Analysis of “I Have a Dream” and “Letter to Birmingham Jail” In the “Letter to Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King addresses the criticisms and objections that the white clergymen had made towards his and his affiliated organization’s efforts in trying to end segregation and achieve his and his people’s birth right: the right to be free through nonviolent means. Through the “I Have a Dream Speech” King speaks to his supporters and as well as to the entire nation to make them be fully aware of the injustices they are facing and through this make them stand up to those injustices. Both “Letter to Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream Speech” have the same underlying meaning however. That way too long have the black community been treated wrongly. That way too long have the black nation been “judged by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character (King 815)” and therefore it is time for them to rise and stand up for their rights.
They had called Dr. King an outsider to the Birmingham community. The clergymen stated, “However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders;” they were accusing King of being one of those outsiders who had led the demonstrations. But, King was invited by a local
Instead of preaching that one day the blacks would have equality and preaching wrong, Booker T. Washington preached to them that being equal is not what it is all about. He did this so the blacks would not lose faith and eventually give their hopes up on being equal. They ended up focusing on themselves and their brothers and dealt with the system. They accepted themselves as blacks into this nation. In today's day and age for example, there are people who are still racist, people who don't accept blacks because of their color and culture, but today blacks understand that and accept it.
Subject: The subject of this letter is to state the reason he is in Birmingham for trying to change segregation as social justice and his use of civil disobedience as an instrument of freedom. Occasion: Dr. King is writing this letter from inside Birmingham Jail for being accused of misuse of the law by performing in acts of civil disobedience to show his disappointment at the leadership of the clergy and laws that he and others of the black community deem as unjust. Audience: Although this letter was initially mailed to the eight white clergymen who publicly asked the black community to restrict their Birmingham demonstrations, King meant for his message to reach a much larger audience such as U.S. citizens. King used this letter as
So, oppressed people can not win the respect of oppressor. He believes in this way the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor because acquiescence is the easier way to encounter oppression, also it is not the moral way. In Dr. King’s opinion, the second way is resorting to physical violence and corroding hatred. He believes violence not only brings impermanent results, but also is impractical and immoral. According to King, it is impractical because it slows the process of ending the oppression for all, and it is immoral because it seeks humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding.
Ethos within “The Ballot or the Bullet” In 1964, Malcolm X gave a speech entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet” which described how African Americans were being used and should fight for their civil rights. Malcolm X stresses on the importance of understand how to vote for the proper candidate. The reason he stresses this in his speech so much is because he believes that this is the solution to ending the discrimination against African Americans. He addressed in this speech that most of the African American community don’t understand on how to vote properly and because of this they are getting miss treated from the very people they are voting to put in office. The reason Malcolm X says “the ballot or the bullet” is that its either going to come down to the “ballot” which is allowing them to vote, or the “bullet” which is going to result in violence in order to get the rights the deserve.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail This is a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. to the clergymen in response to their claim in a local newspaper that his protesting was “unwise and untimely.” This is an attempt to defend himself and his fellow protesters. He begins by explaining why he was in Birmingham and states that he is not an outsider. He was invited by the president of the Christian Leadership Conference to be there. [623] He stressed on the issue of injustice in this area and said he must “carry the gospel of freedom” wherever it is needed like Paul did in the Bible. He continues to say that while the protests were unfortunate, it is even more unfortunate that the black community was left with no other alternative action.
Martin Luther wrote a letter in response to the Eight White Clergymen. Using ethos, pathos and logos, King tried to persuade the church to adhere to the problems African Americans are facing. He let them know that what they wrote in their letter was not the completely accurate. Most importantly he told them even if the church does not come to aid, African Americans will still overcome their struggle and gain their freedom. “But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future.” King kind of challenged the church; with or without them, African Americans will continue to strive.
One law is considered just because it favors the human beings personality and elevates him morally, while the other law is considered unjust because it demeans human personality. The reader connects and understands the logic between King's words in his writing because they are reasonable thus, don't understand why racial segregation is being held among the black people if the white people know that such restriction is damaging to the black individuals personalities. Therefore, segregation is considered an unjust law among black individuals throughout
was against the traditional views and unjust laws, which discriminated against him and his fellow people. He felt that the only way that these unjust laws and traditional beliefs would ever change would be by protestesting. He also felt that without protest the laws and traditions would remain the same forever. Along with encouraging protest, King's letter was also a justification of his actions. By taking the time to answer his critics (or persecutors, as he is in prison) with patience, logic and intelligence, as opposed to retaliating, King was also able to justify his actions.