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King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

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The letter from Birmingham jail is a strong persuasive letter, especially for its audience, clergymen. King used all kinds of methods, logos, ethos, pathos. He is very insightful about his audience. King, as a clergyman himself, understand what other clergymen’s perspective and what they believe in. To start this letter, King addresses the recipient as “dear fellow clergymen”. I think this is a smart move. Instead of distancing himself from them or arguing with them, King choose to show that he is on the same side. It’s like saying “we have the same goal and are on the same side. It’s just we took different method.” Though the letter, King used all kinds of rhetoric methods to give more well-rounded argument. Like in the second paragraph, he
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In King’s letter from Birmingham jail, he structures his piece by providing what the white majority has to say, and then afterwards he explains what he has to say. Throughout his piece King summarizes what the white majority has to say, and then he counters it. One example where he uses summary is when he summarizes the white majority’s idea that the non-violent demonstration King took part in was untimely. He starts off his summary with, “One of the basic point in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have been taken in Birmingham is untimely…” He then goes more specific and explains that the white majority is asking why they did not give the city administration more time to act, and continues to summarize the white

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Martin Luther King, Jr. attempts to persuade clergymen to follow in his civil rights movement through exhibiting his knowledge over just and unjust laws, displaying peaceful behavior, and empathetic diction. King was very knowledgeable about laws and his right as a human. King stated laws in his letter to the clergymen, which displayed his credibility. He did not only state laws, he also stated just and unjust laws. King stated, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”

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The students of Nashville College believed that King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” provided them justification for conducting sit-ins, and boycotts of public areas. King’s letter discussed that in order for negotiations to be made people must first create “tens[ion] and force people “to confront the issue”(2). This idea of tension shows that public demonstrations are the only way that leads to negotiation on Civil Rights. Therefore, King’s letter insinuated that for there to be change, people must do protests like sit-ins. Another way King’s letter gave premise for the students protesting was because he states that “freedom is never voluntarily given” however, “must be demanded by the oppressed.

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JoAnna Guzman AP English Period 4 Mrs. Solis 5 February 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. letter “ Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a response to eight Alabama clergymen of 1963. The clergymen had accused King of being an “outsider” and interfering with the racial issues of the community of Birmingham. When writing in response to the eight clergymen from Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical device of historical and biblical allusions.

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Martin Luther King uses allusion in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to add greater meaning to the cause he is defending. Dr. King includes many biblical references in his writing to compare the similarities between actions in the bible and his. For instance, Martin Luther King says “like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.” Since Martin Luther King King is writing his letter to clergymen, his religious allusions are used to appeal to them; specifically, Dr. King brings up the point that certain tension is caused by people who have been subjected to grievances and believe “...that the white man is an incurable ‘devil.’” In saying this, Martin Luther King tells the clergymen that their sanctimonious acts and racial

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King’s main idea was to respond to the clergymen who had recently - in that time – made article entailing that his movements and actions were “unwise and untimely”. He unwittingly portrayed his position in these movements and adding points in religious texts that his actions were done before. In Letter from a Birmingham Jail, King apologizes to those who see civil disobedience as an act of defiance towards the nation. He elaborates on his actions explaining that laws are meant to be broken if unjust actions are taken place. Kings responds to the remarks of those who oppose him by adding a statement of his daughter where he has to explain why she is not allow into the amusement park.

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In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.

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Response to “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he responded to statements written in a Birmingham newspaper that criticized his actions in the city. He undermined these disapprovals by explaining his belief in nonviolent direct action. King also went on to give opinions on other topics, such as, the lack of support from white moderates and white churches. He used technique and structure to develop his ideas and justify his methods.

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Letter from Birmingham City Jail Confronting your enemies is never an easy task. Confronting them in a humble way is way harder. Dr.King was put in jail in the year 1963 in the city of Birmingham, which at the time was a hard city for African Americans to live in. When he was in jail he wrote a letter to a hostile audience. In his letter he explained his believes and delivered a direct message to them.

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail was written so respectfully while still addressing many valuable points of disagreement in response to a public statement made by white religious leaders regarding a non-violent demonstration he was involved in and arrested for. I found it kind of humorous that as I was reading A Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963), I thought, this is more like a book than a letter, and then Martin Luther King, Jr. writes “never before have I written a letter this long – or should I say book,” (p.6). I believe that what MLK is arguing throughout his letter is for understanding.

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A Letter From Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved. In the Spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech that Birmingham was among one of the most segregated cities in the world.

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the founders and principal leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta Georgia into a society where blacks and whites were segregated (Martin). King knew his whole life would be controlled by the color of his skin. Like many young men, he decided to do something about it. Like many movements, often the leaders are jailed as they try to challenge a society’s rules and culture.

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Paragraph 14 stands out in Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail because it is extremely different from the previous and following paragraphs. Dr. King's writing style changes and he suddenly takes on a much more emotional approach. In the beginning, for example, Dr. King addresses the "concerns" of the clergymen very rationally. He mentions their statements and then presents a rebuttal.

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Wyatt Erovick AP English 12-6-16 Letter From a Birmingham Jail Analysis         Luther King Jr., in his letter, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, uses persuasive techniques to grab the reader’s attention and get them to agree with him.     In King’s 13 and 14th paragraph of the letter, he uses a logical appeal to persuade the audience. In the beginning of paragraph 14, King states that “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.”  

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530 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. King's, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is poignant in many ways in regard to a "big picture" viewpoint of our society. Overall, it speaks to the viewpoint that we all have a social responsibility to each other to work against injustice irrespective of where that injustice takes place. "Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses and responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro- black American organization about his and his organization's non- violent demonstrative actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. Dr. King told the local clergy in Birmingham that he understood he was an outsider and he realized that his presence in Birmingham would cause trouble. However, he also felt that he had a moral

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