How Is Allusion Used In Letter From Birmingham Jail

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he points out and explains all the injustice being done to the black community. King addresses the letter to the 6 white clergymen who wrote a newsletter not understanding all the hardships and discrimination. He has to be aware that these people are close-minded, so making them see this big issue from a different perspective is going to be difficult. Furthermore, Martin Luther King Jr. uses allusion and anaphora to demonstrate the injustice and help people empathize with him and his cause. Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes allusion throughout his letter to help the clergymen understand by comparing his movement to religion. King is aware that these men are well adapted to the teachings

also utilizes anaphora to emphasize the importance of the issue and acknowledge it. Many people have told King and his supporters that it is not the right time and they need to wait. In response, he explains just how badly colored people are treated and why they can’t “wait”. He knows these white clergymen can never fully understand the hardship created by segregation and discrimination. To illustrate it for them he lists off the injustices, from the emotional pain of explaining racism to his kids, to examples of lynching and extreme police brutality. Each example starts with “when you” because he knows that they will never have to deal with the same problems. Until they do have to deal with these problems they can not know the true urgency of this problem so they have no right telling him to “wait”. Later in the letter, King responds to the clergymen saying his approach as being too extreme. He states, “I gradually gained a bit of satisfaction from being considered an extremist. Was not Jesus an extremist of love?… Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ?... Was not Martin Luther an extremist?... Was not John Bunyan an extremist?”(7). King is comparing what he is doing to these known people whom others look up to. He again compares himself to religious figures because it is something they know well. He then goes on to just talk about historical figures which shows that having a strong opinion about something does not mean it is bad. He is an extremist when it comes to injustice and wholeheartedly believes in the cause and he is not ashamed of