Preview

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

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
52 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
An Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail
In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, he uses an authoritative voice in his analogies, allusions, and ethical appeals that make his argument more relatable and compelling. In comparison, his authorial counterpart lacks the same confidence in his stylistic devices and ethical appeals making his argument weak and less

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responds to a letter he was sent by white clergymen that challenge his right to protest. He was called an outsider and an extremist. Dr. King shows from the start that he is a man of knowledge and can be trusted. To build on that trust and knowledge he must present an argument that appeals to his audience using the three pillars; ethos, pathos and logos.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “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
  • Good Essays

    About individual civil rights. In the ´Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King sorts to respond to the criticism of several clergy men since he believes they are “men of genuine good will”. In respond to what they said about their actions being “unwise and untimely”. King explains their delay in action due to the occurring events, back to back. They do not wish the media to copulate their actions with the events, because they are two separate things. After that explanation, King states what brought him in Birmingham. Injustice is what brought this man to the city. King states that Birmingham is the most segregated city in America. Simply because there are brutal police incidents. Bombings of Negro properties such as homes, churches than any other city. And colored people are treated unjustly in courts. Thus with these things happening in Birmingham, King went there to get justice for the oppressed, because he believes that their individual civil rights are…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “We have waited for more than 340 years for our Constitutional and God given rights” (King, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 3). Racial equality; something that black Americans along with white Americans have been fighting to get for far too long. Both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama want to see the black community get out from under the many years of discrimination and blatant racism that they have been subject to. In many ways we can see President Obama following in the footsteps of Dr. King’s teachings in the…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail was written on April 16, 1963 while he was incarcerated in the Birmingham City Jail. This letter addresses the criticism that a group of white men had thrown at him and his pro-black American organization about their non-violent actions against racial discrimination and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. He notes that he doesn’t usually respond to letters of criticism but he thought that they were “good willed people and their criticism was sincerely set forth.” King writes this letter to defend his organization's actions. King's letter talks about…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to eight of his fellow clergymen. He wrote this letter while the government arrested him and other protesters who were demonstrating in Birmingham, and he dedicated his whole life to the civil rights of the Blacks. In this letter, he response to the clergymen that questions his methods of protest. Different from Thomas Jefferson’s pure logic argument, he still adds his passionate sense of the injustice African Americans has suffered to his cool logic argument. Also, he uses first person perspective in this letter, which makes it more personal. Anyway, these two writings own different properties, so it is obvious that they would have different writing techniques. However, Martin…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetoric to persuade readers into supporting his cause. His letter addresses white men questioning his actions, though his message is for gaining supporters throughout America. Addressing the criticism of white men questioning and criticizing his recent behaviors, he begins explaining the motives behind his actions, their justification, and his next endeavors to rid America of its social injustices.…

    • 185 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr Prominent leader for the African American Civil Rights Movement was imprisoned on April 12th, 1963, for the actions he committed against the law, purposefully breaking the laws at the time through acts of non-violence to propose a future of a non-segregated United States of America. Following Dr. Kings imprisonment, a group of eight clergymen had sent an open letter out, formally known as “A Call for Unity” to criticize whether his actions were suitable for others and himself to follow and urging others to halt their demonstrations. He constructed his response through a letter which he had written on April 16th, 1963, within the Birmingham jail which, was later publicly titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Dr. King discusses…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is one of the most well known documents in American history. King’s profound ability to articulate important ideas, values, concepts and Biblical perspectives made for some of the most powerful and inspirational pieces of American literature ever produced. One technique that King used in his public speeches and letters was his allusions to historical figures, the Bible and opposing congressmen. During the 60’s when cultural prejudice still held strong roots in Congress, it was King’s talent to inspire the public that revolutionized America’s racial injustices. King’s frequent use of allusions in his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail proved his intelligence and greatly attributed to his success and popularity during the 1960’s. His allusions demonstrated his referential capabilities while also making his messages readily relatable to the public.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he shows that nonviolence is the way to get the positive attention that his plight deserved. He believed that to use violence was negative on a couple of points. First, violence always gets negative attention. Second, violence was the way the Klu Klux Klan went about their business. He wanted to expose unjust laws and do it in a fashion that conveyed his beliefs without causing other problems. In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he is trying to convince his “fellow clergymen” (566) that his fight for the civil liberties is a just one, and that the march was a nonviolent one and one that was surely needed. Dr. King stated, “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny” (566). King is saying that it’s something that can no longer be ignored, that he can no longer sit on the sideline and be an idle observer. The black man has to take it to the streets. In this letter, Dr. King showed that nonviolence, direct action, and the ability to stand by one’s convictions are the right path.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, he enhances his argument through the use of logos and allusion. MLK uses logos on page 6 when he states "Birmingham is the most thoroughly segregated city in the U.S." He is comparing Birminghams segregation to every other city in the U.S. He supports his argument with factual evidence. These facts make his argument more believable and reliable. MLK also uses allusion on page 8 when he states " We can never forget that everything that Hitler did in Germany was legal." He mentions Hitler to help support him in his argument by hoping that you will compare it to the segregation that was happening at the time and realize that the people participating in the acts believe it is moral or okay.…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays