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Analysis letter from birmingham jail
Analysis letter from birmingham jail
The Civil Rights Movement in the US
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Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of many things, he was involved in many different groups and communities. He was an American citizen, apart of the African American community, a Christian leader and pastor, an activist, an extremist, and a civil rights leader. King, along with others like him, were faced with many obstacles throughout their lifetime because of their skin color. Before 1954 when segregation ended, African Americans were treated very harshly, things such as lynch mobs and the Ku Klux Klan became popular. African Americans had separate stations from the white people, different water fountains, different schools, different sections on the buses, they could hardly gain “a cup of coffee at a lunch counter” (King 264). During this time, King received dozens of letters filled with criticism, and in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he decides to respond to one of the letters written by eight clergymen from Alabama. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he uses different rhetorical strategies such as repetition and allusion to make his letter most effective. …show more content…
In paragraph 14 of his letter, King uses repetition of the phrase “When you…” to emphasize some of the injustice he had been exposed to in the past.
He opens up about a memory he recalled and stating, “when you have seen hate-filled policeman curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters...” (King 264). King’s main reasoning for being in Birmingham was because “injustice is here” (King 262). By describing to the clergymen the past experiences he had with injustice, it justifies his reasoning for being in Alabama, since the men viewed him as “outsiders coming in” (King 262). Repeating things are effective because it draws attention what is being repeated, which makes the reader realize it’s important and understand it was placed there for a
reason. As you search through King’s letter, you may observe numerous occasions where he references to historical people and events, such as Socrates and Adolf Hitler, these are called allusions. When you look specifically at paragraph 14, you notice the whole paragraph is full of them. Allusions are a very effective rhetorical device because they are easy for readers to understand, mostly because the readers have heard of the allusion before and they can relate to it or atleast know what the author is referring to. In one of the allusions, King responds to something the clergymen wrote by stating, “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim… then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait” (King 264). This one allusion all on its own is very powerful because everyone has a family, loved ones, or a close friend that they care about, and it would be hard to watch them get hurt or be in pain. King is trying to put the clergymen in his shoes and make them understand what he felt, so they can relate to him. Another reason allusions are effective is because they are based on true stories and real people, most of the time, and so it is hard for others to contradict your statements. Martin Luther King Jr.’s desire for justice for the African American community, along with himself, pushed him to step into a leadership position. He was a very influential man and definitely knew what he needed to say and how he needed to say it in order to get his point across powerfully. In paragraphs 13 and 14, there were more rhetorical devices used other than repetition and allusions, such as juxtaposition and metaphors, but these two were the most effective. King’s overall letter was very effective and he used many different rhetorical strategies to accomplish that.
While in jail, Martin Luther King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” one of Dr. King’s longest letters. This letter talked about about why some laws should and be broken and why there was such a need for the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King wrote “when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity”. This quote is important to the Civil Rights Movement because it emphasizes how many black brothers and sisters were being drowned, beaten, and hated purely on the color of their skin. They were being segregated, one example being “Funtown”, an amusement park for the white children only, Dr. King demanded this to stop. Alongside writing about the Civil Rights Movement, Dr.
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.
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 “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 1963 on April 16th, Martin Luther King Jr, who was in the Birmingham jail for non-violent protesting wrote a letter in response to a statement from eight white Clergymen, in which they stated that his recent activities were “unwise and untimely.” In this letter King proceeds to state his purpose and reasons for his timing and his protests and powerfully he does so. He most obviously directs the letter to the Clergymen but there seems to be a many different audiences he wishes to enlighten on his thoughts. From what I gather he wants public figures and everyday men to read his letter, and by doing so he hopes to raise awareness for the cruel acts that have been done to the blacks. 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.
In his letter, Martin Luther King is trying to persuade his readers to understand his action and point of view of an African-American living in this era. He did so all while replying to the public published statement and criticisms written to him by the eight Alabama clergymen. This illuminating work of art that King had created was filled with heightened terminology which was gratified by his precise framework. By King writing this response letter with such high dialect, it reflects off of his determined and highly educated mentality immensely. In this letter King directly tries to build a connection
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
In the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responds to an article by eight clergymen, in which he explains the racial injustice in Birmingham, and reasons why King's organization is protesting for Civil Rights. He introduces himself and his actions at the beginning of his letter. He states that the purpose of his direct action protest is to open the door for negotiation on the Civil Rights. He tries to convince his audience by providing evidence in order to gain his audience to be involved in his movement and support him. He also highlights police actions against nonviolent Negros and crimes against humanity in Birmingham city jail.
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's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", was written to answer a critical "Call For Unity" by a group of clergymen in Birmingham. The clergymen were critical of King for "interloping" in the activities of their city. Dr. King said that he had every right to fight unfairness in the country that he lived in. The letter he wrote, in response to the "Call for Unity", and a statement that he would battle racial inequality wherever it was. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was the main point in his life. In this letter, he perfectly described his reasons why he felt this way, appealing to logic, emotion, and ethics.
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-
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.
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.
Racial discrimination has always been an issue worldwide. Through the struggles of the individual’s who dealt with the social inequality due to their skin color deserve a stance, and ultimately a voice to the nation. However, it is never easy to raise a voice in a community where it is mainly populated by whites who discriminate themselves from colored people. One man decided to take a stance and raise a voice to nation, not only is he able to make a positive change to the nation, but he is also able to revolutionize the equality among the races because he knew everyone deserved a chance at the pursuit of happiness. Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero. King took the fall and ultimately gave power and a voice to the African-Americans who deserve the chance of equality. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by the King, is a letter to help strive for the justice that people around the nation deserve, which is equality amongst the black and white community. Through King’s letter, he is not only striving for the justice, but he is also trying to create the change in a nonviolent direct action. The purpose of the letter is to serve as sort of a declaration stating that the King will fight the racial inequality wherever it is, to only help provide the nation the justice it deserves. Fundamentally, the letter is written through the King’s appeals to logic and emotion to help connect to the readers so that they can help to foment a movement that will make history.
[Introduction] Martin Luther King has impacted society in such an extraordinary way. One tactic that was used during his speeches was a tactic known as rhetoric. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, rhetoric is defined as “the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion” (cite) One of Dr. King’s strongest arguments in his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is on page 9 of the letter. So much is explained about how it is time to make things right now, not in the future, not in years, but now. The time is right for things to be equal now, so why wait?