In Prison Empower Inmates”.

Literature from inside prison is very important becuase it can be used as advice for other prisoners. It can also be a great influence on what goes on outside of prison. literature from prison is also a great way to see what really goes on in prison, and it can also be used to influence people to avoid committing crime. Literature from prison has a great influence and impact on all kinds of people.