He lived during the time where segregation was everywhere in the United States, not as a white man, but as an African-American. He wrote the letter during his stay in Birmingham jail after conducting a peaceful march in that city. He led the march in order to attack the city’s segregation system, but instead, he was imprisoned for disturbing the peace. After first stating the purpose of his letter, Dr. King used logos to start his counterargument. When he wrote in the letter, “You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham.
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. In “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen,” the clergymen state that the action that King Jr. has taken is unwise and untimely and he explains in two different ways why
King writes in Birmingham Alabama during the Civil Rights Era. Similar to Thoreau's, King's occasion is in a jail cell, but for almost the majority of his essay. Both of these essays have occasions that take place during a time when there was a large amount of concern about social injustice of the government and it is understood why the authors would write their essays in the first place. The audience allows the author to be focused on certain groups or individuals. Thoreau and King both aim at large audiences.
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.
Letter From a Birmingham Jail Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote an open letter to his fellow clergymen in April, 1963 after bring arrested for protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. His letter was in response to statements the clergymen had made condemning and criticizing King for his “unwise and untimely”protests (King 1). In “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King used the methods of ethos, pathos, and logos not only to justify the actions that led to his arrest, but also to admonish those who sympathized with his plight, yet did little to change the inequality that existed. King recognized that before he could persuade his audience to understand his point of view, he needed to gain their trust. His ethical appeal, or ethos, is evident when he writes: “I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth” (1).
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.
Dr. King’s letter uses an example of anaphora. “So, I along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am…I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” This quote is letting the clergymen know that wherever injustice may be, he will be there to organize his staff to help fight that injustice. Throughout his letter, Dr. King uses allegory. In this quote he states, “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C.
Subba-1 Hari Subba Ms. Nicole, Stanbury English 2010 Literary Analysis Response “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]” “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (Dr. King) In 1963 Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw injustice and segregation for black people. His nonviolent campaign convinced his people that you have to fight for your rights and your freedom. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter describes many injustices that the black community endured. Unfortunately, inequality still exists all over the world in many forms. The struggle for civil rights is a familiar story(Moore 2) After I read the first paragraph of second page, I was very uncomfortable.
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.
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.