The methods of logos, ethos, and pathos are used to convince his audience. Logic by definition is the science of investigating the principles that govern correct or reliable inference, in rhetoric this is referred to as logos. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” has accurate examples of logos to communicate this aspect of rationalistic composition. One of the objectives of Martin Luther King, Jr. is to validate his credibility and prestige as leader of the civil rights movement by using the tactic of logos. The most defining representation of this strategy is observed in his words, "I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Martin Luther King Jr. Gains Back Credibility Through Ethos Rhetoric is an effective way that many people use to convince an audience of something and eventually move that audience into action. I don’t think that anyone understood this more than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which he demonstrated in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In the letter he uses ethos, a very effective mode of persuasion, to build his character, mainly his authority, credibility, and goodwill. To build ones credibility means to showcase that person’s morals and values and to demonstrate an all-around good character, which is what I am going to focus on in my analysis. This can be most effectively done by using logical argument, using evidence in ethical ways, as well as addressing counterarguments. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is an example of a rhetorical text that is centered on ethos.
By the end of the letter King hopes to meet them “not as an inte-grationist or a civil rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother.” King uses ethos, the demonstration of character, to establish the fact that he is at the same educational level as the clergymen and that the only thing separating them is race. He also incorporates logos, the use of logic, in order to state the “hard, brutal facts.” King
Throughout his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. argues for equal civil rights and the methods he and his followers use to achieve such a simple human right. He mainly utilizes logos to build his argument to the clergymen to whom he is responding. However, in paragraphs thirteen and fourteen, he takes on a completely different approach. Paragraph fourteen, which is comprised mostly of one long sentence, attacks the reader’s emotions through appeals to pathos. Paragraph thirteen opens the following emotional buildup.
Analysis about “Letter from Birmingham Jail” The letter from Birmingham Jail is an open letter that was written on April sixteen 1963 by an American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King junior. Dr. King drafted the letter when he was in the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama. In the letter we saw that how Dr. King quoted convictive examples to support his points, especially about the topic “What is the justice”. In his statements he built a strong belief about the call of unity between negros and others. But to analyze the whole paper, in some cases I think Dr. King didn’t go far enough about his theses.
In the second chapter (2-5) he lays out the authority by which his group came to Birmingham. The great breadth of organizations that stand behind his actions overshadow the voices that reject his presence there. In the third paragraph, King makes one of many Biblical associations between the plight of blacks in America and the call of God upon his people to go and act on His behalf. This paragraph begins the preliminary thrust of the wrongness of injustice, and it is capped in the fourth paragraph with the
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.
He¶s simply being a good American andstanding up for people¶s rights that have been taken away from them due to the color of their skin. ³Wehave waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional God-given rights.´ The constitution says thatall men are created equal, right? All men meaning, black, white, brown, purple, blue, maybe even green, but if they¶re an American citizen they should have those rightsKing¶s use of repetition in these paragraphs is quite obvious, the repetition of the word ³when.´ Ifeel the repetition is there to emphasize his reasoning on time. The paragraphs are about time and waiting,so perhaps he uses a word like ³when´ to let the readers see that he will wait when they have felt the painof segregation that he has. He could also be using this to refer to exaggerate his impatience andfrustration.
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.
Victoria Lopez English 1101 December 10, 2012 Rhetorical Analysis Martin Luther King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”, published in 1964 in his own book Why We Can’t Wait, addresses and explains his current situation to the clergymen of Alabama. On April 12, 1963 Dr. King was arrested in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama for contempt of court and parading without a permit during a protest. His purpose of the letter is to inform the clergymen of his views and the reasons for his “direct action” on the issue of desegregation. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most important voice of the American civil rights movement, which worked for equal rights for all. He was famous for using nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice, and he never got tired of trying to end segregation laws.