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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Rhetorical Analysis: Letter from Birmingham City Jail “I think I should give my reason for being in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the argument of outsider’s coming in (King,1963).” Dr. King was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and he was one of the most visible spokesperson. Dr. King wrote “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” for the purpose of explaining why he was in a Birmingham, Alabama, jail and also talking about segregation and how hard it was on people. Dr. King’s letter shows how hard he was fighting for freedom, and how horrendous segregation was. To begin, in Dr. King’s letter his audience was the local white clergy who criticized him. King had hoped they would support him. But, not only …show more content…

King’s perspective on segregation was that he was against it because he lived through it and he saw what it did to people and. He was a strong believer in non-violent protests. Boycotts, protests and marches were eventually effective, and much legislation was passed against racial discrimination. This letter has impacted people all around the world years later. It has encouraged people in different countries to follow the non-violent path like Dr. King. In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” he successfully communicated his message by expressing his thoughts and emotions in a soft and gentle tone. One can clearly see that Dr. King is trying his best to make the letter sound as pleasing as possible when he writes “I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms (King, 1963).” The Author came across warm and friendly throughout the letter because he wanted to avoid any problems with the white people. Dr. King’s letter was very effective rhetorically. It makes people about how different it was for colored people back then. How they had no rights and no freedom. It makes a person angry to think about how they used to be treated, “when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity (King,

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