Preview

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

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
254 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
An Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” from jail in Birmingham, Alabama in response to a public statement issued by eight white clergyman calling his actions “ unwise and untimely”. African Americans have been waiting to have there civil rights of freedom, but the social courts has requested them not protest on the street but to take it to court. Dr. King wrote, “This wait has almost always meant never.” This is why Dr. king addresses this matter in a letter about the battle of segregation. He hopes that this letter will stop this injustice matter, and show what the African American desire. Furthermore, Dr. King had four steps to achieve his goals by collecting facts, negotiation, self-purification, and direct
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail: Awareness of Unjust Laws
    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail: Awareness of Unjust Laws

    Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have…

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

    Martin Luther King Jr: An Analysis of the Letter from Birmingham Jail
    • 1184 Words
    • 34 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr: An Analysis of the Letter from Birmingham Jail

    Written by Martin Luther King Jr., the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a paragon of persuasive writing that takes advantage of ethos, pathos, and logos in order to convince its readers to take MLK’s side during the American civil rights movement. The use of ethos defines MLK as a credible writer; the use of pathos appeals to his audience on a personal level; and the use of logos layers his arguments and claims with irrefutable reasoning and logic. By using all three techniques, MLK is able to hold the attention of his readers and persuade them to take his side in the battle against segregation.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 34 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King's Letter To Birmingham Jail
    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Martin Luther King's Letter To Birmingham Jail

    2. In paragraph one, King states that he wants to address his audience’s statement “in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” He starts off like this because King wants everything to be peaceful and drama-free. In paragraph two, King said, “Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary.” This piece of evidence is explaining that he was there to take part in something nonviolent. This connects back to what he said in paragraph one because since this is a nonviolent action, he wishes for everything to be civil so everything can worked out as planned. This sets the tone as very calm and straight to the point because King means…

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

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

    Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is one his many writings on segregation and racial inequality towards blacks in the southern American states. While his actions may not have had much success at first during the 1960’s what made his arguments so powerful was his use of pathos and logos.…

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

    Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

    In a land that promises life, liberty, and prosperity, the spirit of the African American people had been ridiculed and relentlessly robbed of these freedoms as exposed in Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail. Even though our Founding Fathers established these rights to all of the people in 1787 and slavery had been abolished in 1865, a negro’s life did not fall under this covenant of freedom. Hostility and intolerance plagued these times, and someone needed to put an end to the oppression. Too much scarlet red had oozed out of the lives of innocent negro men, women, and children. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those individuals who rose up and fought for justice and freedom. His letter, Letter From Birmingham Jail, paints…

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

    Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis
    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

    In the Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., King addressed the concerns of the white clergy and gave support to the direct action committed by African Americans. He writes how the white church is often disappointed in the African American’s lack of patience and how they are quick to be willing to break laws. Despite this, the clergy never questions whether or not segregation is unjust. During this period in the 1960’s, King was disappointed by the way the white clergy was not in support of the religious civil rights movement and King’s goal of equality as a whole. King goes on to write that he is disappointed that white moderates care less about justice and more about order. Order can only be held for so long whilst injustice is around. Through the masterful use of analogies and undeniable examples of injustice, King’s disgruntled response to the clergies proves the justification for direct action taking place to establish equality for African Americans.…

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

    Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

    Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Jail was written to respond to white religious leaders who criticized his organization’s actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black society in Birmingham. The letter is a plea to both white and black Americans to encourage desegregation and to encourage equality among all Americans, both black and white, along all social, political and religious ranks, clearly stating that there should be no levels of equality based upon racial differences.…

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

    An Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail
    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages

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

    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
    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

    Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letters From Birmingham Jail
    • 235 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letters From Birmingham Jail

    In Martin Luther King’s letter, “letters from Birmingham Jail” he uses ethos and allusion to advocate for civil disobedience. He uses ethos by stating “I would agree with Saint Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all.” (Page 7) This shows ethos because it uses the credible source, Saint Augustine. By him being credible because he’s famous/well known, more people are able to understand and believe in what Martin was trying to suggest. He was trying to say by using this quote that that some laws are unreasonable and should not be followed if they are not fair or equal and do not help or protect the people. Another way Martin is able to advocate civil disobedience is his use of allusions. In the text it says “To put in the terms of saint…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Page
    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
  • Good Essays

    Mr. Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail
    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mr. Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail

    "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. King writes the letter to defend his organization's actions and the letter is also an appeal to the people, both the white and black American society, the social, political, and religious community, and the whole of American society to encourage desegregation and encourage solidarity and equality among all Americans, with no stratifications according to racial differences. King's letter from Birmingham Jail addresses the American society, particularly the political and religious community of the American society. Specifically, King's letter addresses three important groups in the American society: the white American political community, white American religious community, and the black American society. King addressed these communities as the primary groups wherein racial segregation is continuously proliferated (the white American political and religious community) and points much of his arguments to and for his fellow black Americans in the society. King's main thesis in writing the Birmingham letter is that, racial segregation, or injustice to the black American society, is due to the continuous encouragement of the white American society, particularly the powerful communities in politics and religions. 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 addressing and confronting the problem of injustices among the black Americans in the American society, particularly the violence that had happened in Birmingham, and…

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

    MLK's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail': Summary and Analysis
    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages

    MLK's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail': Summary and Analysis

    In "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Martin Luther King strives to justify the need for nonviolent direct action in order to end all forms of segregation and helping the civil rights movement. He wrote there are unjust laws and just laws. He believes segregation laws were unjust because it damages the personality and makes African American lives below the standards given to them by the Constitution. He believes just laws to be laws that are for everybody and it positively affects the group. He wrote this in response to his fellow clergyman's assertion that breaking the law is not how to achieve equality. King countered that one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. King writes this letter to persuade his clergymen to remain strong and keep fighting to end racism and prejudice.…

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

    Analyzing Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter From Birmingham Jail'
    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Analyzing Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter From Birmingham Jail'

    Reading through the commentaries of George E. Carter and Keith D. Miller, another perspective of Martin Luther King Jr. was exposed to me, that I was unaware of when first reading his famous works such as, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, and his famous speech, “I Have a Dream”. Both men offered a different side of their views on MLK, providing analysis on his rhetorical writing styles as well as his influences in his writings. Transcendentalism can be seen in works of Martin Luther Kings, but his influences in his writing reach much further than that ranging from his Christian roots all the way to his findings while reading works of Gandhi.…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Reflection of "A Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King jr.
    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Reflection of "A Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King jr.

    For our honors portfolio this quarter we were required to read three documents. We, then, were quizzed over each of the readings. First, we read “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr., then, we read the transcript of President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, and last but not least, we read “Millennial Makeover” by Morley Winograd and Michael Hais. Furthermore, we had to read and analyze the documents because the quizzes required us to think deeper than the written words on the paper. I believe these documents are critical because they have shaped the government and our society today.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics