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How Does Mlk Use Ethos In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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MLK was a legendary man, who did bold things in the name of justice, freedom and equality. Kind of like Americans, except MLK means the equality part. He has done many works, and his most famous is the “I Have a Dream” speech. Another famous document he wrote is his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which he wrote while jailed for nonviolent protesting of racial segregation. To argue his point, MLK uses logos, or clear reasoning with facts, and pathos, or charged language used to stir up emotion. After analyzing both “I Have a Dream” and “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, I have come to the conclusion that MLK uses pathos more effectively than logos. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, MLK discusses with the audience how he dreams fervently of equality, …show more content…

Emotion has a way of worming through shields and walls, penetrating even the most guarded heart. No matter how stubborn and unrelenting one may be, emotion is even more stubborn and unrelenting. “There are those… like a mighty stream,” (MLK, pg. 263). The way MLK phrases what he wanted to say thunders loudly, rings clearly and boldly. Delving into detail of how the Negro is specifically suffering a loss of dignity and self importance by the segregation that treats them like petty animals, being herded, speaks much more loudly than simply stating that Negroes are degraded and treated poorly. “Perhaps it is easy… unavoidable impatience,” (MLK, pg. 275-276). Emphasizing how it cuts them down to the core is harder to ignore than a mere statement. Segregation hurts more than just black men. It affects the children, too. Their perspective of an entire race is warped and twisted. They learn from a young age that the whites are to be feared and hated. They develop the mindset that being black makes them less of a human, less valued. Negro parents struggle to explain why to their child they can’t play on that playground, why they can’t talk to other children that so happen to be white. They struggle because the why isn’t logical at all-it’s simply a prejudice against Negroes. How in the world do you explain bitter, unreasonable, pointless hatred and discrimination to your six-year-old child? MLK revealing

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