Allusions In Letter From Birmingham Jail

April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was locked up at Birmingham jail for protesting without a permit even though the protest was non-violent and peaceful. During his time in jail, the clergymen from Alabama’s communities condemned King’s ways of supporting the civil rights movement. They believed the right way was to through legal means and King’s actions are getting in the way of things. In his “letter from Birmingham Jail,” American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. alludes to the Bible, refutes the specific claim of criticism, juxtaposes contrasting ideas, asked rhetorical questions, and the use of repetition of words and phrases to address concerns brought up by the group of clergymen and justify his actions of non-violent direct

Take, for example, King compares his presence in Birmingham to that of Apostle Paul, “ I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. 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 am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (King 3). One of the biggest criticism of King’s involvement in the non-violent protest in Alabama is that King is someone that is not from Birmingham. He is from Atlanta, the clergymen and others believed that he is an outsider interfering with the work of the Alabamians. Martin Luther King uses an allusion to Apostle Paul in order to refute one of the criticisms the clergymen made against King. He is comparing what he is doing to that of the Bible, he is in Birmingham far from his home because it is what is important to him and what he must do like the prophets. This gives him credibility by comparing himself to an important religious figure while giving why he was compelled to come to Birmingham. King is in Birmingham to fight for what he believes is right. All of this would move the people of Birmingham to accept King as one of the leaders of the

One such example is when he labels Jesus as an “extremist for love” in response to him being labeled as an extremist by the clergymen. In his letter, King states “ Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you. And pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” ”(King 31). By comparing Jesus' teaching of love and kindness to his own actions during the civil rights movement, King effectively frames his action in a positive light and insinuates that it is necessary to display civil disobedience. King is emphasizing the non-violent of his protest by using “extremist” as an example. King questioned people about Jesus and contrasted love and extremity in order to convince the people of Alabama that his methods are effective and reasonable just like what Jesus did to spread