Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

In the touching, influential letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. responds to the white, Alabama clergymen who condemned his movement as “unwise and untimely” (1) and delineates his motives for traveling to Birmingham, where whites consider him an “outsider” (1). Hoping to express his ambition of nonviolent protest in a sympathetic, deferential manner, he implores the white clergy to join the struggle for Civil Rights. Throughout the letter, he addresses and disputes against each negative argument by the whites, testifying his position unpretentiously, yet confidently. With aptitude, poise, and humility, King establishes his motives for coming to such an unwelcoming environment. In his heart-rending letter, King’s coherent logos, stimulating rhetorical questions, and accentuating parallel structure express to the white moderates who criticized his actions that nonviolent, direct protest is not only essential, but also inevitable to contain agitated hostility and to assume relative peace.

King, through his appeal to logos, elucidates the purpose of this letter by presenting rational concepts reinforced by germane examples to challenge the clergymen’s erroneous accusations and acknowledge misunderstandings of his purpose of direct action. When unfairly accused of being an outsider, King explains that he is “here because [he has] organization ties here… [and] because injustice in here” (2-3). Incorporating a description of his leadership over the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he does not permit leeway for additional inquiries about his situation in this city. In addition, he associates his reason for being in the city to his more imperative objectives: to reform the city people’s discriminating op...

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...es of parallelism throughout the letter, King highlights his principal arguments and conveys extremely vivid imagery to impede the clergymen’s claims.

Through Martin Luther King Jr.’s brilliant usage of sensible logos, thought-provoking rhetorical questions, and accentuating parallel structure in his persuasive letter, the white clergymen were influenced to at least alter their perspectives towards the treatment of blacks and promote supplementary equality rights for all. As a noble advocator of desegregation, social justice, and human dignity through diplomatic methods, he ignites a new social movement that brought about freedom from oppression and democratic reformation. With a long-standing desire for a peaceful community among all races, King encourages those he targets with the letter to achieve God’s will and overturn racial intolerance caused by misjudgment.