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Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.

558 Words3 Pages

In Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. gives an inside look at the racism and oppression that African American’s had to face during the early 1960’s. Not only did King portray the oppression he dealt with through his writing, but, George Orwell did as well in his story Shooting an Elephant. As shown in both readings, Martin Luther King and George Orwell had both been oppressed, but in two very different ways. King discusses the oppression that had spread throughout the USA created by racist, white America, while Orwell dealt with oppression by the Burmese because he had been apart of Britain’s imperial law enforcement. The difference between King and Orwell is that King had been oppressed because something he could not change, …show more content…

He explains how African Americans know exactly how it feels to go through the pain of not having freedom given directly to them - something which is an unalienable right- but instead, waiting on someone of “higher authority” to decide when it should be given. (King 566). Martin Luther King was and still is til’ this day a very important figure of black history. He was very influential during the civil rights movement, because he consistently fought for the freedom of African Americans. In King’s words, Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. (King 571). On the other hand, Orwell gives us a different look at oppression. Orwell had been a police officer in a town in Burma. The British had been an imperial empire at the time, and had ruled Burma. The Burmese people were very Anti-European and because of this they had been oppressive towards those who had been a part of the British Empire. Europeans were not widely liked throughout Burma because they treated the Burmese poorly. Burmese had been pretty harsh towards European’s because of this, laughing at and mocking them. Orwell

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