Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is an example of a rhetorical text that is centered on ethos. King Jr.’s letter is a response to “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen,” which was written about the civil rights protests that King Jr. had led in Birmingham, Alabama, causing him to be in jail. In his letter, King Jr. addresses the concerns that the clergymen had about his motives and intentions in Birmingham. A rhetorical analysis of “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” shows that through his use of effective logic, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has a way of re-creating the ethos that was taken away from him in “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen”. Specifically, the arguments that King Jr. uses to defend his untimeliness, his willingness to break laws, and his extreme actions are appropriate for the audience and help him build credibility, which ideally will move his audience to action.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned for breaking a court ruling while leading a nonviolent direct-action protest program against segregation. While imprisoned, King wrote an open response; “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. This letter was addressed to his fellow clergymen, but he wanted the entire world to read it. King elaborately explains; why he was in Birmingham, why he believed change must take place immediately, and what he planned to do to help bring about this change. In his prodigious letter, King creates a vigorous yet respectful response to a criticism made by eight Clergymen from Birmingham, Alabama.
Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", was written by King in response to a critical "Call For Unity" by a group of white Alabama clergymen in Birmingham. The clergymen were critical of King for meddling in the affairs of their town. King's response was that he had every right to fight injustice in the country that he lived in. Martin Luther King wrote this letter in 1963 from his jail cell. In this letter King proclaims that the laws of the government against blacks are intolerable and that civil disobedience should be used as a tool of freedom.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s letter “A Letter from Birmingham,” was a good example of a counter argument from “A Call to Unity” by eight white clergymen. His inspiration for writing the letter came from clergymen’s unjust proposals affecting African-Americans. Dr. King effectively created his argument by using logos, pathos and ethos. What also helped his case were his personal experiences. He lived during the time where segregation was everywhere in the United States, not as a white man, but as an African-American.
Dominick Bedasse ENC1102 February 22, 2011 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attempts to validate his actions of demonstrating against segregation in response to criticism by Alabama clergymen. In hopes of reaching out to the clergymen, King argues for desegregation through his use of ethical appeal, emotional appeal, as well as logical reasoning. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. opens his letter by making note of the fact that he is the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (p. 2). This may be an attempt for King to establish himself as a credible figure; one whose words are legitimate and has an argument deserving of full attention. King also states that he is “compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my (his) home town.
Jacob Martin Mrs. Nguyen English 101 March 5, 2013 Rhetorical Examination of “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” The employment of rhetorical strategies is imperative to effective persuasion. Martin Luther King, Jr. utilizes these methods throughout his dialogue. In April 1963, “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written while incarcerated for leading a nonviolent protest against Jim Crow laws. The purpose of the document was to be a reaction to a statement eight white clergymen issued disparaging King’s approach to protesting discrimination. The methods of logos, ethos, and pathos are used to convince his audience.
The approach thrives on presenting reasons on a certain subject and then arguing out. In order to comprehensively exhibit each of the three approaches, this paper refers to. " The letter from Birmingham Jail" is an emotional letter addressing the issues and critics of white clergymen thrown at Martin Luther king Jr, about his non-violent demonstration actions against injustice and racial discrimination among black Americans in Birmingham. Injustice is the backbone of all the social evils taking place in Birmingham and Alabama cities. Injustice is the violation of another person's right with the satisfaction of the other individual.
This letter appeared in the Birmingham Newspaper. In response, Martin Luther King drafted a document that would mark the turning point of the Civil Rights movement and provide enduring inspiration to the struggle for racial equality. King's “Letter from Birmingham Jail” strives to justify the desperate need for nonviolent direct action, the absolute immorality of unjust laws together with what a just law is, as well as, the increasing probability of the “Negro” resorting to extreme disorder and bloodshed, in addition to his utter disappointment with the Church who, in his opinion, had not lived up to their responsibilities as people of God. King's justification to the eight clergymen for protesting segregation begins with a profound explanation of their actions, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue”. The actions of the African American people are overdue and very well planned as King had explained in the letter.
King outlined the reasons for these methods in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” He stated that nonviolent protest was used because it dramatized the issues of segregation and discrimination that blacks faced, and thereby gained the public’s sympathy (Letter…Birm. Jail, 2). This method then required nonviolent action by blacks and also needed a violent white reaction to create the drama of good versus evil within media in order to create sympathy for blacks (Letter…Birm. Jail, 2). With this added media outrage they hoped to in turn get more legislation passed and enforced.
In Response to Injustice Written in April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” delivered an important message about civil rights and civil disobedience. Although the letter was nominally addressed to the eight white clergymen who publically urged African Americans to cease their non-violent protests, King had a much wider audience in mind; his letter was produced for national consumption. His letter was specifically intended to address the white liberals who questioned the timing of his decision to initiate sit-ins, marches, and pickets as demonstrations of non-violent protests. More generally, King hoped to explain the religious and philosophical foundations of nonviolent, direct action to all those who shared his Christian belief. King established a tone of rational dialogue as he addressed the eight clergymen.