Letter From Birmingham Jail
‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ Formative Assignment
1. The overall point that Martin Luther King is making in the letter is that in order for civil rights to be achieved, the act of non-violent protests must be allowed. King believed that if non-violent methods were prohibited then tension would keep building up, and would result people being much more violent in order to let their opinions be heard. King also believed that there was no better time than that moment to fight for their rights, rather than putting it off until a ‘more convenient season’ (line 12). He thought that they should use all the time they had to fight for their freedom and put across what they believe in instead of just waiting for time to pass, hoping that change will occur naturally.
2. The reconstruction of paragraph two (lines 17-29) is as follows:
(P.1) – Criticising peaceful actions because they trigger violence is like criticising somebody who has been robbed because his ownership of valuable items triggered the robbery, or like criticising Jesus because his allegiance to God triggered the crucifixion.
(P.2) – Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber.
(C) – It is wrong to stop people from using non-violent actions just because violence may follow.
This argument supports King’s view that non-violent methods of protest should not be prevented. The use of the comparison to relatable examples such as the robber makes the argument more easily understood by the reader, and is a good way to attempt to persuade the reader to support King’s views. Similarly, the use of Jesus as an example would appeal to the reader as many of them would have had a religious background, and this would have made them more likely to agree with King’s argument.
By using French and Raven’s taxonomy I have identified that the type of authority being appealed to is coercive power. This is because the clergymen have the ability to punish King and the other protesters for their actions. The
1. The overall point that Martin Luther King is making in the letter is that in order for civil rights to be achieved, the act of non-violent protests must be allowed. King believed that if non-violent methods were prohibited then tension would keep building up, and would result people being much more violent in order to let their opinions be heard. King also believed that there was no better time than that moment to fight for their rights, rather than putting it off until a ‘more convenient season’ (line 12). He thought that they should use all the time they had to fight for their freedom and put across what they believe in instead of just waiting for time to pass, hoping that change will occur naturally.
2. The reconstruction of paragraph two (lines 17-29) is as follows:
(P.1) – Criticising peaceful actions because they trigger violence is like criticising somebody who has been robbed because his ownership of valuable items triggered the robbery, or like criticising Jesus because his allegiance to God triggered the crucifixion.
(P.2) – Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber.
(C) – It is wrong to stop people from using non-violent actions just because violence may follow.
This argument supports King’s view that non-violent methods of protest should not be prevented. The use of the comparison to relatable examples such as the robber makes the argument more easily understood by the reader, and is a good way to attempt to persuade the reader to support King’s views. Similarly, the use of Jesus as an example would appeal to the reader as many of them would have had a religious background, and this would have made them more likely to agree with King’s argument.
By using French and Raven’s taxonomy I have identified that the type of authority being appealed to is coercive power. This is because the clergymen have the ability to punish King and the other protesters for their actions. The