A Profound Message from Jail Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed America with his non-violent campaigns during the civil rights movement. Although his campaigns consisted of morally legal protests, speeches, and marches, he was still sentenced to jail on multiple occasions due to unjust laws. In King's “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” he addresses the issues and injustices in Alabama with his responses to his fellow clergymen. King’s letter effectively uses Aristotle’s strategies of ethos (credibility), logos (logic), and pathos (emotions) to convince his readers that he is on the right side of these racial issues. King’s letter convinces his readers, in part, through the use of ethos. King’s credibility begins with his physical circumstances; he is in jail. One …show more content…
of his credible points was his firsthand experience, which consisted of marching, speaking, protesting, and getting arrested for advocating civil rights.
In addition, King had credibility because of his education. He held a Doctor of Divinity in Systematic Theology (Christian Studies) from Boston University. Therefore, his credentials should make fellow clergymen listen to his words. When he writes, “fellow clergyman and a Christian brother,” he includes the readers in his vision of America (King 173). King pushes his fellow leaders with his credible words. In another point to credibility, King quotes from the Holy Bible. He refers his readers to Paul’s letters from prison (King 166). Paul and King shared the experience of being imprisoned. Through his use of ethos, King makes his readers into believers. In addition to ethos, King employs logos to persuade his readers. In general, he appeals to the logic of utilizing peaceful civil protest rather than engaging in violent civil disobedience . He writes, “The purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation” (King 167). King makes it seem like the next logical step is change. Direct action must be taken to invoke the change. King notes that in a “nonviolent campaign there are four basic
steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action” (King 166). King builds on the logic with his discussion of action in Alabama. He points out that “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country. Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation” (166). His inductive use of logic is expressed through the alarming rate of injustice in Birmingham with its actual brutal facts. King also uses inductive logic with his reference to the United States Constitution Because of the given constitutional right that everyone “possesses”. According to King, “We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our God-given and constitutional rights” (168). King ties himself to the Constitution. Then he brings in God with the words, “Just as the eighth-century prophets left their little villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ…I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid” ( 166). King also uses religious experiences to logically compare with civil rights. King’s logic proves that his next actions make sense. Beyond ethos and logos, King uses his pathos appeal to sway his readers. He grabs his readers with the words, “In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church” (King 172). King expresses his emotions over his love of religion. King also shows emotions with vivid imagery in his letter to express this whole moment. He writes, “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty” (King 173). He shows his audience that emotionally and physically, he has nothing else to do in the confines of Birmingham jail. He points out, “I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?”(King 173). This picture clarifies for readers that this devoted clergyman is in a cage because of his religious beliefs. King touches his readers with his emotional words and makes them come to his position. King, an advocate of American civil rights, effectively uses ethos, logos, and pathos to win his readers’ minds and hearts. Without books in his hands for references, this gifted clergymen writes a striking example of how to use Aristotle’s strategies for argumentation. King prepares his readers to join the fight for freedom and justice for all.
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.
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. 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.
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. uses a catalogue of personal experiences in order to appeal to the emotions of the reader, also called pathos, by utilizing concrete language, semicolons, and lengthy sentences. He not only entices the emotions of the fellow clergymen he is addressing, but also society in general, attempting to reveal the true situation of the oppressed Negroes during this time in the Civil Rights Movement.
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.
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.
First and foremost King calmly response to the statement from the clergymen that his non-violent direct action were “unwise and untimely”. King logically does so by giving the situation where the negro leaders tried many times to negotiate with the city fathers to remove racial sign, but the promises never to held true. Thus showing negotiation was no longer an option that direct action was needed to be done to solve the issue. By King giving this example it gives reason for his actions of the non-violent protest. King continues to use logos. He goes into the fact that what Hitler had done to Jews was legal in Germany and that what the freedom fighters did was...
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
His argument did a great job of convincing me why the clergymen had flaws in their first statement and how to refute them well with different sort of argumentative tactics. King did a great job incorporating appeal to emotion, ethical appeal, appeal to reason and even use of language through word choice and metaphors into a strong argument.
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.
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
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor, activist, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Mr. King was a man of honor and respect, even in the troubling situations of serving jail time. People who were supposed to support him questioned his actions, but Dr. King still stood by what he believed in. In Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King hoped that the white religious leaders would come to his aid but instead found reluctance and opposition. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. refutes his critics claims through the use of passionate tones, metaphors, and allusions.
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 effectively convey his intellect and credibility to his audience: the clergymen and his followers.
American Baptist, Martin Luther King Jr. in his letter, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, justifies his response to the letter that the clergymen had sent him when he was in jail. King Jr.’s purpose was to make the clergymen change the system of the church by using pathos, logos, and ethos in order to meet the people’s needs. He adopts a persuasive tone in order to appeal to the clergymen to change how they deal with problems in society.