Dr. King was the foremost civil rights leader in America in the 1950s and 1960s who was ordained minister and held a doctorate in theology. Martin Luther leading peaceful Birmingham protest, AP News. Order can only be held for so long whilst injustice is around. Despite this, the clergy never questions whether or not segregation is unjust. Not only does he use pathos to humanize himself, but he also uses it to humanize his immediate audience, the eight clergymen. Glenn Eskew, Bombingham: Black Protest in Postwar Birmingham, Alabama, 1997. However, in the months that followed, Kings powerful words were distributed to the public through civil rights committees, the press, and was even read in testimony before Congress (Letter from Birmingham Jail), taking the country by storm. MLKs use of pathos and repetition is an effective way to persuade his audience about his position on civil disobedience. This helps King focus on the differences between them. Furthermore, as King attests to the significance of the Birmingham injustices, he utilizes antithesis to foster logos: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly (515). The rhetorical choices referenced above are riddled with pathos, also known as language utilized to persuade the audience emotionally. " Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." With this addressed, his audience was truly the population of the United States, especially Birmingham, with a focus on those who withheld and complied with the oppression of African American citizens, even if not intentionally. Emotional appeal uses intense words and charged language to grab listeners to get them to keep listening. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. Explain why the examples fit your chosen reason. These purposes can be similar, or different. This exigence is rhetorical because it can be improved if enough people are socially cognizant, whether that be in legislature or the streets of Birmingham, through creation and enforcement of equitable laws and social attitudes. 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audiences emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. While his actions may not have had much success at first during the 1960s what made his arguments so powerful was his use of pathos and logos., In Dr. Martin Luther Kings letter from Birmingham, he targeted specific people who he wrote the letter for including everybody. Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. Active Themes. you can use them for inspiration and simplify your student life. Engels . Black Americans were forced to sit behind buses and kids were to use old books and uniforms of White Americans. What King discloses in his essay, Letter From Birmingham Jail, displays how the laws of segregation have affected African-Americans. In order to do this, Martin Luther King uses several techniques in paragraph thirteen and fourteen of his letter such as repetition, personification, as well as allusion, to support his claim that racial unity has taken too long. Thus, these essays are of lower quality than ones written by experts. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. Martin Luther King then goes on to make an analogy to the Bible, portraying Apostle Pauls proliferation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in parallel to his own efforts, stating, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown (1). Find step-by-step Literature solutions and your answer to the following textbook question: Identify the parallel structures in the following sentence from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," and explain their effect. This special lyrical and parallel structure helped get his main points across and allows a large audience to understand simple but powerful words (Layfield) . He evokes emotion on his audience by discussing the trials and injustice African Americans have endured. King through this letter tries to express his, "Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses and responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro- black American organization about his and his organization's non- violent demonstrative actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. Repetition in "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Ethos Example "A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. In paragraphs 33 to 44 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s response to A Call for Unity, a declaration by eight clergymen, Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963), he expresses that despite his love for the church, he is disappointed with its lack of action regarding the Civil Rights Movement. While the Civil Rights movement superseded the dismantling of Jim Crow, the social ideologies and lackadaisical legislature behind anti-black prejudice continued to rack the country far into the 1960s. The letter from the Birmingham jail of Martin Luther King, Jr.. His masterful delivery of these metaphors and the frequent repetition makes the speech much like a poem or a part of a song. The law was written in 1962, but the powerful response pushed the courts to finalize their decision. This audience is rhetorical as the social and political ideologies of the American people fuel democracy and are able to change the system around them through collective effort. IvyMoose is the largest stock of essay samples on lots of topics and for any discipline. From the very beginning of it , King brings his crowd back to the origin of America when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, that freed all slaves and gave hope to the former slaves. Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric, vol. When teaching speeches and letters, it's helpful to refresh or introduce students to literary elements that enhance rhetorical strategies. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience. Abused and scorned through we may be, our destiny is tied with the destiny of America. (Page 9) The sureness King presents in this quote both instills hope in the reader and allows them to relate to Kings passion. This letter occasioned his reply and caused King to write a persuasive letter "Letter from Birmingham Jail," justifying his actions and presence in Birmingham. Ultimately, King crafts antithetic parallelism to establish a logical structure that emphasizes logos in his argument: the timeliness of justice. To minimize the possibility of being deemed invalid due to his race, he must choose what he states and how he states it very precisely which correlates to the constraints Martin Luther himself has on his rhetorical situation. 262). You can order a custom paper by our expert writers. During a civil resistance campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. King defends his primary thesis all throughout the length of his letter, and the arguments that he has made to prove that his thesis is true and valid will be the focus of this rhetorical analysis. In short, Martin Luther King Jr. includes rhetorical devices in his writing. At the time, Birmingham was one of the harshest places to live in America for African Americans; white supremacy groups would set off bombs to instill fear in the black community and withhold racial integration, and peaceful protests and sit-ins were met with unjustifiable police violence, in addition to the suffocating social qualms surrounding the black community (Eskew). He died in 1968. Specifically he targeted the clergymen who made laws at that time. This letter is a prime example of Kings expertise in constructing persuasive rhetoric that appealed to the masses at large. His use of diction and syntax would align his mission to Gods, and show that he was in the right and the clergymen were in the wrong. