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Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis Essay

2000 Words8 Pages

On the date of April 16th, 1963, in Birmingham Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King is currently sitting in jail for participating in a nonviolent protest against Jim Crow Laws and racial violence taking place in Alabama. During his time in jail, Dr. King came across a statement from clergymen calling his recent activities "unwise and untimely". Dr. King proceeds to go out of his way to write them a letter explaining his actions and why what they had said is incorrect. While writing his letter, King uses various rhetorical devices and appeals to argue that his activities are not "unwise and untimely". To argue that his actions are not "unwise and untimely", Dr. King begins to establish his credibility. In his letter, Dr. King makes a strong claim …show more content…

King makes a claim of civil disobedience being a common factor in history. This claim can also be used to resist the claim of his actions being unwise and untimely because when Dr. King lists examples of people in history who advocated for what they believed in, it shows that change can take place at any time, even if it does not seem like the best decision. As Dr. King writes this, he makes sure to make use of logical reasoning to support his claim of civil disobedience being a persistent component throughout history. While reading this letter, Dr. King makes a point to reference historical figures who have all fought to keep their beliefs true to themselves. Going through this paragraph Dr. King lists multiple examples of historical figures who have all fought for civil disobedience such as "the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar" and "early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws". Upon reading these examples, it is clear that Dr. King portrays ways civil disobedience has been a constant thing throughout history. These examples emphasize Dr. King's claim of civil disobedience. Towards the end of the paragraph Dr. King also mentions how academic freedom is made real because "Socrates practiced civil disobedience." This example expresses how academic freedom …show more content…

Kings letter he decides to use the appeal of their shared beliefs in Christianity. Dr. King's goal is to appeal to their emotions and try to connect with them through shared faith. In the course of this conclusion Dr. King goes on to maintain how he views the Clergymen and how he wants to be viewed by them as well when he asserts that he wants to meet them but not as an "integrationist or a civil-rights leader" but instead perceived as "a fellow clergyman" and "a Christian brother". When Dr. King uses these words he is portraying how he wants to be seen amongst people he wants to consider equal. When taking into consideration these words, it is clear that Dr. King uses them to emphasize his wish of being given the ability to be seen as an equal to these

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if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; If you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men. ’’ I believe imagery like this makes the letter have a bigger impact on its audience because it causes people to feel something whether it’s sorrow or anger; and pathos can be a powerful rhetorical appeal. Another aspect of this letter that I think is very clever of King to include, is his use of a lot of religious qoutes and knowledge to back up his beliefs because Christianity is something him and the eight clergymen have in common.

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