Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr

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Conrad Ndawana Eng. 1302/7012 Dr. Elmore November 29, 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King was an activist, a clergy man, an extremist of equality, and finally a conspicuous leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King was well know for advocating civil rights with methods of non-violence such as the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the March on Washington in 1963 where he ultimately delivered his “ I Have a Dream” speech. His honors include a Nobel Peace Prize, U.S. streets named after him, and the creation of a nationally celebrated holiday after him. Dr. King ended up in Birmingham, Alabama because he was chosen by the SCLC to lead against economical injustice and racial segregation. During his time in Birmingham Dr. King was arrested;…show more content…
King does a great job using pathos to appeal to the eight clergymen’s emotions in order to explain the struggles of the black community. Dr. King uses several examples to explain why change is desperately needed in Birmingham. For example He says “… when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Fun-town is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing and unconscious bitterness toward white people” he uses the pain he feels when he tell his child she can’t go to an amusement park because she is black. He felt it was not right to raise an innocent child that bears a deep hate towards one race because of social injustice. He could not stand raising a child in a world so ugly that would judge a person by the color of their…show more content…
King is patient and understanding to the criticism and views of his fellow clergymen. He seeks to find common ground with the clergymen; he politely and respectfully argues every point they bring up. He does not lose his temper but simply asks them to walk a mile in his shoes to understand why he needed to heard. He patiently lays out all reason why he was fighting to end a battle that had lasted more than three hundred and sixty years. King does not take insult to the clergymen’s criticism but he gently counter argues every point they bring up. Letter from Birmingham was a great response to Dr. King’s critics about his actions in Birmingham. He does a great job appealing to their emotions, religious beliefs, and uses logic to answer all their questions. He was an advocacy for equality and fought to his last breath to make sure that the blacks would get the same treatment as

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