Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes the letter to Birmingham jail to address the biggest issue in Birmingham and the United States at the time. The letter describes the injustices happening in the black community of Birmingham. Martin Luther King Jr. uses appeals to emotion, ethical appeals, and logical appeals to justify his desire for racial equality. Rachel Carson wrote “ The Obligation to Endure “ to enlighten humanity on the atrocities being granted upon earths biological systems, and the harmful mutating chemicals that will potentially effect the future generations and their health. Carson addresses these understandable concerns using logical, emotional, and ethical appeal. Carson explains these concerns in this statement “To a large extent …show more content…
Martin Luther King was willing to sacrifice his freedom, and his life to obtain and justify racial equality all throughout America. In the “letter from Birmingham Jail” King writes about many terrible and violent acts the whites committed against the blacks. Dr. King also goes in further discussing about how tough it is for the black children to learn with all the discrimination. “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 an unconscious bitterness toward white people….” Dr. King uses an effective use of appeal because it gives the reader an issue which most can relate too. Dr. king lets the reader know his role as a religious reader through his writings, with that being said this lets Dr. King be seen as a moral, honest, trustworthy person. The letter was written during a time of segregation, and the response was towards religious leaders that were white, so Dr. King calling them “ fellow clergymen” was also using an ethos appeal of being an equal in status. This was important because Dr. King was in jail when the letter was …show more content…
Carson appeals to the arousal of the basic emotions, such as the arousal of fear in the public. Carson also appeals to pathos, or the emotions, by questioning the “highly intelligent” creators of these pesticides. Carson believes irrational bad decisions based on faulty evidence threaten the future existence of mankind. “Along with the possibility of the extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man’s total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm-substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends.” However, the statement supports Carson’s intention to present a persuasive, and logical point of view without confusing the reader; suggesting she ment to go against a patient audience rather than an impatient one. Carson promotes the problem adequately in the very first paragraph and states her claim as a practical approach to stop or decrease the amount of the spraying of DDT pesticides. Carson argues mosquitoes becoming immune to the man-made vaccines presently available would inarguably have serious, detrimental and adverse negative impacts upon the effectiveness of the survival of our own
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to address the issue of racial injustice in Birmingham and the United States at the time. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" discusses the great injustices happening toward the Black community in Birmingham, as well as serve as a rebuttal to the eight clergymen arguments. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses his appeals to emotion to establish his credibility on the topic of the racial discrimination and injustice that was occurring during that time, as well justify his reasons for protests. King wanted to make his letter come from an emotional standpoint to make the audience of clergymen feel the strong emotion and pain he was feeling about the outrage of acts and justify his cause of writing. “When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and
Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.
He states, “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 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…” (567). Dr. King’s emotional appeal is to invoke compassion and empathy in the hearts of his readers by showing that segregation creates an envirnoment of tension and
King responded to their accusations by writing a ”Letter from Birmingham Jail”. King begins his letter using ethos to establish his credentials and backs up his actions while he continues to express his views on civil rights issues. King’s letter opens with a respectful tone by addressing the white clergymen as “My Dear Fellow Clergymen” (King 738). He uses his salutation to attempt to embrace and make
Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." This quote is from Dr. Martin Luther King's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' of 1963. At the pinnacle of the Civil War Movement in America, eight white Alabama pastors announced in the local newspaper that Dr. Martin Luther King's protests should end since they condoned "disdain and savagery. " The pastors disagree with utilizing peaceful defiance to acquire social liberties for the individuals of color in Birmingham and suggest that if whites and blacks meet up to talk about this issue, there will be a superior result for everybody. They stated that Martin Luther King was only an "outcast" who needed to create mischief in Birmingham.
Not only were neighborhoods, businesses, and schools almost totally segregated, but also Black Americans suffered humiliation, insult, embarrassment, and discrimination daily by whites. The oppression of Black Americans prompted King to write a letter that tries to appeal to the white moderates in hopes of receiving support and involvement for the movement. The letter effectively argues that his actions are justified and are timely by using rhetoric like pathos, ethos, and logos. The use of rhetoric allows for
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” he uses periodic sentences, syntax, diction, and allusions to write about his beliefs about the immense struggles African Americans experienced to gain their rights, how he views just and unjust laws, the many different influences have in their lives, and the cruel nature of the citizens, which are still prevalent today. First of all, African Americans went through immense struggles to get the rights they have today. African Americans watched their family members be innocently killed, experienced multiple cruel acts of segregation, and often felt strong resentment to the White population. For instance, Dr. King uses a periodic sentence and imagery to express the immense struggles African Americans endured to gain the
Martin Luther King’s message “A Letter From A Birmingham Jail,” it rebuttals the empty statements made by the eight Alabama clergymen. In the clergymen’s letter, they try to show their support by mentioning how they know what is best for the citizens, and they are trying their hardest to resolve these problems. However, they fail to give evidence in saying that King’s methods were “untimely and unwise”, and they failed to prove their support against segregation. King wrote this letter during his serving time in jail, in response to the clergymen that said that his action were “unwise and untimely.” This letter raised national awareness to the Civil Rights Movements, it motioned the will power to gain proper rights after three hundred and forty
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he is addressing the Clergymen, more specifically the white church and its leadership who criticized his efforts in the civil rights movement, by calling his demonstrations unwise and untimely. He is also simultaneously addressing the national audience as well in letting them know of the injustices of the time. It was 1963, and Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter from inside a jail cell. He had been arrested during an anti-segregation march for not having a valid parading permit in Birmingham, Alabama. In this letter he addresses the criticisms that were brought forth to him.
At the end of his letter he addresses the clergymen " I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader, but as a fellow clergymen and a Christian brother" (paragraph 7). This statement makes a claim the king wants to meet these seven clergymen in person and speak about the issues he wrote in this letter. Another rhetorical tool king uses in his letter are similes. This rhetorical tool helps king compare two things and address the point as he sees it. " Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek" (paragraph 3).
Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960’s and he’s very deserving of that title as seen in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” letter. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience.
“Letter from Jail” On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight clergymen while he was incarcerated. Dr. King wrote this letter to address one of the biggest issues in Birmingham, Alabama and other areas within the United States. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discussed the great injustices that were happening during that time towards the black community. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the same equal rights as the white community, he also went into further details about the struggles that African Americans were going through for so many years, which he felt like it could change. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement.
Martin Luther King Jr, in the letter from a Birmingham Jail he addresses himself as a patriot and as a priest. He entitles himself as both, as metaphors that he is enlightening the people of 1963 and to reveal the ignorance they've done under the name of God. King writes as a, a Civil Rights Leader, an American Citizen, Clergyman, a Christian Brother, a United States Negro, and a Judeo-Christian leader. He defines himself as a man of God as well a man of the United States in such way that demonstrates his beliefs as well, as a committed member. He states “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, so
Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims.
Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. Persuasion within writing is an important tool to be utilized in order to garner support for one’s position. During the 1960s, equality between different races was a very controversial issue which required a certain finesse when being discussed. Martin Luther King demonstrated precisely this sort of finesse when writing about the racial injustices faced by black Americans, as well as when refuting the criticisms he faced from white clergymen.