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Compare And Contrast Letter From Birmingham Jail And Martin Luther King

586 Words3 Pages

Amity Lodevico
ENG 1A
Professor Clark 10 September, 2016

A strong country can only prevail when individuals have attained the ideals of justice and equality. However, throughout American history people have had to fight for their rights due to the injustices caused by the government. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. promotes the importance of justice and equality through responding to a letter from clergymen who wanted him to stop protesting against racial inequality. King’s letter builds upon his influences such as Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Thomas Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence,” through expressing discontentment with injustice and proclaiming away to combat it. The texts can also …show more content…

Once again King wrote his letter in response to clergymen criticizing his actions against racial inequality. Jefferson wrote his Declaration as an account of the United States’ independence and to express his disappointment with the unjust actions caused by King George. Henry Thoreau wrote “Civil Disobedience” as a way of expressing his opposition towards the United States government. They all express their discontent with injustice through showing what the government is doing wrong. For instance, in Thoreau’s essay he states that the government is supposed to be the “mode where people execute their will;” however, it’s often “abused” and “perverted” (Thoreau, 305). In other words, he trying to reinstate that rather than being useful and efficient, the government is not doing what it’s supposed to do and that is representing the will of the people. King builds upon this idea of a bystander type of government by saying portraying them as the white moderate. The white moderate in his case don’t “understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed…they don’t have vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, determined action” (King, 388). Here King is not only reflecting on the laziness of the white moderate for not seeing the injustices, but in a way he’s mocking them because he believes it takes more of a strong minded person to take action rather than the person who actually has political

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Thoreau and M.L.K Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”, published in 1849, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, published in 1963, have profound similarities while still having underlying differences. The one of the most distinct similarities in “Civil Disobedience” and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is the choice of action both authors decide to use, nonviolent measures, and who they are protesting against, which is government and its actions. On the same note, both essays express the dissatisfaction in the average white citizen’s acceptance for the status quo on slavery and then segregation. For example, both essays have a strikingly similar sentence; King states, “I had hoped that the white moderate

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Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both had the same vision in mind while taking different approaches to the situation. Both of their speeches were targeted to specific groups and made to empower black people. I believe they also wanted their words to empower more than just their people, the secondary audience for both malcolm x and martin luther king is the justice system. Both of these letters have specific phrases that were intended to let the justice system know how they felt and that the country they belonged to didn't feel like home. Looking at Martin Luther King's letter, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" he specifically states "We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights".

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Others might say all leaders are rebels because they perform illegal actions to get what they want. For example, King, Martin Luther Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, states, “But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during this time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal.” This means Mr.King would’ve helped unexplored Jews in Hitler 's Germany even if it meant going against the law. This shows Mr.King, a leader representing rebellion as he states he wouldn 't have a problem braking authority. Nevertheless not all leaders are rebels.

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Jefferson and King: Advocates for Change In their respective eras, both Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for change in their societies through direct action. However, they had different visions of how to take action. Both urged that in order to make this change, unjust laws needed to be broken and the subsequent consequences must be faced.

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Despite both being wrongfully imprisoned, MLK and Lakhdar had very different responses and ways of acting. Both Dr. King's "Letters from Birmingham Jail" and Lakhdar's "My Guantanamo Nightmare" discuss the experiences of being treated unfairly solely because of the way one looks. The goal of both works was to tell their story, which was similar. You can see from reading both works that one piece of writing expresses more emotion than the other, although both pieces of writing show that they had similar feelings. Both Dr. King and Lakhdar were tragic victims of violence; Lakhdar experienced racial profiling while Dr. King was subjected to police brutality.

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One of the most famous documents in American writing is the 1963 letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist and the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In addition to the many organizations Dr. King was the leader of, he devoted his life to desegregating the South. On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize because of his efforts trying to desegregate the South by using nonviolent protests. King was fed up with the way he and the black community were treated so he turned to peaceful protesting.

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Letter of Birmingham Jail and Civil Disobedience Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. both tried to fight for their rights to go against the authority if there is any social injustice. Thoreau took the duty and responsibility of the people to protest and take action against the laws of the government. Although, King communicates to his people about the laws or the government against the blacks are intolerable and that “Civil Disobedience” should have an instrument of freedom. They both incredibly illustrate their thought that “Civil Disobedience” is a needed thing, and the similarities and differences of these two essays at portrayed through the time, people, speaker, tone, and strategies. Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” was wrote in the U.S. during the transcendentalism time around 1837 to about the 1840’s.

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In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.

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Activist, Martin Luther King Jr., in his letter from “Birmingham Jail”, response to the clergymen who requested King to stop his nonviolent protests. King’s purpose is to argue each point from the clergymen, to able to convey a powerful meaning, and for them to see why he is passionate about what he is doing. He conveys a conflicting tone, with mixed emotions about the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King in paragraph thirty-one, begins with questioning what it truly means to be an extremist, and challenge the beliefs of the people. He creates a literal diction, by using anaphora, “Was not Jesus an extremist for love-

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail was written so respectfully while still addressing many valuable points of disagreement in response to a public statement made by white religious leaders regarding a non-violent demonstration he was involved in and arrested for. I found it kind of humorous that as I was reading A Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963), I thought, this is more like a book than a letter, and then Martin Luther King, Jr. writes “never before have I written a letter this long – or should I say book,” (p.6). I believe that what MLK is arguing throughout his letter is for understanding.

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King writes to the eight clergymen who were critical of his protests and to the indifferent people of the United States. In the essay, he claims that he has done nothing wrong by protesting peacefully. In paragraph 11, King says “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” He is saying that freedom is something they have to fight for because the authorities will not give it to them. He is directing this statement at the clergymen while reaching the apathetic people of the United States.

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I believe that paragraphs 9 and 12 from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the strongest paragraphs in this letter of his. These paragraph is so profound and truly explain why segregation is unjust in two short paragraphs. They don’t go into a lot of detail on why segregation is unjust, because they don’t need to. They’re argument is strong enough with how short they are. Since these paragraphs give an easy to understand and short reasoning as to why segregation is unjust, explains what makes a law just or unjust, and show that just laws can be unjust when applied to situations such as segregation, I believe they are the strongest paragraphs in this letter.

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Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, argues against criticism from eight Alabama clergymen, and addresses their concerns. He defends his position, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), against accusations of disturbing the peace in Birmingham, as well as explaining his values and opinions. Throughout the letter, King adopts a strong logical and credible tone, and reinforces his position through the use of strong emotional justifications, in order to appeal to the clergymen and defend his public image. Martin Luther King opens up his Letter from Birmingham City Jail by appealing to the clergymen's emotions, and assuring his peaceful response, which he describes in "patient and

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philosophizes that if we, as human beings, forgo our instincts at the service of something higher, justice will prevail. In “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he asserts that there are certain permanent truths which will never evaporate. These truths will always stand firm as fundamental principles which justify what is morally right and wrong, just and unjust. King deliberates that “the yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself” (“Letter,” p. 771). Furthermore, Martin Luther King, Jr. declares that there are universal and borderless Gospels of Freedom and Justice, which resound in the natural constitution of every human person, and are uplifted, fulfilled, and dignified by the divine wisdom of

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