Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “true peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” King was an American clergyman, activist, and leader of the Civil Rights Movement. The topic of peace and justice from this quote can be found in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. This letter is a response written by King to respond to the criticisms of his colleagues (eight white clergymen), who called him “unwise and untimely,” while he was in Birmingham City Jail. The letter is a passionate defense of the nonviolent resistance movement and an eloquent call for justice and equality for African Americans. Written during King's imprisonment in Birmingham, Alabama, the letter remains a powerful testament

Ethos is a rhetorical appeal in which the writer establishes the writer’s authority, credibility, and believability as he writes. As a result, this persuades the reader that the writer can be trusted and believed due to his noble character or ethical ways in which he is presenting his ideas. An example of the ethos in King’s letter can be identified where he states, “I have the honor of serving as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia” (King 581). This is an example of ethos because by stating his standing as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he establishes his own authority, credibility, and believability in this letter. Another instance of ethos can be analyzed where King claims, “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my home town” (King

Consequently, the author persuades the reader intellectually by appealing to their mind. This can be shown when King expresses, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King 582). Such an idea can be further reinforced when King implies, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (King 582). In other words, King says that the injustice in Birmingham is a threat to justice everywhere else. As a result, this statement persuades the clergymen by using their logic and rationality in order to convince them of this ideology that injustice is in Birmingham. Finally, in order to convince the clergymen that his actions were justifiable, King used pathos in his letter. Pathos is a rhetorical appeal which uses emotion and affect. Accordingly, the author is able to persuade the reader emotionally by appealing to their heart and emotions. The first example of pathos in this letter can be displayed where King suggests, “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here” (King 581). As stated, King says that there is injustice in Birmingham and how he is there to fight against that