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Examples Of Pathos In Martin Luther King

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M.L.K use of Logos and Pathos in his Writings

Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for many things. He is a world renowned civil rights activist whose words affected the hearts of many. His marches united people race demanding the rights for all Americans in a peaceful, yet effective manner. His speeches drew crowds of thousands of people, whose lives were affected by his words. But how was Dr. King able to do so much with just words? Simple, it wasn’t just the words but the language he used in them. When Dr. King wants to create emotions in a crowd he used strong, emotional language or pathos. However when Dr. King needs to respond to criticisms he uses logical, well thought out statements or logos. In “Letter From Birmingham Jail” King …show more content…

However, both “Letter From Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream’ both contain examples of logos and pathos.

When responding to criticisms or try to make a point that helps your cause, the best idea is to use logical responses to prove your point or logos. Martin Luther King uses logos in both “I Have a Dream” and “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. In “I Have a Dream” Dr. King is giving a speech to almost 250,000 to supports of his movement. …show more content…

Like how Martin Luther King used logos in both “I Have a Dream” and “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he also uses pathos in both of the too. In King’s famous speech “I Have A Dream” uses a lot of emotional language to stir emotions. Near the beginning of the speech King shows what segregation is like toward the average African American. He does this by comparing discrimination to chains. “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” (King pg. 261) By comparing segregation to manacles and discrimination to chains this shows how restrictive racism truly is by creating an image in your head which shows pathos. You can the average African American citizen bound by the manacles of segregation, separated from others on its own little island. Along with “I Have a Dream”, “Letter From Birmingham Jail” also contains some example of pathos as well. In “Letter From Birmingham Jail” King attempts to explain why he came down to Birmingham from Atlanta in the first place. “Moreover, I am cognizant of the

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