Although Martin Luther King was imprisoned for taking part in the Birmingham campaign, he managed to write an inspiring letter that even after 50 years; it is one of the seminal texts of the American Civil Rights Movement. In order for Martin Luther king to accomplish this task, he had to engage his audience in his letter and maintain their attention throughout the letter. This was no easy task; Martin Luther King used a variety of writing techniques to achieve these expectations. Without them, the letter would not have influenced as much people as it did. Martin Luther King uses metaphors and other writing techniques to emotionally appeal to the audience as well as a peaceful, yet urgent, tone to keep his audience attention. First, let us analyze how Martin Luther King organized his letter and what effect this had on the audience. …show more content…
Organization was a key element when writing this letter, it was important for Martin Luther king to have clear and organized way to present his point of view on the topic.
One interesting thing that Martin Luther King did in his letter was introducing the thesis or claim on paragraph 8 instead of at the beginning. In paragraph 8 of Martin Luther King letter from Birmingham jail, he writes, “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always rip to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy, and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity”. In this sentence, you can clearly understand Martin Luther King thoughts of the topic of racial discrimination. Although, most thesis are introduced at the beginning of an article or letter, by mentioning the thesis midway through the letter it allowed him to capture his audience attention. If he would have announced his thesis
or claim on the matter from the start, than many people might not have read the whole letter. This was a smart way to introduce his thesis. Another thing that Martin Luther King did to captivate his audience’s attention and keep them enrolled was to write the letter in an urgent tone. This tone revealed to the audience that the message that he was writing about was important and that he was passionate about what he was writing. You can clearly see that he truly believes that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” What Martin Luther king is trying to say, is that if there is injustice in any part of the world than this is a threat to justice anywhere in the world. This was an intelligent way to organize his letter. Now that we covered his structure and organization, let us talk about how he uses connotative and figurative language throughout his letter as well as other writing techniques such as rhetorical questions to make his audience think. In his letter, he alludes to the bible multiple times. The reason he did this is that the bible has been known to be a holy and truthful book, as well as, many people at that time knew and valued the bible. In paragraph 3, Martin Luther King states, “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. Left their village and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns” By making these allusions, he was able to relate to these people and prove he is a man of god. This must have influenced and inspired the people reading the letter, as well as, entice them to continue reading until the finish. Another writing technique he introduced into his writing was asking questions in order to make his reader think about what they were reading. He asks questions about the churches that he visited in the south while he was there. For example, Martin Luther King quotes “who worships here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification?” He asks the churches where their voices were in the mater. Another example is his statement, “One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” He includes these thought provoking questions in his texts to make the readers think about racial discrimination. This was very effective because he was not just releasing information he was also asking them questions that would lead the audience to think of the situation in more depth. By doing so, he was able to attract more people with his letter and make them meditate on how what is happening is affecting them, as well as, what can be done to end this. To finalize, Martin Luther king was a phenomenal writer and an inspiration to all of America. Martin Luther king was able to emotionally appeal to his audience and inspire them to fight against racial discrimination throughout his letter. He was able to accomplish this by a variety of writing techniques such as organization, tone, allusions and many more. Without Martin Luther King’s letter to Birmingham, many people would not have captured the importance to try to put an end to the injustice and discrimination. However, racial discrimination is still, although less common, a problem in the United States. Many people still discriminate people by their color and culture, just like Martin Luther King, you can use various forms and writing techniques to continue looking for an end to injustice!
In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.
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 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.
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 Dr. King's essay 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' he addresses the claims made about his arrest by the eight clergymen. His responses are very long and detailed, giving a very compelling and moving point of view. His letter is directed to his audience, which consists of white middle class citizens who Dr. King refers to as the 'white moderates'. Dr. King's letter is very persuasive because his use of pathos makes the audience think or imagine themselves in the situation. It is very poignant of him to write his letter this way. He is in touch with the views of his audience, which makes a greater impact on his readers. Dr. King uses antecdotes to make his readers see the injustice that would continue if there were no changes. It helps his audience to feel that they are a very powerful part of this issue and that they can make a difference.
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.
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.
Letter From Birmingham Jail was a thoroughly written letter by Martin Luther King Jr. It was written in response to a group of clergymen who criticized and questioned King’s actions in Birmingham. The letter explicates that people have the right to break unjust laws in a nonviolent manner just as King intended to do. King also took the central components of the criticism and addressed them separately within the letter. King used numerous rhetorical devices to structure his letter and make it appeal more to the audience.
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.
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....
King writes the letter to defend his organization's actions and the letter is also an appeal to the people, both the white and black American society, the social, political, and religious community, and the whole of American society to encourage desegregation and encourage solidarity and equality among all Americans, with no stratifications according to racial differences. King's letter from Birmingham Jail addresses the American society, particularly the political and religious community of the American society.
There are very few documents in the history of the United States that share the social impact of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham jail. The aim of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter was to illustrate the unwillingness of the American South to create positive change because it was afraid of redefining its beliefs, afraid of tension; defining peace as the lack of racial tension instead of the presence of justice and truth. In essence, the letter was a challenge to American society to look within itself and create change.