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. Although his letter and his speech are targeting two separate ideas on the basis of two separate (for the most part) groups of
“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. “If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.” This is also an example of pathos because it evoked sympathy from the readers. Another appeal to be mentioned is the ethical appeal. “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives at present are misunderstood.” Martin Luther King is saying that he knows the outcome will be good. The question comes to mind, “What gives him credibility?” Him saying, “I have no fear…” shows his compassion for this issue.
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.
Martin Luther King Jr’s letter uses tone, diction, and analogy to develop his argument. In his letter he addresses his clergymen’s criticism to his actions in Birmingham. He justifies his actions by arguing that he was invited here (Birmingham), and that he belonged in Birmingham. Dr. King uses different variations of the rhetorical devices tone, diction, and analogy. Martin Luther King Jr’s letter uses different tones in his letter, to justify his actions in Birmingham.
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.
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
Jamie Anderson Mr. Nate Engl. 0700.101 16 Sep. 2013 Final Draft Rhetorical Analysis Essay I Have A Dream In I Have a Dream, told by Martin Luther King Jr. he discussed the Civil Rights matters in hoping all racial relations would be equal and giving the black activist hope for the future. In this speech King Jr. appeals to the different types of audience, with the three rhetorical modes of ethos, pathos and logos. There are three types of audience this speech aims at; blacks who are discriminated against, whites who harbor thoughts at that time, blacks and racist people who argue that blacks are evil and the civil rights movement is violent. Martin Luther King Jr. made an assertion that “We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies,
By citing references of protest such as Jesus Christ, St. Paul, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, he justifies his current actions for the Negro community and states that he is willing to face the consequences when it comes to protesting for equal rights amongst all Americans. This was the first time that I have read Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham jail and I have to admit that it was a very moving and inspirational letter to the people of the Civil Rights Movement at the time. I think that this letter showed how he was always protesting through love and peace and never violence, even though he had been classified as an extremist by the white community. By showing this type of leadership he proved to be such a courageous and intelligent figure in the Negro community and his words of wisdom made such a huge impact on the history of the movement. I believe that without letters such as these to his fellow brothers, most protests would not have been “peaceful” and the entire pursuit of equality could have been in jeopardy.
He wanted them to know how oppressed the “black” people were with the injustice at that time. He hoped that the clergymen would have been on his side because they should understand the feeling of his people because they read in the Bible about Jesus going through the same oppression. The bible teaches us how to love each other no matter what color we may be. He wanted them to compare them to such ones in the Bible that felt like they were “outside agitators”. He used this nonviolent campaign to try to get
However, he mentions them in order to imply that he does get a lot of criticism and is taking particular care to address the specific concerns of the clergymen. 2. King starts his paragraphs by introducing his background as an important member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His appeal to ethos gives his critics legitimate reasons why he should be directly involved in the