Kings Allusion In Letter From Birmingham Jail

King is one of the most significant religious and civil rights leaders in United States History. Ask anyone who knows anything about famous figures in the 1960s or civil rights and they will almost always be able to name Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..Kings through use of his fiery and impassioned voice caused a change of heart in a nation that was overripe with discrimination and racism. Naturally, this change did not come overnight, and began with light gradual steps. Among the first of these steps, was Dr. King’s writings in “Letters From a Birmingham Jail.” In his letter Dr. King, wrote to nine ministers opposing his actions within Birmingham. Using the calm, situated voice that King is known for, he single-handedly inspired entire regions

King’s use of allusion helped strengthen his argument by giving drawing parallels between his actions and the bible, and using extremes and events to display morality of situations.
To talk about King’s use of religious allusions, it has to be stated that King was himself a clergyman and minister, meaning that he deeply believed in what he says relating to the Christian bible. King uses his religious allusions to bring his actions into perspective using examples in the Bible. The first religious allusion found in the letter is the second opening paragraph, where King is explaining why he came to Birmingham. King says “...just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and

For example, when King alludes to the legality of Hitler and the Hungarian freedom fighters“We should never forgot that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal’. “ (King,6) he is supporting his argument by using a historical example of a place where laws definitely did nothing to follow what was right. Hitler has committed some of the worst atrocities of the 20th century, and the laws of Germany did nothing to stop those atrocities, more so it actually helped him. By using Hitler to contrast legality and morality, King readily emphasizes the fact that they cannot always be both legal and moral; justifying the actions taken in his pursuit for change. Another important event King alludes to is a religious one, an act of resistance against an unjust law in the bible. King, comparing his measures to a man of the Bible, says “Of course, there in nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the grounds that a higher moral law was at stake” (King, 5) The purpose