Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

Abuse. Sexual assault. Humiliation. Oppression. There are only a few ways Negroes were mistreated during the mid-1900s. During the Civil Rights Movement, colored people dealt with racial adversity no matter where they wanted, how they acted, or what they did. Still, they were informed that they would eventually receive equality if they were to wait; however, there were no changes to their struggles. Therefore, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, a clergyman known as a key member of the Civil Rights Movement, peacefully protested for desegregation. King was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for his protest, and while in jail, he responded to eight white clergymen who deemed his actions “unwise and untimely”. In the crowded margins of a newspaper,

Dr. King supports his argument by creating a feeling of discomfort so that his audience is forced to make change through word choice, engaging his audience to listen thoroughly through tone, and emphasizing the struggles colored people face daily through pathos. Throughout Dr. King’s letter, King utilizes charged language to cause a feeling of discomfort in his audience, forcing them to make a change in society. As King expressed, everybody who was comfortable with their lives and the way they were treated never bothered to step up for others experiencing prejudice. Therefore, King understood that he was needed to create the nonviolent tension required for growth through his charged language. He clearly creates this unsettling feeling through tensions, “When your first name becomes ‘nigger’, your middle name becomes ‘boy’ (however old you are)” (King 14). King expresses the little respect people of color receive through the use of racial slurs, which forces his audience to feel extremely guilty. Additionally, the use of these specific words connects his audience to the sense of daily inferiority bestowed upon black

King continues to utilize a respectful tone which, over time, creates a sense of inclusiveness among the clergymen. From the very beginning, King clearly expresses his respect, “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth.” (King 1). The fourth sentence of King’s address already states how he views the clergymen as good people who deserve his respect. Inside his letter, King keeps this same tone and eventually hopes when ending his letter, “That circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and Christian Brother” (King 49). King wishes to be able to meet the “fellow” clergymen, which allows them to leave feeling respected after reading his letter. Even after King called out the clergymen multiple times, his persistent, respectful tone allowed them to always feel welcomed and as if they were never being attacked. In addition, King never views himself as if he is better than the priests, so they feel even more valued and listen to King’s statements