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Civil Disobedience In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Rachal LFBJ ABCBC In The Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr, the values of civil disobedience is presented through Logos and allusions. In the text it states, “In your statement you asserted that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But can this assertion be logically made? Isn’t this like condemning the robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn’t this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical delvings precipitated the misguided popular mind to make him drink the hemlock? Isn’t this like condemning Jesus because His unique God-Consciousness and never-ceasing devotion to His will precipitated …show more content…

King values civil disobedience, which is the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands by nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes, but the violence created from that is not his fault. Logic is key in this situation because its obvious you shouldn't punish someone who isn't being violent. Another example is, "We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. . . ." (King 8). Here King is using allusions to make the readers feel a certain way. Not only is this allusion, but also can be determined as Pathos. Hitler was a terrible, negative human being, so using his name and the things he did as an example will definietly influence the readers thoughts. King says that he would have aided his Jewish brothers even if Hitler said it was illegal. Which relates to what he is saying about civil disobedience. Its wrong to punish people who aren't guilty of doing anything wrong. Hitler was doing things wrong, so King helping them shouldn't be illegal. So King wouldn't try to kill Hitler, but

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Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. " King uses the allusions of these historical events to send a message about injustice and how many of those people sacrificed a lot but did not give in to civil obedience. Along with Allusion, King used Pathos through his word choice, in order to explain his message of civil disobedience, in a way the priest, or clergy would understand. Pathos and Logos are a common factor in King's writing as a way to appeal to his audience and to install a sense of justice and activism. This was quite evident in paragraph 26, when King uses rhetorical appeals to promote a united whole fighting "to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

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