Preview

Rhetorical Strategies In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
727 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Rhetorical Strategies In Letter From Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King uses rhetorical strategies in his speech in order to do many things. These rhetorical strategies can be seen throughout the Letter from Birmingham City Jail by Dr. Marin Luther King Jr. The main purpose of this letter is to fight for freedom and end segregation between the Whites and the African Americans.King utilizes pronouns to include the audience to persuade his audience that as a nation we are all in this together. King says, “We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands” (1). The purpose of this sentence is to make everyone come together. King claims that they will win because God is on their side. If they work hard enough they will also achieve what they are striving for. “We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation” (1) Kings purpose of this quote is to give his readers hope that change will come eventually. He will not just reach the goal of freedom, but the nation will reach the goal of freedom. Using pronouns to include the audience brings king and the readers together. Together they take a stand and become one. King utilizes repetition, which ingrains the problem in your head while making …show more content…
(2)

This quote exemplifies that if you would have seen what really happened that you would see differently. The purpose of this quote is to make you think something or feels something different than before you read the Letter from Birmingham City Jail. He directs the statement at you, which now makes you connected to this letter. The overall purpose of this letter is to give people an insight about segregation and to justify the rights of African Americans across the country. King’s tone moves the audience to see that the freedom and rights of the African Americans indeed

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout Letter From Birmingham Jail, King uses several metaphors to describe the harmful effects of inequity and motivate his followers to work towards “transforming the] pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood.” For example, to promote immediate action, King proclaims that “now is the time to lift national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice.” By placing the abstract consequences of discrimination next to the perceivable discomfort of being stuck in quicksand, King helps his readers understand the severe ramifications of injustice. More importantly, the harmful outcomes that King described motivate his readers to take action in order to soothe the wounds of their neighbors and fellow citizens.…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good 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
  • Good Essays

    These are one of the most powerful words this letter has to offer, he emphasizes what a negroe has to suffer day by day. King mentions this to make the clergymen see what it feels like to be segregated, to make them see how unjust it…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Better Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    In two shining examples of rhetorical power “A letter to a Birmingham Jail” and “Malcom X’s debate at the Oxford Union” The two great leaders of the civil rights movement outline their platforms and justify their philosophies in regards to how the movement should go about achieving societal change. Although the civil rights movement was brought to national attention by the combined work of MLK and Malcom X, the rhetorical strategies employed by the two are quite different and hold varying degrees of effectiveness. These social justice warriors did not receive an equal amount of respect nor did their ideas have an equal amount of impact because…

    • 2233 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    uses rhetorical tools to get his point across. One rhetorical tool he uses is repetition. An example would be: “before the pilgrims we were here…before the declaration of independence we were here” “one day the south will recognize it’s real heros…one day the south will know…” Martin Luther King Jr. uses repetition to make his point memorable. He uses repetition to stand out to the audience and to take what he is saying to heart. Another tool he uses is listing. An example would be: “They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women” “push and curse Negro women and young Negro girls; slap and kick old Negro men and young Negro boys.” King Jr. uses listing to emphasize these important points. He lists off the inhumane treatment of Negros by police officers. He also lists off the hero’s the south will recognize in the old women who did not ride the bus. Martin Luther King Jr. uses all these rhetorical…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The letter is an appeal to all people, whites and blacks in the American society. He wants equality among the social, political, and religious community and the whole of American society. He finds it incredible to encourage desegregation and integration. King’s letter from Birmingham Jail addresses the society, particularly the political and religious community of American society. Dr. King just wanted to world to be equal and have better communication. He is reaching out to whomever he can to make a difference and made big…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Birmingham Level Stuff

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Dr. King’s thesis is to answer other peoples criticism in what he hopes will be patient and reasonable terms. The reason he provides to support his thesis is that the people that criticism him see to be “men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth”. This is his reasoning to answer their criticism for what happened.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Assuredly, King spent a great amount of time doing research and using rhetorical appeals effectively to bring more power and potential to his writing towards the clergymen, since he was a leader in the civil rights movement it was necessary for him to do so. However, other appeals used by MLK in his, “Letter To Birmingham Jail,” may have been effective in his purpose of writing, polysyndeton and pathos were the most profitable ones to convey a strong sense of shame for the audience. While also making the effect of shame long lasting throughout his…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. mentions the atrocities of racism and describes his endless battles against it. King does this in an effective and logical way. King establishes his position supported by historical and biblical allusions, counterarguments, and the use of rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos. With the use of King's rhetorical devices, he described the ways of the Birmingham community and their beliefs, connected to the reader on an emotional level, and brought to light the overall issues dealing with segregation.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In April of 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed for a non-violent campaign of marches and sit-ins which had been organized to end racism and segregation in Alabama. While incarcerated a newspaper was smuggled in. This newspaper contained a statement made by various white clergy men of Alabama. Motivated, King responded to the clergy men with the now famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In this letter King argues against segregation laws using the tenets of…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays