Preview

The Ways Of Meeting Oppression Rhetorical Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
413 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Ways Of Meeting Oppression Rhetorical Analysis
In “The Ways of Meeting Oppression,” Martin Luther King Jr. primarily uses ethos to promote the practice of non-violent resistance against the struggle of oppression. In this persuasive piece, King uses ethos to appeal to the African Americans' sense of responsibility. By encouraging them to step up instead of passively accepting injustice, he is implying that he trusts they can do it. His argument is based on moral obligations rather than the practicality of the issue. His use of shared values or ethos such as “religion reminds every man that he is his brother's keeper,” enables the argument to remain in the realm of abstractness, which in turn remove the human tension. That makes it easier for him to change the attitudes of people, making

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    For this week forum 6; I had selected The Struggle for Human Rights by Eleanor Roosevelt, and the purpose for this article or speech is to try to persuade the Member States of the United Nations in the General Assembly to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and due to the introduction to the Rogerian method of argumentation that can be useful for solving issues which do not have clear right or wrong sides. This method shows an openness and respect to the other side, shows a lack of bias towards this other side, but still attempts to persuade this other side to believe a specific, albeit less absolute, claim. She develops the central claim using these supporting claims: “this…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    King’s use of rhetorical tools helps him convince the clergymen to take a second look at how African Americans are being treated. King utilizes emotive language to target his audience’s emotions. For example, he states, “if you would watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro” (3). He then goes on to give more examples, including, “I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its angry and violent dogs literally biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes” (3). These help achieve his purpose because they are specific examples that make the clergymen feel guilty. Next, King utilizes questioning to make the clergymen reevaluate what they are doing. He says, “In this sense they have been rather publicly ‘nonviolent.’ But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation” (4).…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I do believe that Black Power rhetoric is an useful organizing tool, with in reason. I also believe that confrontational rhetoric should not be relied on to help create a movement. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense is prime example of how using black rhetoric can help spread awareness of your cause. However, black rhetoric causes those you are criticizing to become alert and may even cause them to retaliate. Just like what was brought up during the lecture, the Black Panther Party didn't necessarily plot to kill policemen. Yet, they commonly referred to themselves as want to kill the "pigs" and even made cartoons depicting it. The fact that they were not actually randomly killing police men is completely overlooked by the fact they…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” was written in 1963; during the time African Americans were fighting for equality among races. We can tell this by the vocabulary used in his writing such as “Negro,” which was used at one time, and is no longer considered, “politically correct. “ The purpose for the letter is that Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to convince the white clergymen that him and his “People’s” actions were completely unnecessary for the situation. When doing this, he uses critical and persuasive tones to try to influence the reader to agree with him. Martin Luther King Jr. provides a valid argument using logos, pathos, and ethos throughout his letter.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in April 1963, during the African Americans fight for equality. Martin Luther King Jr.’s claim was not just to reply to the eight clergyman who had called his demonstrations “untimely and unwise”, but also aim his justifications at a bigger audience of religious and secular beliefs. An audience that is black and white; therefore King is able to justify his reasons and tactics of beginning immediate action using nonviolent protest to everyone. Throughout his letter Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrates the use of ethos, pathos, and logos to help support his claim while also consistently referring…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    King said that before anyone takes direct action, the protester first needs to “purify” (567) their soul so that he or she will have no regrets going forward. Taking direct action is the right path but, it needs to be understood that there will be consequences for those actions. Taking a stand has never been easy and can be extremely difficult, but for the future progress of the African American, it was necessary. The protester needed to possess a firm moral conviction that their cause was a righteous and just cause. By combining nonviolent resistance, direct action, and a firm conviction of their cause, King was confident that the oppressors would come to join him in the quest for equality. All other issues would fade away and the only thing left to see would be the true issue, a "good versus evil"…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discusses whether or not African Americans have the same opportunities and equal rights as whites do. Then, King further explains the daily struggles and dilemmas that African Americans have been going through for such a long time and that change is essential. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos. King also uses historical, biblical, and literary allusions to support and further his argument. Dr. King begins with ethos and logos by discussing how nonviolent protests are perfectly legal and are lawful acts. He states that he is imprisoned in Birmingham because, "injustice is here," (King 332). This appeals to ethos because it is morally and ethically…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harnoor Chatha Professor Sumstad English-1002-16 October 19, 2014 Rhetorical Analysis Final Draft Deborah Pearlstein author, of Rights in an Insecure World, is the Director of the United States Law and Security Program at Human Rights First. Pearlstein’s purpose is to elaborate and examine different ways our rights are redefined against us after September 11 attack. The Author emphasize her claim about Liberty and Security after September 11 attack on the United States. Author’s intended audience is informing U.S. citizens and criticizing the Government officials (FBI, CIA, and interrogation team at Guantanamo Bay). Author’s main goal is to elaborate and compare how Liberty and Security rights are being violated before and after the September…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Spring of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led about a thousand African-Americans through non-violent protests in the business district in Birmingham. Unfortunately, he and other top activists were thrown into jail by Birmingham police in retaliation and were treated under harsh conditions, as did all African-Americans. On the day of his arrest, the Birmingham, Alabama newspaper published The Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen called King’s activities “unwise and untimely,” calling for the community to renounce protest tactics that caused unrest in the community, to do so in court and “not in the streets.” King wrote back from jail arguing each point the clergymen wrote in their “public statement”. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, King writes point by point his reasons for coming to Birmingham and the actions he had committed and why he wishes to continue his fight for equality. King successfully employed the use of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos by arguing back on legal, historical, and political grounds.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Rhetorical Analysis

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hello Thinh! After reading your rhetorical essay, I agree what you said "media embrace the gender inequality and the idealism of a female body." People always see that the photos woman always appeared in movies, TV, magazines, who are in good shape, attractive and charming. It lowers the value of the women because people just appreciate their body and not appreciate their intellectuals. According to what you said "showing researched evidence (ethos), personal interview (pathos) and statistic (logos)", I can understand the purpose of the director that the film is more credibility and persuaded to the audience by using logos, pathos, and ethos. Overall, your essay is well organized, and it provides different sources as well as analyze what you…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. used a lot of ethos in the Birmingham letter. For example when he says “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms. He is showing that he cares about what they think and see their criticisms as being genuine and sincere so he wants to answer their questions in a reasonable time and manner.…

    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the entirety of this essay, King pleads with the community and society as a whole to stand back and look at the situation he finds himself in. A society that is crutched by the injustice of segregation. Weakened by the laws that are established in places such as Birmingham. Beaten down by the commonality of police brutality to the African American man and women. A society that is far from the ideals of “all men are created equal”. King writes this essay to persuade individuals to change their thinking, or change their actions. He lays out what he thinks of society, and where it should go. He identifies misconceptions people have and how actions need to be taken. Martin Luther King Jr. Realizes heavily on public reason in hopes that they will understand his point of view and polarize their thinking in his direction. Only then, can a society be built on true justice and morality.…

    • 1822 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Objection of what is unjust has long been a part of human nature. Human beings have the tendency to oppose things that contradicts their morals or beliefs as it indirectly challenges who they are or what they stand for. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. responds to clergymen who criticized his actions and role in the battle against segregation. These actions that were carried out by King were done so because he believed it was his moral responsibility, he believed it was his obligation to fight for the rights of all people. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. argues how the demonstrations he took part of are in fact justifiable as African American individuals were being overwhelmingly maltreated and degraded as human beings.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poverty is a state of being extremely poor. In the “What is poverty” essay it talks about the struggles of a woman that has three children and is trying to survive with little to no income. Jo Goodwin Parker describes her life living in poverty and her daily struggles to raise a family. In the essay she goes in depth and describes what goes on in her daily life. It is sad to say that Jo describes herself as dirty, smelly, and with no proper underwear on and with the stench of my rotting teeth. She talks about how she has no luxuries while being poor due to the high cost of simple things such as hot water, soap, medicine and clothing. She continues by writing that while there are government programs to help the poor, none exist in her area and if there were she has no means by which…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, author Martin Luther King Jr. confirms the fact that human rights must take precedence over unjust laws. His expressive language and use of argumentation make his case strong and convincing. King uses pathos to invoke anger, sympathy and empathy, his impeccable use of logos makes his argument rational to everyone, and his use of ethos, especially the use of biblical references, makes his opinions more reliable. King’s arguments induce an emotional response in his readers. Although the letter was addressed to the eight clergymen, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” speaks to a national audience. King’s use of pathos gives him the ability to encourage his fellow civil rights activists, evoke empathy in white conservatives, and allow the eight clergymen and the rest of his national audience to feel compassion towards the issue. King intended for the entire nation to read it and react to it. He “had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress” (King 267). He uses parallelism by repeating “I had hoped” to ironically accuse his attackers. By stating the obvious point and implying that moderates act as though this was not true, he accuses them of both hypocrisy and injustice. King is not speaking only of racism; he is speaking of injustice in general. He is a firm believer that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (262). King is saying that if we allow injustice to happen in some places, we risk it happening to everyone. We allow people to think that it is okay to act unjustly towards some individuals. The problem is that this kind of thinking can spread and infect other people to believe this is acceptable. This comes to endanger our entire society. Overall, King is saying that we need to fight against injustice anywhere we see it,…

    • 344 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays