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.
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.
Jacob Martin Mrs. Nguyen English 101 March 5, 2013 Rhetorical Examination of “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” The employment of rhetorical strategies is imperative to effective persuasion. Martin Luther King, Jr. utilizes these methods throughout his dialogue. In April 1963, “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written while incarcerated for leading a nonviolent protest against Jim Crow laws. The purpose of the document was to be a reaction to a statement eight white clergymen issued disparaging King’s approach to protesting discrimination. The methods of logos, ethos, and pathos are used to convince his audience.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is an example of a rhetorical text that is centered on ethos. King Jr.’s letter is a response to “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen,” which was written about the civil rights protests that King Jr. had led in Birmingham, Alabama, causing him to be in jail. In his letter, King Jr. addresses the concerns that the clergymen had about his motives and intentions in Birmingham. A rhetorical analysis of “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” shows that through his use of effective logic, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has a way of re-creating the ethos that was taken away from him in “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen”. 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 these two sentences, he presents the reader with a subliminal appeal to pathos. When the phrase is preached by the oppressor, the ‘Wait’ is followed by an exclamation mark, exemplifying the whites’ enthusiasm in helping the black community, but only when time permits so. When this resonating phrase is received by the oppressed, the exclamation mark suddenly disappears, expressing the African American community’s general depressive attitude regarding the segregationist views and socalled advice. He uses this example to open into his next paragraph, where he goes straight for the hearts of his readers. To open the fourteenth paragraph, Dr. King states that African Americans have “waited for more than 340 years for [their] constitutional and Godgiven rights.” (King 14) Stating exactly how many years it has been that he and his brothers and sisters have been denied civil rights and liberties again emphasizes the significance of the repeated phrase “Wait” in
Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay In ³Letter from Birmingham Jail,´ Martin Luther King Jr. uses many rhetorical strategies to makehis purposed known to the clergymen that segregation laws should be abolished. Some of his strategiesare used the most in paragraphs thirteen and fourteen, when he argues for the urgency of changingsegregation laws. A few strategies that he uses are: diction, repetition, and Aristotelian appeals. ³Therecomes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into theabyss of despair.´King¶s diction, or word choice, is obvious and blunt in these two paragraphs, especially when hesays, ³when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers andsisters.´ The fact that he brings up physical abuse being brought upon his people should be enough to persuade the clergymen that what he¶s doing isn¶t wrong. 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.
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.
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.
Stephen L. Carter wrote in “The Rules about the Rules” that “integrity requires 3 steps: (1) discerning what is right and what is wrong; (2) acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and (3) saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right from wrong.” During a major protest of unfair business practices in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested and put into jail for his actions. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he gave evidence of Stephen L. Carter’s definition of integrity. “Discerning what is right and what is wrong.” In 1954, the Supreme Court came to the decision to outlaw segregation in public schools. Even though this was Federal Law, the community still chose to obey the city ordinances of segregation. Dr. King stated that for the African-American people there was “grossly unjust treatment in the courts, and there were more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any other city in the nation.” Despite strong efforts made from the leaders in the African-American community, the city fathers refused time and time again to engage in any type of “good-faith negotiation.” “Acting on what you discern, even if at personal cost.” Taking action is what Dr. King did.