Preview

What Are The Rhetorical Strategies In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
59 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Are The Rhetorical Strategies In Letter From Birmingham Jail
In his open letter "Letter From Birmingham Jail", civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. responds to a letter from white clergymen who criticize his "untimeliness" and "poor tactics". With the use of rhetorical strategies, such as elevated diction, anaphora, and an appeal to pathos, King effectively communicates the urgency for a nonviolent approach in order to eliminate
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Letter From Birmingham Jail: Dr. Kings Fight For Justice And Equality
    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page

    Letter From Birmingham Jail: Dr. Kings Fight For Justice And Equality

    “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is written to the audience of clergymen. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote this letter to respond to clergymen who had questions for him. Paragraphs 12-14 are the most persuasive and thorough. King uses many rhetoric mechanism and appeals. Throughout those paragraphs, there is an excessive use of: pathos, logos, ethos, metaphors, symbolism, direct addressment and parallel structure.…

    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Devices Used In Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Devices Used In Letter From Birmingham Jail

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis: Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis: Letter From Birmingham Jail

    Since ancient times, promoters of justice have brought into play rhetorical strategies to persuade their opponents. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter regarding the criticism several clergymen made, stating that the movements of nonviolent resistance to racism from Dr. King were “unwise and untimely”. In this letter King uses several rhetorical strategies but mainly he makes use of 3. In the first one, King uses an outside authority (Religion), given the fact that he is trying to persuade Christians. Second, Dr. King appeals to emotion (Ethos), he tries to appeal to their human and goodness side. Third, King employs analogies to emphasize his argument against racism.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis
    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

    Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King, Jr. were brilliant men. The Declaration of Independence, written primarily by Jefferson, and the Letter From Birmingham Jail, written by King, are perfect examples of their intellect. Looking at these documents and observing the tactics they use while attempting to move their audience toward their ultimate goal, one can see the finesse that both Jefferson and King possessed. The Declaration of Independence had aspirations of obtaining a new form of government, away from the King of England, while the Letter From Birmingham Jail was intended to help move America toward a desegregated future. Jefferson was charged with moving the Colonists to armed revolution, as well as not alienating the King of England…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

    In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight Alabama clergymen under the confines of a jail cell in a Birmingham, Alabama prison. The letter stated his thoughts and opinions on the racial tension between the white and the black communities of Alabama. Martin Luther King’s letter was written as a rebuttal to the letter he received from the Alabama clergymen that stated the demonstrations, protests, and acts of civil disobedience of the Negro community were unlawful and should be put to a stop immediately. Martin Luther King replied by indicating that the blacks had a right to peaceful protests; they were simply trying to educate the community about the prejudices present in Alabama and to motivate a change. King incorporated the tree rhetorical strategies of ethos, logos, and pathos throughout his letter. In Martin Luther…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis Essay
    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    Martin Luther King Jr., born on January 15, 1929, fought for the injustices of his brothers and sisters throughout his life. While being an active activist, Martin Luther King was imprisoned to Birmingham jail due to his participation in a nonviolent demonstration against segregation and discrimination in Alabama. During his sentence, he wrote a letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” to counter the criticisms of his actions from the clergymen by claiming that “An unjust law is no law at all”(par. 12), “Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Is Ethos Used In Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Is Ethos Used In Letter From Birmingham Jail

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of A Letter From Birmingham City Jail
    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of A Letter From Birmingham City Jail

    Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential civil rights activists and paved a path for many African-Americans in his lifetime. In “A Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, Minister and Civil Rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conveys the unequal treatments of African-Americans and how he and the African-American community are trying to change it. King Jr.’s Purpose is to explain how the African-Americans are working towards racial equality and to explain the racial inequality that is happening. He adopts a didactic tone in order to describe how poorly African-Americans are treated and how it needs to end. He uses a didactic and disgruntled tone, pathos and ethos, and repetition and listing.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages

    An Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

    On April 16th, 1963, during the peak of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to a collection of clergymen in regards to his beliefs and protests. In his “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King aptly wrote to the clergymen about their concerns in a respectful manner, while maintaining his dignity and explaining his purpose. In order to validate his points, he first built his credibility, and from there flowed into a plethora of other strategies. His emotional anecdotes and insight are strong points in his letter, appealing to the clergymen’s sense of compassion and justice. The imagery that accompanies his writing creates vivid and horrifying scenes meant to encourage the reader to join King in his civil rights endeavors. Logically, King presents his values in a manner that becomes inarguable against, which furthers the persuasive value of his writing. His…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Letter From Birmingham Jail

    This long complex quote came from the well-known letter of Birmingham jail written by Martin Luther king. Through this letter, he uses a lot of different writing techniques to reach out to his audience. This writing technique has not only made me look at his writing but also feel connected to his writing. He was an American Baptist minister, social activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He is a strong, well known powerful figure from America’s history.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 172 Words
    • 1 Page

    Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

    Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a response to Dr. King's follow clergymen criticism. The topic of Dr. Kings letters from a Birmingham prison is the nonviolent protest being done in Birmingham, Alabama in the fight for African Americans civil rights. Some clergymen, mostly white American men, believe the nonviolent protest Dr. King and African Americans were during was "unwise" and "untimely". The main argument Dr. King is making in the letter is the protest being done in Birmingham is "wise" and most important "timely". The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. Take for instance when the part of the letter when Dr. King talks about different men, both biblical…

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1801 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

    To fully understand Dr. King 's “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” you must understand what times were like when King wrote his letter, who Dr. King was, and the criticism that Dr. King faced. The 1950 's and 1960 's were turbulent times for African Americans as they fought for equal rights as Americans. Jim Crow laws in the South dictated where blacks could sit in a restaurant or on a bus, they excluded blacks from certain jobs and neighborhoods, they segregated schools and prohibited blacks from voting in elections. There were 4,730 known lynchings of black men and women. There were hangings, burnings, beatings, and even house bombings or arson (Pilgrim 2012). There were also many landmark events during this time period. In 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation in schools was unlawful.…

    • 1801 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ethos In Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ethos In Letter From Birmingham Jail

    Imagine your family “smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society” (King). How would you feel? Would you rebel so that your family can have what they need? Martin Luther King, the famous civil rights spokesperson and leader known for his civil disobedience. Talking about the extreme mistreatment that people of color receive makes his audience interested. He was bringing great justice to the african-americans by speaking up about the issue, since everyone knew this was wrong but no one was ever brave enough . Martin Luther King included a large variety of rhetorical appeals in his “Letter From Birmingham jail,” The two most effective ones are polysyndeton and pathos because they force the reader to consider the consequences about the discrimination and overwhelming hatred towards the african-americans while also making…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Is King Thesis In Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages

    What Is King Thesis In Letter From Birmingham Jail

    In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail for an “unwise and untimely” protest against how blacks were treated in Birmingham, Alabama. When in Jail he received a newspaper that had a “ Statement by Alabama Clergymen”, in the article, it stated how they need to handle the racial problems in a different manner. They never directly mentioned King’s name, but they strongly wrote how they felt about the protest. When King saw the statement, he decided to reply. His whole goal in the letter is to explain to the ministers the reasonings behind the actions that took place in Birmingham. King addresses the Clergymen in a polite and professional manner. In the beginning he sweattalkes them, he calls them “men of genuine good” and he says normally he wouldn't have time to answer their questions, but because they are good guys, King will put the time in to get back to them. He says all this to get their attention, and to get…

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics