Student

There are several reasons readers should familiarize themselves with Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (also known as “The Negro Is Your Brother”) from our textbook called, "writing arguments." First and most significantly, it was written during “a critical turning point in the struggle for African American civil rights” and is, therefore, this document is generally considered the most important written document of the modern civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Junior's famous is one of the best pieces of writing I have ever read because of its ability to expound on ideas and create a thorough argument as to why what he was doing was just. Throughout this piece Dr. King used rhetoric to persuade his reader and craft a convincing argument. The use of logos, ethos and pathos were all present as he attempted to win over a group of clergymen who challenged his right to protest by calling him an outsider and extremist. So, the letter is also a brilliant example of the art of persuasion as it masterfully analyzes its dual audience: the eight clergymen who reacted to King’s nonviolent activities, and King’s fellow demonstrators. And like all well-crafted persuasive writing, it employs all the rhetorical methods of appeal - the appeal to reason, character, emotion, and style (such as metaphor, simile and other reasoning).
Martin Luther King Junior's famous writing called, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” use's pathos very efficiently. Pathos is an appeal to the emotions or we can say ethical appeal. Throughout the entire letter, Martin Luther King Jr. makes many ethical by relating his mission to god's authority. He makes an Ethical appeal by explain that he is, "...In Birmingham because injustice is (there).” (Par. (3), Page (584)) He says this to point out that what is being done in Birmingham is wrong, and that it needs to be fixed. He later revisits this when he says that, “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” (Par. (13), page (584) )