ipl-logo

How Does Dr King Use Figurative Language In Letter From Birmingham Jail

1064 Words5 Pages

The civil rights movement was one of great turmoil and uncertainty in American history. A difference in opinion on how citizens should protest for civil rights drew criticism from many. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ,"Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, illustrates the importance of non-violent protests as resistance in the face of inequality. Inequality, according to Dr.King, must not be ignored and in the face of a monumental shift in philosophy where it becomes everyone's civic duty to be an active participant in the fight for equal rights. Dr. King makes an appeal to feelings by employing literary devices of imagery, figurative language and syntax. At the time Dr. King drafted his letter, he was being criticized for his engagement in …show more content…

King was responding to the backlash he received for bringing activists into Birmingham. Dr.King uses strong figurative language to make an appeal to emotion by creating a bridging unity, “... twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society...”(King 12). Dr. King’s use of metaphors elicits sentiment by strongly conveying the preset socioeconomic limit that holds back African Americans from being equal to their peers. The socioeconomic setbacks faced by African Americans at the time the letter was written was yet another divisive line between blacks and whites. The biases and privileges dictated solely by race, specifically one's skin color and characteristics impels individuals to want to bring about change and makes Dr. King’s argument to end inequality remarkably effective because it is convincing. Dr. King also establishes emotional appeal by his use of metaphors, “Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?"(King 29). Dr. King’s use of metaphors generate emotion by alluding to the discrimination and struggles of being African American in the United States. Through his skillful use of symbolism, historical references, and calls to action, Dr. King enables the reader to empathize and join the movement toward social equality. Dr. King, in his essay, is advocating against inequality using an appeal to emotion; he does this effectively through his use of metaphors and figurative

Show More
Related
192 Words | 1 Pages

Figurative language and literary devices are utilized in “Letters to Birmingham,” by Martin Luther King Jr. to persuade his fellow clergymen to understand his reasoning behind protest. Evidence from the text that correlates with his intended purpose can be seen from the statement “As in so many experiences in the past, we were confronted with blasted hopes, and the dark shadow of a deep disappointment settled upon us.” This example supports the author in getting his purpose across by using figurative languages to convey the emotions of the black community and their discontent for waiting until an agreeable time. King also uses an allusion to a famous religious member and political commentator in, “Individuals may see the moral light and give

Read More
352 Words | 2 Pages

Riddled with racial tension and a lack of equal rights, the 1950-60s exposed the truth behind segregation. In a letter written by Doctor Martin Luther King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King attacks the idea of racial inequality, and exposes the plights met by black families and individuals. In this letter, King uses excellent examples of imagery to show the racial discrimination being experienced. During this time of discrimination, the struggle for racial equality was prevalent, and extremely brutal. Given the circumstances of this time, discrimination turned into violence due to racial motivation.

Read More
748 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King was willing to sacrifice his freedom, and his life to obtain and justify racial equality all throughout America. In the “letter from Birmingham Jail” King writes about many terrible and violent acts the whites committed against the blacks. Dr. King also goes in further discussing about how tough it is for the black children to learn with all the discrimination. “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 eyes when she is told that Fun town is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people….” Dr. King uses an effective use of appeal because it gives the reader an issue which most can relate too.

Read More
492 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. and other African Americans put themselves through harsh cruelty and dangerous situations to receive what they deserved and what African Americans along with everyone else were entitled to. Martin Luther King Jr. uses many meaningful and interesting quotes in his letter from the Birmingham Jail. In his letter, he discusses injustice and the challenges African Americans were facing during the Birmingham Campaign. For an example, King Jr. demonstrates the hard work African Americans face when he says “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” He uses logical appeals when he uses the term oppressor and oppressed.

Read More
830 Words | 4 Pages

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. is about the unfair, brutal, and racist treatment the black community has been receiving from white people. This letter was written when he was arrested after peacefully protesting about segregation and how the black people didn’t agree with the law. In the letter, Martin Luther King jr.’s feelings are being expressed toward the unfair events and it is an example of a well-written argument. In the letter are three claims pointed from King, it states he has a valid reason for being in Birmingham, the black community has no alternative ,but to demonstrate and the need for justice is urgent.

Read More
1546 Words | 7 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims.

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
1522 Words | 7 Pages

In his letter he is mainly reaching out to the entire country to try and get them to put a stop to racial injustice. The way that he addressed and refuted the clergymen's letter is one of the things that made this letter most effective. Another thing that made this letter so effective, is the way that he used the appeal to emotion, or pathos, to pull the readers in and make them think about if it were them that were being discriminated against. Martin Luther King Jr. is very successful in explaining how injustice anywhere is a threat to justice

Read More
273 Words | 2 Pages

The Story from Behind Bars In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King, persuades the white moderate to support nonviolent direct action against racism and segregation. King writes this letter to respond to the eight Clergy men who put him in jail. He does not believe he deserved to be arrested but does not blame the Birmingham police.

Read More
338 Words | 2 Pages

Dr. King’s potent words helped to adjust the way people viewed how black people felt when they were mistreated by whites. In “Letter from Birmingham jail” Dr. Martin Luther King quotes, “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,” Furthermore, this topic King also

Read More
907 Words | 4 Pages

Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. Persuasion within writing is an important tool to be utilized in order to garner support for one’s position. During the 1960s, equality between different races was a very controversial issue which required a certain finesse when being discussed. Martin Luther King demonstrated precisely this sort of finesse when writing about the racial injustices faced by black Americans, as well as when refuting the criticisms he faced from white clergymen.

Read More
1119 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
709 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
730 Words | 3 Pages

“...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” (MLK, 276). King uses this strong sense of appeal to emotion to engross his readers and let them know how hard it is for them.

Read More
1111 Words | 5 Pages

This reference in particular evokes the strongest emotional response from black people because many African Americans revered Lincoln for his decision to sign the revolutionary Emancipation Proclamation, and how the document symbolized a free future for slaves--the ancestors of the blacks in the crowd. But the next few lines following this allusion also persuades those ignorant of how little things have changed by highlighting the “manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” that blacks still suffer from despite the hundred year gap. Here, he uses the connotations of “manacles” and “chains” to evoke a negative emotional response from the audience, especially from those unaware of the need to change, causing their opinion to match the speaker’s: against segregation. Additionally, King weaves biblical allusions into his speech to appeal to the Christians within the crowd. He uses the “dark and desolate valley of segregation” to illustrate the injustice African Americans have endured for centuries and juxtapositions it with the “sunlit path of racial justice” to exemplify a future where true freedom exists for

Read More

More about How Does Dr King Use Figurative Language In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Related Topics

Open Document