Letter from Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” This quote sums up the main purpose of paragraph 13 and 14 in Martin Luther King’s awe inspiring “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, in the letter MLK no longer wants to wait to negotiate with the whites because they've kept him and African Americans waiting for hundreds of years. In order to express his purpose, MLK uses pathos, repetition and creative metaphors to prove why he doesn’t want to wait for someone to give him freedom anymore. The use of pathos in paragraph 14 is illustrated by the powerful examples MLK has given. MLK appeals to his audience’s emotions by using his children as an example for why he cannot wait, “to see tears welling up in her eyes when she’s told funtown is closed to colored children.” (p.13). MLK using kids as an example in the unjustness of slavery evokes a response in the audience, that might not be found if he instead used an adult as an example.
King uses allusions frequently throughout his letter. “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world” (King Paragraph 3). Here King is paralleling his actions to the Apostle’s actions. By king alluding to the Apostles he appeals to the audience ethically.
In his “I Have a Dream Speech” he is more so talking to the white majority that has held him and all of the other colored people being segregated against and to the black people that want to make a difference in history and further the civil rights movement and get the rights they deserve. Once he has his target audience engaged, much like in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” his language becomes very simple and direct again. The difference is, he is now urging direct action . His tone becomes more “preacher like” as he says “Go back to Mississippi: Go back to Alabama: Go back to South Carolina: Go back to Georgia: Go back to Louisiana: Go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair”(King) His assumptions of the basis of American society (religion, founding fathers, and the American Dream) enable him to keep his intended audience paying attention for what he most wanted to convey—the emotional battle of those involved in the campaign for civil rights.
One of King’s most effective writing techniques is drawing comparisons from past historical leaders to himself and his current cause. For example, on the topic of spreading knowledge of injustices committed through segregation, King states that, “Just as the prophets of eighth century B.C left their villages . . . and just as the Apostle Paul left his village .
In the letter, King alludes to many voices of the past in order to gain the support of his audience. King uses examples such as, the Apostle Paul, Nelson Mandela, and Adolf Hitler, to explain and justify his presence in Birmingham jail. The first allusion King refers to is the Apostle Paul, and his Macedonian call. According to the Bible, Paul was called upon by God in a vision to preach the gospel to the people in Macedonia. “After Paul had seen the vision, [he] got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called [him] to preach the gospel to them” (New International Version, Acts 16.10).
Fighting for Freedom In a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., King explains why he was in Birmingham. In 1963 King guided fifty-three African-Americans through Birmingham to protest for Civil Rights. King wrote this letter to answer a letter he had received from eight clergymen saying that, “such demonstrations were unwise, untimely, and extreme”. King replies to their letter from a Birmingham jail explaining why he was there and why all the actions that have taken place were necessary. In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. shows that he is there for his fellow people and justice.
Howard Zinn wrote his book also as a professor to inform the reader of what happened in our countries history. Zinn takes a different route on doing this though. He makes it similar to a text book by using a time-line order and provids events that he thinks are important for people to know and understand. Zinn’s difference in writing is less of a general example of what happened but what he wants you to know about the events he is describing. He tries to persuade you to feel a sympathy for the blacks and Native Americans but he puts down the white man and government at the same time.
Instead of the government allowing slavery, it looked like it found a loop hole to not treat people of color equally for anything whether it was sports, school or public facilities blacks were still treated as inferior. Thankfully the civil rights movement that occurred during the 1950’s and 1960’s would turn out successful after years of civil demonstrations (some which would become riots e.g. : Birmingham, Alabama), marches, and speeches. One might say that one of the most famous speeches of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, would see fruition when looking at today’s society despite some traces of racism. Now we live in an era where different races can co-exist.
They did not illegally break the rules, but they made different things impossible for the freedmen to do. Such as voting, they came up with different ways to not exactly do them the rights to vote but make it simply impossible for the freedmen to be able to vote. They did things like giving them tests that no one could pass
I Have A Dream Related text one is a speech by Martin Luther King, which explores many elements of journeys within the text. The language features demonstrate the physical and inner journeys that African American people have struggled through. In stanza 2 a figure of speech has been used ‘Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice’. This creates imagery showing the inner journey of the African American people and how they have struggled to be free in their country. It is a figure of speech as they were not literally seared in flames but is showing how difficult their journey has been so far to gain equality and justice.