On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr addresses his fellow Clergymen about why he is in jail by releasing a “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The King discusses the recent events that have led up to this point of him being behind bars. The King begins to use ethos at the start of his letter by explaining to the reader that he is the serving president of the Southern Christian leadership conference. He continues by saying that the affiliates in Birmingham invited him to engage in a nonviolent direct action program.
The passages I chose from Dr. Kings “Letter from Birmingham Jail” do not contain any overt ethos, yet his authority is implied. He is a Negro, held in a southern jail, for simply attempting to gain civil rights for a group of marginalized people, a group of marginalized people that he is, himself, a member. Were it not for his skin color, he would not be where he is. Were it not for his personal experiences as a Negro, participating in and leading lawful actions, guaranteed by our U.S. Constitution, he would not be where he is. He is where he is, at the time he writes this letter, because he has experienced the things he is fighting against, giving him credibility through his skin color, his experiences and his personal actions in combatting
The two main purposes of writing the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" were to respond to the criticism of the moderate white clergy who opposed the nonviolent direct action and to defend the strategy of nonviolent resistance as the most powerful weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. In the letter, Martin Luther King Jr. uses various strategies to convey his ideas effectively. One of the strategies is the use of ethos. He establishes himself as a credible and knowledgeable authority on issues of race, religion, and justice.
The two are similar, they both are fighting for the same thing. The tone of the speech has an inspirational appeal, whereas the tone of the letter is one of a defensive logic, defending himself against the clergymen. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail most of the appeals are mainly towards the persuasion technique of Logos. He most likely took the Logos route considering he is speaking to those who have criticized him, the clergymen, he wants to sound mature, probably wants to sound logical, and not go willy-nilly accusing them of things or trying to be emotional or else he will have respect lost from him. He is logically speaking to the clergymen.
By using rhetorical devices and appeals such as pathos and ethos, Martin Luther King Jr. successfully convinces the clergymen to understand his cause against racial injustice and persuades them not to interfere with his plans in his 1963 “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” His eloquent writing and skillful use of multiple techniques are what make the message of his letter so impactful. King’s use of pathos and ethos makes the audience more inclined to agree with King’s cause and trust him as a person. Using ethos, King (1963) states his position as the “president of the Southern Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia,” (p. 1).
Philosophers and historians alike have long pondered the concepts of morality, that is the fundamental differences between right and wrong. Although patterns emerge through social folkways, mores, and taboos, there still exists a hypothetical gray area for ethical conduct. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 letter, he discusses the criticisms of the clergymen regarding the actions of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) while in Birmingham. Now considered a document that influences freedom movements around the world, King’s letter exemplifies the nonviolent struggle for American Civil Rights. Through his use of logos, ethos, and pathos, King is able to effectively address the concerns of the clergymen and persuade the reader in
Graded Assignment Unit Test, Part 2: Social Commentary Answer each question, using complete sentences. Total score: ____ of 60 points (Score for Question 1: ___ of 20 points) 1. What is the difference between the type of equality presented in “Harrison Bergeron” and that presented in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”? Answer this question in at least a paragraph and make sure to cite examples from the text.
In these texts, King effectively persuades his audiences using pathos and logos. In Martin Luther King Jr. – “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he captures both pathos and logos. Dr. King
Martin Luther King, Jr. uses ethos to appeal to his audience. MLK stated he would have not allowed a person to go without or let someone suffer. MLK states, “Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country’s antireligious laws.” (p. 4)
In the Letter from Birmingham City Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses these three persuasive elements (Ethos, Logos, Pathos) to reach the goal of argumentative writing, which is to persuade the audience that your ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else 's. The first appeal that uses ethos in the greeting of the letter, which reads 'My Dear Fellow Clergymen. ' This illustrates that Dr. King is letting the reader understand him in his role of a religious leader. This is known to be a position in which the individual is seen as generally good, upright, truthful and trustworthy. The point is that Dr. King was ethos to remind the reader about his role as a religious leader, rather than another role that would have been equally valid.
King's fundamental argument in the Birmingham letter is that racial injustice toward the black community in America is a result of ongoing support from the white community, notably from influential communities in politics and church. Dr. King uses Ethos most effectively, through the use of this statement where he says “I have the honor of serving as president of the southern christian leadership conference.” (King, 1963, Letter from Birmingham Jail) this is significant because he is attempting to show that he has the capabilities to run as a president and stop all the discrimination. This quote is extremely effective in persuasion in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Not only do we see an example of this here, we also see it when he says “the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation.
Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.
Injustices in Birmingham While sitting in the Birmingham jail in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., writes a powerful and emotional letter to the clergymen of Birmingham. In his letter, he responds to the harsh criticism and injustices he received for simply protesting peacefully without a permit. King states in his letter, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
King shows Ethos in his letter by writing back to the clergy men who had objections against King’s protest in Birmingham. They basically called him an outsider but by establishing his credibility, King shows that he is in fact an
In “A Letter From A Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. In the letter, Dr. King uses ethos, diction, and allusions when defending nonviolent protest which makes his argument really strong. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. He uses ethos to build up credibility.