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through Kings effective use of diction and selection of detail. Back then, people were ready to oppose unjust laws that were causing inequality and preventing progress. To truly understand the effectiveness of this letter, one must rhetorically analyse the contents. On the other hand, logical appeals helps to grasp the concept better and provides facts that prove it to be true. Who had criticize Martin Luther King because he was simply doing something that was right and violence was not needed for King. Moreover, King juxtaposes contradictory statements to bolster the legitimacy of his argument against injustice -- in stark contrast to the racist beliefs held by the clergy -- which creates logos that he later capitalizes on to instill celerity within the audience. In this way, King juxtaposes his perspective with that of the clergy to demonstrate the depravity of his oppressors. Additionally, as he confesses to the clergy, King employs antithesis to create a rational structure that fosters logos: I agree I cant agree; small in quantity big in quality and shattered dreams hope (521 & 524-525). SophAbs. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. Prior to the mid 20th century, social injustice, by means of the Jim Crow laws, gave way to a disparity in the treatment of minorities, especially African Americans, when compared to Caucasians. In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses parallel structure to compare just and unjust laws. Both their speeches, I Have a Dream and The Ballot or the Bullet may have shared some common traits, but at the same time, differed greatly in various aspects. However King also deliberately wrote his letter for a national audience. He needed something, that special something, that would ignite the fire that had somehow died out. However, the racial divide was legislated in 1877 with the implementation of Jim Crow laws, which lasted until 1950. 114, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and, Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. The use of pathos is effective because it appeals to emotions and the issue of civil rights and civil disobedience. , Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/. This letter serves as a purpose to apply the need for love and brotherhood towards one another and avoid all the unjust laws. By using it, you accept our. Letter from Birmingham Jail; McAuley ELA I HON. Therefore this makes people see racism in a whole new light; racism has not been justified because the United States have failed to uphold their promises. Martin Luther King Jr., with the Rev. On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called I have a dream. This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. Get professional help and free up your time for more important things. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). Who was he truly writing for? It was important for King to address this audience as their support would ultimately make the largest difference in the movement. The letter was written April third, 1963, it was published for the public in June of the same year, a slower spread than a nationwide address on television or radio. Without King, America would be probably still heavily segregated. In Martin Luther King Jrs I Have a Dream speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Martin Luther King's 'Letter From Birmingham Jail' 16 terms. Parallelism is a figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. He is a firm believer that Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (262). In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. Analysing a rhetorical situation clarifies why a text was created, the purpose in which it was written, and why the author made specific choices while writing it. This exigence is rhetorical because it can be improved if enough people are socially cognizant, whether that be in legislature or the streets of Birmingham, through creation and enforcement of equitable laws and social attitudes. One example of Kings use of pathos appeals to the audiences emotions by showing Kings confidence in his endeavors. That sentence magnifies the fact that good people doing nothing is the same as bad people purposely hindering civil rights. Since Kings arrest he had time to think deeply about the situation; therefore, he decides to reply back to the Alabama clergymen. Kings arguments induce an emotional response in his readers. Throughout the essay, King uses several powerful tones to complement his strong opinion, Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail is one his many writings on segregation and racial inequality towards blacks in the southern American states. Martin Luther King, more than any other figure, shaped American life from the mid-"'"50s to the late "'"60s. By stating the obvious point and implying that moderates act as though this was not true, he accuses them of both hypocrisy and injustice. His mention of involvement and leadership within a Christian civil rights organization, strength of religious analogy, and general politeness are effective rhetorical choices used to shape how he is perceived despite his critical response, racial setbacks, and arrest: a relatable man of faith, rationale, and initiative. His Letter from Birmingham Jail is a work that he wrote while incarcerated in the Birmingham City Jail in response to criticism from Alabama clergymen. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. King responds with complete confidence that he is in the right place at the right time, and that his actions are necessary. Any deadline. He said that one day we won 't have to worry about our skin color and segregation and that we 'll all come together as one. King goes on to write that he is disappointed that white moderates care less about justice and more about order. Other than the speechs heartwarming and moving content, Kings effective structure along with the usage of all three rhetorical modes and certain rhetorical tropes and schemes has revealed the reason I Have a Dream as a masterpiece of rhetoric and it persuades hundreds of thousands of people support the blacks instead of treating them. Fred Shuttlesworth, defied an injunction against protesting on Good Friday in 1963. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. A seminal text of the Civil Rights Movement, King's, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, justifies the measures that brought about his arrest, and asseverates that the segregation laws against blacks in the south must be repealed. Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail. One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation.