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How Does King Use Direct Action In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail", he presents a notable and exceptional argument. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arguably the most influential activist in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He had dedicated his life to bringing liberty to people of color and making the United States a truly 'free' nation. The purpose of this letter was to effectively respond to the eight clergymen attempting to suppress his activism. The issues in which he responds to are not only the criticism of the clergymen but also to the problem of racism itself. Dr. King was placed in Birmingham Jail because he held a protest against racial inequalities, which at the time was unlawful. The intended reader of this letter is the religious leaders …show more content…

Dr. King states, "So we had no alternative except that of preparing for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and national community." In this specific instance, he uses 'direct action' to argue that it was the only way to get his point across. Pathos is used in this instance by King stating that they had no other alternative but to present their bodies as to display their case. Refutation appears in this use as he is using 'direct action' to illustrate why there are no other options for protest. This instance is part of a minor claim because it shows part of the reason why they cannot suppress their protesting. The people that could be affected by the argument using 'direct action' are those opposing the protests. This advances the argument by giving reason to the direct action and creating some empathy for the …show more content…

Dr. King states, "So, the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation." In this he is arguing that 'direct action' is the only thing that will start the negotiation of civil rights. It is part of a minor claim as it is proving once again that 'direct action' is the only choice for his community to be heard or listened to. Similarly, it uses pathos to make the reader emotional that they must "create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation." Lastly, it shows diction as King uses 'direct action' to convey the injustice of the situation and the overall chaos. Those who would be impacted by this argument are those of the black community in America. This advances King's argument by exposing the ridiculousness of having to use 'direct action' to prompt negotiation and by rationalizing his and his community's participation in the 'direct

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By starting the paragraph in this way, King provides a framework for his arguments later in the paragraph, and introduces a new argument against the criticism that King’s direct action campaign is not “well timed”. Further in the paragraph, King mentions that the word “wait” “rings in the ear of every negro with piercing familiarity.” King personifies this word to place an emphasis on the

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He does this by using lines such as “When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim”. By using this kind of incendiary language and sentence structure he lets the audience envision how horrible it would be to see this happening to you or your own friends. Through the emotions he provokes, King is able to pursue the reader to hear what he has to say about these outrage of acts. King asserts negotiation is the best way to resolve problems, but when it was not an option on the table, he obliges to confront injustices using nonviolent direct action. He emphasized “the purpose of the direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.

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strengthens his credibility and that of the non-violent direct action protesters. He does this by describing the qualities of the people involved in the non-violent movements, namely the ability not to retaliate against violence. Second, the ethos of the movement is shown through justifying their need to act. “Mindful of the difficulties involved, we decided to undertake a process of self-purification. We began a series of workshops on non-violence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: “Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?”

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