Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis
a. The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was written by Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 16, 1963 in response to a public statement made by eight Alabama clergymen that was published on April 12 of that same year.
b. On their statement, the clergymen asked black people to stop supporting King and his protests because these incited “hatred and violence”, therefore, racial issues should be “properly pursued in the courts”.
c. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King demonstrates that his way of protesting was correct and that his method of non-violent actions were just and necessary.
d. Dr. King explains his statements by making use of different rhetorical appeals and rhetorical devices like anaphora and metaphors.
II. Body
1. Paragraph 1
a. The …show more content…
Dr. King is describing various situations so we can step in the shoes of those individuals who are being discriminated and feel empathy for them. Through this imagery, we know how ostracized the black community is, the struggles that they have to go through and it gives us the reason why Dr. King is protesting against segregation, something that is so common that affects the everyday lives of these people.
4. Paragraph 4
a. Dr. King uses multiple anaphora by repeating various words at the beginning of several sentences to emphasize his message.
b. We see the repetition of the phrase “I am here” when he writes in the second paragraph of his letter: “I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against “outsiders coming in.” […] I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”
c. The repetition of these three words give a sense of being to Dr. King. We know that he is present, not only in Birmingham, but in all of the protests and manifestations. By being present, he recognizes and points out the injustice of everything that’s happening, everything that surrounds him, and how he wants to put a stop to this
b. On their statement, the clergymen asked black people to stop supporting King and his protests because these incited “hatred and violence”, therefore, racial issues should be “properly pursued in the courts”.
c. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King demonstrates that his way of protesting was correct and that his method of non-violent actions were just and necessary.
d. Dr. King explains his statements by making use of different rhetorical appeals and rhetorical devices like anaphora and metaphors.
II. Body
1. Paragraph 1
a. The …show more content…
Dr. King is describing various situations so we can step in the shoes of those individuals who are being discriminated and feel empathy for them. Through this imagery, we know how ostracized the black community is, the struggles that they have to go through and it gives us the reason why Dr. King is protesting against segregation, something that is so common that affects the everyday lives of these people.
4. Paragraph 4
a. Dr. King uses multiple anaphora by repeating various words at the beginning of several sentences to emphasize his message.
b. We see the repetition of the phrase “I am here” when he writes in the second paragraph of his letter: “I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against “outsiders coming in.” […] I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”
c. The repetition of these three words give a sense of being to Dr. King. We know that he is present, not only in Birmingham, but in all of the protests and manifestations. By being present, he recognizes and points out the injustice of everything that’s happening, everything that surrounds him, and how he wants to put a stop to this