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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a master of rhetoric, and his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a prime example of his persuasive abilities. In this letter, he used three rhetorical appeals – ethos, pathos, and logos – to persuade the clergyman that injustice was present in Birmingham and that his actions were appropriate.

Firstly, MLK Jr. used ethos, referring to his credibility and character, to convince the clergyman. He established his authority on the subject by stating that he had been invited by the Birmingham affiliate of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which he was the president. He also demonstrated his knowledge of the situation, citing specific instances of injustice and discrimination in Birmingham. By establishing
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Civil rights activist, Martin Luther king Jr., in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, responds to the clergymen who criticized his work and ideas. King’s purpose is to achieve an understanding for the desire of freedom. He expresses a confident tone in order to appeal to similar feelings the clergymen may have when he talks about freedom to help bond brotherhood. Throughout the beginning of the text, King explains why he is in Birmingham and because now is the time to take action, therefore he uses formal language to create a familiar or colloquial diction.

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s primary purpose in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is to justify his presence and involvement in the peaceful protests taking place in Birmingham as well as to condemn the world of unjust segregation and racism. By employing logos continuously in his writing, King develops and contributes to his position in support of peaceful protests and direct action programs that are meant to bring to African Americans the “unalienable rights” that they are being denied. He writes the letter in 1936 from his prison cell in Birmingham jail, replying to a public letter written by several clergymen. His well-thought written logic appeals to the intended audience but also indirectly addresses the divided nation.

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In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr., he explains to the eight clergy men, whom had previously criticized him, and to the rest of America about why he is in Birmingham. King wrote this letter to persuade and answer the criticism of why his present activities were NOT “unwise and untimely.” While writing this, King uses the three Aristotelian Appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos to fully explain his points. Throughout the second paragraph, Martin Luther King began to build his credibility.

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Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, he writes about his wrongful imprisonment. He tries to convince the eight white clergymen who said his actions were “unwise and untimely” that his actions were the opposite. King uses ethos and pathos to persuade the 8 white clergymen that the time is right for equality. In the letter, King uses his ethos to portray himself as a credible person to trust.

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“Martin Luther King Jr’s Use of Authorities in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” In Martin Luther King Jr’s argumentative letter, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King argues his position on his nonviolent protests, segregation, and his disappointments with the church and Birmingham’s city officials. This letter was written to clergymen that called King’s peaceful protesting “unwise and untimely” (para.1). King explains his positions by providing examples that strengthen his argument. Overall King makes it clear that little has been accomplished in the civil rights movement to end segregation and the hatred Caucasians have towards African Americans.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a key leader in the civil rights movement, and is well known for his Alabama bus boycott as well as many other nonviolent forms of demonstration against segregation. He wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” from his jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama after being arrested for peaceful protesting, in 1963. This letter is a response to “Statement by Alabama Clergymen,” in which various members of the clergy criticized King’s efforts to take a stand against discrimination. Throughout paragraphs 13 and 14, King uses metaphors, antitheses, as well as a somber tone in order to appeal to pathos, to argue for the priority needed to change segregation laws.

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Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to communicate the unfair treatment being directed at African Americans. This letter was written because of his arrest for breaking the Alabama injunction against

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Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates"(pg. 1). The point of this presentation is to establish your credibility as a member and citizen of the United States of America. He then goes on to say, "I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here"(pg. 1). He is saying that he has real knowledge and foundations in the matter of injustice, not because the recipient of the white privilege, because he is well informed and aware of the subject.

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uses pathos to pass his message. He evokes emotions among his audience when he discusses the imprisonment of individuals and the treatment they get is an infringement of their basic freedoms. In the letter, he highlights, “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brother at whim;… when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society” (King Jr. 2). King Jr. tries to convince readers to figure out the extent of this human rights concern. Birmingham's common freedoms circumstance was hopeless, as per King and his detainment by the city's specialists demonstrated it.

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The Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. is written in response to a letter written by clergymen that were dealing with racial problems in Alabama. The clergymen stated that King's approach to segregation incites extreme measures of hatred and violence. King’s letter explained to the clergymen that the steps to desegregate the South were the most effective, and beneficial ways to come about the situation. In the Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices to effectively appeal to his audience. Martin Luther King Jr uses allusions, imagery, and metaphors to effectively appeal to the clergymen’s ethos, pathos, and logos.

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While in solitary confinement for nearly 8 days, reverend and social justice activist, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to the criticism he received for his non-violent protests. Several clergy who negatively critiqued King’s approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. Within the article, the clergymen provide nine different critiques that asserted how King’s protest are invalid, uneffective, and simply unintelligent in the fight for obtaining justice and equity for individuals of color. His letter has become one of the most profound pieces of literature of the 20th century, as King uses vivid examples and eloquent rhetorical devices to counter all nine arguments.

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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.

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In this quote, Martin Luther stated that his critics disagreed with his decision to hold demonstrations in Birmingham but managed to weaken these claims by exposing the hypocrisy within them. He does this numerous times within the letter, using a persuasive structure to dismantle the opposition’s arguments. Throughout the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King also used metaphors and comparisons to bring attention to

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He was their voice. Throughout the “letter” Dr. King demonstrated pathos by engaging his readers of the struggle of being an African American descent. Dr. King starts off by letting his readers know that he was confined during the time of the letter was written and he was addressing the eight clergymen who called his action of a peaceful protest “untimely and unwise”. (King Jr., p. 645) However, he continues to explain his reason for being in Birmingham by saying that injustice was present and he could not just sit in another state and watch it;” Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

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In “A Letter From A Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. In the letter, Dr. King uses ethos, diction, and allusions when defending nonviolent protest which makes his argument really strong. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. He uses ethos to build up credibility.

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