Rhetorical Analysis of King's "Letter From A Birmingham Jail"
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Rhetorical Analysis
Emotion. It is what, as the soulful creatures we are, holds us together, tears us apart, sets our very heart on fire with rage, or love. Our emotions seep through our bodies like lava, slowly cascading and melting into every part of us until it covers us whole with all of its feeling. Day by day we seem to live and make decisions that are based immensely on our emotions of the moment.
In Martin Luther King Junior’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King uses his knowledge of human emotion, as well as sympathy and empathy, to strongly persuade his audience. King also intertwines the rhetorical field of emotion into the rhetorical element of strategy. Although they are separate, King uses many appeals to our emotion as a strategy.
At one point in his essay, King says, “I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its angry violent dogs literally biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I don’t believe you would so quickly commend the policemen if you would observe their ugly and inhuman treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you would watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you would see them slap and kick old Negro men and young Negro boys; if you will observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I am sorry that I can’t join you in your praise for the police department.”(pg.277) Throughout this quote, King has many strategies, and probably more than the common person would see into his words. He uses a lot of imagery, evoking vivid and detailed pictures in the minds of his readers. It doesn’t matter whether a person is reading his words today, or if a person was reading it ‘hot off the presses’ so to speak; anyone would have an emotional connection, a human twinge of guilt or an involuntary flinch as they imagine others pain and suffering. However, these feelings may not
Emotion. It is what, as the soulful creatures we are, holds us together, tears us apart, sets our very heart on fire with rage, or love. Our emotions seep through our bodies like lava, slowly cascading and melting into every part of us until it covers us whole with all of its feeling. Day by day we seem to live and make decisions that are based immensely on our emotions of the moment.
In Martin Luther King Junior’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King uses his knowledge of human emotion, as well as sympathy and empathy, to strongly persuade his audience. King also intertwines the rhetorical field of emotion into the rhetorical element of strategy. Although they are separate, King uses many appeals to our emotion as a strategy.
At one point in his essay, King says, “I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its angry violent dogs literally biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I don’t believe you would so quickly commend the policemen if you would observe their ugly and inhuman treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you would watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you would see them slap and kick old Negro men and young Negro boys; if you will observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I am sorry that I can’t join you in your praise for the police department.”(pg.277) Throughout this quote, King has many strategies, and probably more than the common person would see into his words. He uses a lot of imagery, evoking vivid and detailed pictures in the minds of his readers. It doesn’t matter whether a person is reading his words today, or if a person was reading it ‘hot off the presses’ so to speak; anyone would have an emotional connection, a human twinge of guilt or an involuntary flinch as they imagine others pain and suffering. However, these feelings may not