The Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter-argument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen, and then using pathos, ethos, and logos to refute his opponent’s statements and present his own perspective. After stating the general purpose of his letter, King specifically addressed the clergymen to set up for his logical counterargument.
King effectively makes use of pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, throughout his letter. when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; 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 Funtown 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 an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean? ” King demonstrates his ability