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Letter From Birmingham Jail Pathos

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Both Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King both spend time in prison for not abiding by the law and practicing civil disobedience, although they are for very different causes. Henry David Thoreau wrote “Resistance to Civil Government” in 1849, he went to jail for not paying a tax that supported the Mexican-American War to expand American territories. He refused to pay this tax because he did not agree to expand American territories because the expansion would lead to more slavery, which he opposed. While Martin Luther King was arrested in 1863 for protesting the treatment of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. In jail, Dr. King experienced harsh conditions and more segregation than he did in Birmingham as a free man, so he wrote Letter From Birmingham Jail.” Dr. King and Thoreau had similar tactics …show more content…

Both Thoreau and King used the same strategies ethos (ethical), logos (logical), and pathos (emotional), but they used it in a very different way. King used pathos referring to him being arrested for not having a proper permit to protest, even though that’s guaranteed in his 1st amendment right, and he talked about his injustices in jail. While in contrast Thoreau explained that the government doesn’t do anything to keep the country free, such as in 1849 education wasn’t a guaranteed right, and slavery in the south was very popular, he does this by saying “It does not” a lot, referring to the government. For logos, Thoreau explained why he didn’t pay the tax because he believed the government gets nothing done on their own, and that the majority of Americans opposed the war, so why

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177 Words | 1 Pages

In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King’s proposes plenty of arguments and claims using Pathos, which is practiced by using emotions or values of a certain group. Dr. Kings letter is written as a response to those who are doubting him and naming his cause “unwise and Untimely”. Immediately in the first sentence Martin Luther King says “While confined here in the Birmingham city jail”, using an emotional appeal for sympathy to shame them for naming his work “unwise and Untimely”, in terms where he is meaning to say “how dare you say that”. A stronger example of the pathological way of engaging King’s reader is paragraphs twelve and thirteen as he explains the feeling of being oppressed and being segregated due to their skin

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271 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. effectively implements ethos,pathos, and logos in his “Letter to from a Birmingham Jail”. In terms of pathos, Martin Luther King Jr. feels disappointed and he wants to call people to action to help solve these injustices in a nonviolent way. He is outspoken about his nonviolence when he explains his four step process: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action”. For ethos Martin Luther King Jr. is a credible source because he was a leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He also addresses his own credibility in the letter “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating

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477 Words | 2 Pages

Dr martin Luther king jr is an influential figure in civil rights. While in jail for peacefully protesting he received a letter telling him that protests are "unwise and untimely. " In response to this, he wrote a letter from jail. He uses ethos pathos and allusion to establish himself as a credible leader.

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542 Words | 3 Pages

In 1849, Henry David Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government was published. In this essay, Thoreau discussed the importance of using civil disobedience in hopes of creating a more civilized government. Around 100 years later, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to some clergymen about why blacks should have the same civil rights just like everyone else called, Letter from Birmingham Jail. King was greatly influenced by Thoreau and many of King’s ideas were acquired from principles used in Thoreau’s essay. Compare and contrast how these two men were similar and different when it came to their beliefs of civil disobedience.

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493 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther King's letter from Birmingham Jail and Henry Davis Thoreau's Civil Disobedience share similar views on the moral and political corruptness of the nation. However, a plethora of circumstances differentiate the two activist in their styles and purposes. Kings indigent tone and his attention grabbing use of pathos created a more relatable atmosphere between himself and his audience. While Thoreau's text remains more detached from the situation; this caused a failure to engage his audience with as much success as Martin Luther King . While both texts clearly share views relation toward the need for just laws paired with equal rights to all who live in America, Dr. King demonstrates greater accomplishment in persuading his audience than Thoreau.

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163 Words | 1 Pages

In the letter, Dr.King defends peaceful protests using ethos, diction, and pathos, which strengthens his case. He wants to win the clergymen's support in his struggle against racial injustice. He establishes credibility by utilizing ethos. ¨I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference¨(pg 272), he says, demonstrating his professionalism and dependability . In the Letter an example of diction is when he repeats the words ¨just¨ and ¨unjust.

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268 Words | 2 Pages

In my opinion Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. have very similar purposes in their writings. Both author 's are writing to protest unfair laws. But they also have very different audiences. In Civil Disobediance, Thoreau writes how those who break unjust laws should suffer the consequences as a protest to the laws.

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766 Words | 4 Pages

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was a Civil Rights supporter and a large reason that African-Americans are seen as people today. He did some incredible things in his life, unfortunately, he never really got to see his dream unfold. For as when he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968; however, he did some great things one involved a letter and he used a few devices to get his points to flow into the reader. In Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's persuasive plea, "Letters to a Birmingham Jail" he uses Ethos and Pathos to encourage his audience to do what is morally right which in this instance would be to desegregate. Luther uses facts throughout his letter to further develop how people see him as a credible person with high intellect.

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414 Words | 2 Pages

Both Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King believed that to get rid of the unjust laws that are made by the government is by performing

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883 Words | 4 Pages

Thoreau states, “I think it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize.” ( Civil Disobedience, Thoreau) In Martin Luther King Jr’s letter he writes, “Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture.” (Letter from Birmingham Jail, Joliffe and Hephzibah) Both authors are after the goal to give mankind the cause to stop discrimination and want men to stand up for what is right willingly.

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Thus that a person ought to do as he does and not agree to pay taxes to the state that is in support of such evil customs or practices. While both King and Thoreau triumph in their establishment of a firm perception of what they strongly have faith in, they both are successful in their efforts to persuade through different means. Regarding the manner in which King draws emotional appeal through passionate speech, we also see with Thoreau when he makes apparent that he is devoted in what he stands for. Thus attracting more appeal through being more troubled and concerned instead of being innocently optimistic and hopeful. Nevertheless, similarities weigh against differences as both King and Thoreau give reliability to the moral

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678 Words | 3 Pages

People could portray anything in different ways. Thoreau and King both have differences in portraying civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” he begins writing about how the government rarely shows how powerful it is and instead acquires power from the people. King used civil disobedience as a means of effectuating government change and used his courage to protest against discrimination through the act of civil disobedience.

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895 Words | 4 Pages

In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s essay, “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” and Henry David Thoreau essay “Civil Disobedience,” both share their opinions on social injustice and civil disobedience. They both believe that people can protest unfair and unjust laws imposed on them in a civil way. In addition, King and Thoreau are challenging the government with their essays, which they wrote after they got sent to jail. For protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama, King spent eleven days in jail; Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay his poll tax. Both King and Thoreau’s essays present similar plans for a resolution.

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907 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau both use the same kinds of rhetorical strategies in their writing to achieve similar purposes, although they target completely opposite audiences. In both Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” and King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, logical appeals are scattered throughout to strengthen their arguments. Thoreau says in his essay, “It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience.” Thoreau deduces that if corporations are made up of men, and men have consciences, then corporations are therefore conscientious.

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658 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau had completely different views and perspectives than Gandhi. Thoreau believed in breaking the law if it is unjust or abusive. In the essay Civil Disobedience it says “I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest”.

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