In MLK’s letter from the Birmingham jail, he used pathos and ethos effectively to appeal to people’s hearts and minds. He was arrested for opposing a law that he found morally unjust which also allows for more sympathy and attention. Writing to the clergymen who thought he was causing untimely disruption in the community, he tried to reason with them using both emotional and ethical arguments. Whether or not they changed their minds because of his letter is uncertain, but MLK’s letter explained in detail his motives for pursuing societal reform. His proper use of both pathos and ethos made MLK’s argument more substantial and effective.
Martin Luther King was a very powerful speech writer, as well as great at getting the point across through paper. In two of his most famous works of art, “I Have a Dream” and “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” he uses many different types of writing tools. Some of these writing tools include, analogies, rhetorical questions, and repetition. Some tools are only used in one or the other because it either wouldn’t make sense, or it would bring down the strength of the words within the work. The use of analogies is very common in his work.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in 1954. He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. He died in 1968. Dr. King wrote 2 famous works, “Dream” and “Birmingham” and each had a different audience and purpose. Both works utilizes the persuasive techniques of pathos in “Dream” and logos in “Birmingham.”
Finally, he appeals to logos in the first and last statements stating the fact that
In the same manner, both writers use several words or statements to support their perspectives and address the audience with the appeal of elicit feelings. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King writes, “...when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year old son asking in agonizing pathos, “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?” This use of this proposed situation is presented towards the audience so they are able to have an insight of the painful experiences King has experienced. Furthermore, the writer from “The truly awe-inspiring accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr” writes “He was also an excellent orator and delivered remarkable speeches during his career span. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” , is a line from one of his most recognizable speeches, “I have a Dream.”
In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. is responding to criticism of the peaceful protests and sit-in’s that were taking place in Birmingham, which led to his being arrested and the reason that he was in jail. He first responds to the accusation of being an “outsider” by setting the stage for his being in Birmingham due to being invited because of his ties to the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights organization and due to the fact that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Next, Martin Luther King expands on his moral beliefs that there is “injustice” in the way that Birmingham is “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States”.
King’s presentation of Logos is amazing, he shows his fellow clergymen two opposite sides to the community, one that is pure satisfaction and the other that is full of hate. King is telling his audience that he could have stayed neutral in the situation and allowed the Black Nationalist groups to take charge, but he didn’t. Logos isn’t just present in King’s letter, it is expected since King is writing a letter justifying his
King 271). When he wrote back to the clergymen he used quotes from their letter as facts to help support what he was trying to point out to them. Not only did he use logos to help persuade his audience but, he also used pathos in both his letter and speech.
In the dirt of the civil rights movements, people had one person they could always look to. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist, wrote both “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Both of these texts written by doctor king will forever be remembered. They do however have important roles. “I Have a Dream” is a prime example of pathos as where “Letter from Birmingham Jail” shows logos.
Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest speakers for black civil rights movement, had written many great works in his time. Two of his pieces stand out as his greatest works. Letter from Birmingham Jail; a pieces written from a jail cell in birmingham where he was arrested for peacefully protesting, the letter was attended to the white clergymen who didn 't agree with his views and I Have a Dream Speech; was a speech king gave in front of the washington memorial. Both works convey similarities and differences in their tone, structure, appeal and figurative language. There are many similarities between “I Have a Dream” and the letter from birmingham jail.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960’s and he’s very deserving of that title as seen in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” letter. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience.
Both of the pieces writing had logos which is a logical appeal and pathos which is emotional appeal. In this essay I will compare the two pieces of writing that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote and how he used logos and pathos in both pieces. When Martin Luther King Jr. did his I Have a Dream Speech he used two persuasive appeals, one was logical appeal and the other was an emotional appeal.
By using the rhetorical features, MLK’s speech reached a different level of effectiveness for his audience. Using credibility, authority, trustworthiness and similarity to build a relationship by using evidence, MLK achieved ethos. Then by stating his values and creating imagery achieved but hos vocabulary he effective used pathos. Finally, by his clarity, goals, evidence and consistency, MLK appropriately reached his audience logical and effectively using logos. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his great speeches, accomplishments and his leadership skills, but also for the sincerity of his heart for the freedom and unity of all people.
In 1963, Martin Luther King J.R. wrote a letter in the margins of a newspaper from within the bars of his jail cell in Birmingham. This letter, known as “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, was written as a response to criticism received from eight clergymen regarding the protest that King was arrested for. In that same year, King gave a powerful speech to a large crowd gathered in Washington D.C., at the Lincoln Memorial. This speech, easily recognized as the “I Have a Dream” speech, addressed the cruelty of segregation and unfair ways of which most people were treated, and influenced hope within his audience. In these two writings, examples of both logos and pathos can be found, and although the writings are comparable, they are not completely the same.
He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In both of these, he used pathos and logos to appeal to the audience and fit the occasion, so that he can make the people do something about segregation and defend his ideas in an effective way. If he would not have spoken up and had influenced people to follow him, the world could have ended up still having segregation today. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the biggest visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used pathos and logos in his speech to draw in people so he can make them act and he used pathos and ethos in his letter to defend his ideas using his knowledge of the audience and the occasion.
