Compare And Contrast Letter From Birmingham Jail And Walk To Freedom

This essay compares and contrast the following two readings: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Junior and “Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela. This essay will prove why Martin Luther King’s method for achieving justice for all is the most compelling and why. Martin Luther King’s method is effective because it peacefully allows the issue to be known and ultimately leads to the possibility of negotiating. In addition, this method also invites people who normally would not get involved in civil rights issues to get involved. Nelson Mandela’s method is not effective because it makes the oppressed as guilty as the oppressors and makes people less open to negotiating. Martin Luther King’s method, as explained in “Letter from a

However, they differ on the technique of achieving justice and freedom. Martin Luther king writes, “nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek” (King). Meaning, that the way one goes about making change has an impact on the type of result produced. By using nonviolent means to achieve civil rights led to a “pure” ending result. Nelson Mandela writes how his method “drove a law – abiding attorney to become a criminal…” (437). By using violent means to achieve justice made him become, under the definition of law, a criminal. This made the oppressors not want to negotiate or help solve the problem.
The themes of “just” and “unjust” laws and the concept of freedom are shown in both readings. The major theme of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is Martin Luther King Jr. defending his civil and moral rights of partaking and organizing nonviolent protest in encouragement of gaining civil rights for African Americans. The major theme of Nelson Mandela’s “Walk to Freedom” is explaining his rationale for joining the African National Congress and why it was necessary for him to become a