Martin Luther King Junior's Letter From Birmingham Jail

Letter from Birmingham Jail – Analysis Questions

1.) Audience:

The audience the clergymen were trying to reach was Martin Luther King Junior; they were trying to explain why they feel like the segregation movements are, as the letter describes it, a bother to the people of Alabama. The Clergyman’s letter was discussing the people who feel as though they are having to “deal with racial problems in Alabama.” Martin Luther

King Junior’s speech was trying to explain to the clergymen why black people feel the need to cause a movement, and why he feels the need to lead such a big event, like ending racism.

MLK’s speech was discussing the people who feel as though they are being segregated against, and people who are participating in the movement

The clergymen’s letter is directed towards Martin Luther King Junior, but is not addressed to MLK directly. Martin Luther King Junior’s letter is directly addressed to all eight of the clergymen. I think that the clergymen not addressing their letter to MLK directly makes it seem like they were almost afraid to send it to him, maybe because they didn’t know how he would respond. The fact the Martin Luther King Junior addressed ALL of the clergymen in his letter gives the reader a sense that MLK was very confident in his response, to the men. Overall, the tones/moods of the letters seemed different because one letter addressed their audience directly, and the other did not.

4.) Tone:

Martin Luther King Junior’s tone throughout his letter changes. The letter, as a whole, has a very conflicted tone. In the beginning of his letter, MLK is very polite and patient, but that slowly transitions into an impatient and angry tone; the letter then ends on a very strong, emotional, angry tone. You can almost see MLK starting out his letter very calmly, and then can see that he becomes more and more upset and angry just from discussing the topic of