Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

Hearts of the oppressed will always cry out in desperation; waiting for anyone to swoop in and liberate them from their cruel reality. Few are capable of mustering up the gumption to throw their neck on the line in defense of the defenseless. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one such man. Trading in his comfortable life for one of danger and ridicule, King was catapulted to the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement following the profound leadership he demonstrated during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As a well-educated, African American pastor, he provided a unique perspective on the racial issues at hand. In contrast to the violent approach proposed by other Civil Rights leaders at the time, such as Malcolm X, Dr. King paved the long road to

At the most basic level of reading it appears that King was writing to the eight clergymen, but his true audience is the American people. "His goal was to use their perceived moral shortcomings as leverage to lift his actual audience -- that larger group of readers who would encounter the "Lefter" -- to a moment of revelation concerning the profound moral and religious issues that were engaged by the movement," (Osborn 31). Many of the points the clergymen made were then used against them. King pounced on an opportunity to inject a substantial amount of pathos when the clergymen suggested he "wait". King knew he has to get his word out into the public in order to gain support. S.C.L.C had been contemplating writing a paper similar to "Letter From Birmingham Jail" (Osborn 27). When King wrote to the clergymen he was not responding spur of the moment. A target was all he needed, and the clergymen played that role perfectly. Osborn agrees, "either way, the document reduces their stature to that of moral pygmies, while it projects the image of King and his followers in heroic