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Essay On Letter To The Birmingham Jail And Martin Luther King

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History is often written by those in power, but when it comes to the pursuit of freedom, there are many exceptions. The story of freedom is written not by those in power, but rather by those who oppose it, and Hannah Arendt and Martin Luther King are two examples of people with the bravery to speak out. The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt and “A Letter to the Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Junior pursue freedom by utilizing well-known examples to engage their audience and advocate against the injustice caused by those with power. Hannah Arendt advocated political freedom relating to totalitarianism and dictatorship. After the Holocaust and World War 2, Hannah Arendt advocated against totalitarian oppression by publishing …show more content…

King chooses to present racial inequity to his audience from a familiar perspective: “. 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 little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos: ‘Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?’” (King 479). By presenting this injustice through a father's perspective in sharing disappointing news, he allows his audience to relate their experiences sharing difficult news and create a closer understanding of the injustice their leadership was …show more content…

These biblical examples of Jesus acting in social disobedience allowed Martin Luther King to demonstrate that by prioritizing justice through civil rights, he is prioritizing God and pursuing Jesus. Therefore, Martin Luther King's decision to compare his actions towards civil rights to Jesus’s actions in faith allows him to demonstrate the hypocrisy of these pastor's criticisms. Martin Luther King shares familiar and biblical examples in A Letter From the Birmingham Jail to effectively convince his audience of clergy members that their criticism contradicts Jesus’s teachings on love and justice. Although there is still room for progress, the comfortable freedom that is accessible in 2024 would not have come to be if it were not for those with the courage to advocate for it against authority. Martin Luther King Junior wrote “A Letter From the Birmingham Jail” in response to eight white and influential priests, while he was in a jail cell (Letter From Birmingham Jail). Hannah Arendt encouraged political freedom when she wrote The Origins of Totalitarianism in Europe during the end of Stalin’s Communist reign in the Soviet Union (About Hannah Arendt at Bard College), but referenced the Nazi’s regime, which was better known by her

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing civil rights leader. In 1963, Dr. King and some other civil rights actives went down to Birmingham, Alabama to help in the fight to end inequality. During a nonviolent demonstration Dr. King and countless other protestors were arrested and sent to a Birmingham jail. While in prison Dr. King had time to think and he took this time to write to his fellow clergymen who critics the nonviolent demonstrations. The letter is entitle "Letter from a Birmingham Jail".

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In the letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. writes to the Clergyman to express his idea on the racial discrimination and injustice going on in Birmingham Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. writes his letter while being held in Birmingham Jail after being arrested for participating, in a non-violent anti segregation march. During this time violence against African Americans was so bad in Birmingham it needed to be addressed and taken care of. Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical strategies in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in order to convince the religious leaders of Birmingham that they could wait no longer for justice and that the only course was direct action.

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In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. is responding to accusations made by eight Alabama clergymen. He asserts that his actions, and the actions of his followers were just and reasonable. He notes that the clergymen claimed he was acting too hastily but King explains that their actions were not hasty. He backs up his actions with persuasive argument and reasoning. He points out ways that others actions have been unjust and immoral.

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Xander Purinton Mrs. Walsh English 9 April 2024 Use of Appeals to Progress Movements of Freedom For decades, people have been fighting for freedom and equality worldwide. In 1963, in Martin Luther King's (MLK) letter from Birmingham Jail, he talked about the inequality and racism in America, and years later, the Syrian war started. Only a few short years later, after the war started, Barack Obama told America about what was going on in Syria. Obama's “Address to the Nation on Syria” and MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Prison” appeal to emotions, demonstrating that they give people the correct mindset to stand up and fight for freedom in their own countries and help others. In MLK’s letter from prison, he explains his thoughts on how racist America is and describes how people do not want to change the imperfect and unequal America that it was at the time.

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I. Martin Luther King Jr, a man of great honorable traits, had experienced injustice consequences for simply doing the right thing. Plato, a student of Socrates and also a teacher of Aristotle, was a very knowledgeable philosopher who had also experienced injustice consequences for him teaching what was believed to be “corrupt information” to the youth. Throughout both philosophical pieces of writing, thus being Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail and Plato's apology, we see that both historical figures have endured injustice within the world, they shed light to how unjust the world truly is, even if you don’t intend to commit wrongdoing, you may still be accused of it. Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail is a

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Analyzing Hoss’ childhood to his time in prison is very important because it shows how Hoss was shaped into obeying orders from higher authority and how he developed a sense of duty and devotion to protecting Germany. Hannah Arendt, the author of Origins of Totalitarianism, explains that National Socialism was a totalitarian ideology that built itself on the idea that higher authority from Himmler and Hitler was never to be judged whether they were right or wrong because by following these orders

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In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to jail because of a peaceful protest, protesting treatments of blacks in Birmingham. Before the protest a court ordered that protests couldn’t be held in Birmingham. While being held in Birmingham, King wrote what came to be known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Not even King himself could predict how much of an impact this letter would have on the Civil Rights Movement. In the letter kind defended Kings beliefs on Nonviolent Protests, King also counters the accusations of him breaking laws by categorizing segregation laws into just and unjust laws. King uses this principle to help persuade others to join him in his acts of civil disobedience.

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In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to read it. He looks deeply at the nature of human beings, as rational creatures who are made to love and be loved, and from thence, deliberates that there is a universal Gospel of Freedom and Justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that there are universal principles justifying what actions are morally right and wrong, just and unjust.

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