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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In the early 1960s the Negro community in Birmingham Alabama experienced an immense amount of racial injustice through the acts of segregation. A religious group in the community, more commonly known as the Eight White Clergymen, published "A Call For Unity" in the local paper. In this letter, the Clergymen argued against the public demonstrations taking place in Birmingham and further provided the community with alternative options. In direct response to the Clergymen Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the "Letter from Birmingham Jail." In this letter, King's intentions are to answer the Clergymen's' "criticisms" in "patient" and "reasonable" terms. To convey his points, King rationally addresses the Clergymen's concerns with "outsiders" involving …show more content…

King also claims to initiate change individuals must break "unjust" laws. In support of his argument, King provides a sufficient amount of reasonable and credible evidence for his audience. First, King addresses the Clergymen's concerns against "outsiders" with cogent and adequate support. He explains his "organizational ties" in Birmingham, and how he was "invited" there. Mentioning these organizations he is affiliated with provides significant importance, because it indirectly suggests he shouldn't be considered an "outsider" in Birmingham due to these ties. Additionally, this helps build his credibility among his audience, because it clarifies that he isn't oblivious to the local issues. Another way King builds his credibility is through a metaphor in which he compares himself to the Apostle Paul. King affirms "… just as the Apostle Paul left his village...and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ... I [am] compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own hometown." By providing this comparison King proves to …show more content…

He laments the Clergymen's ideas "[deal] merely with effects and [don't] grapple with underlying causes." The "underlying causes" is a reference to the segregation taking place in the community of Birmingham, and suggests the demonstrations are only an effect of the racial inequality. The truth in King's belief strengthens his argument, because it offers a new perspective for his audience. Yet, he still expresses a sense of agreement with the Clergymen's claim that the demonstrations are "unfortunate." Nevertheless, the Negro community resulted to the demonstrations, because they were left with "no alternative." He supports this concept of having "no alternative" by listing the various attempts they've made before they ultimately resorted to the public demonstrations; which, have all ended in a failed effort. This list provides an efficient amount of evidence that proves the Negro community previously attempted the Clergymen's suggestions of "local negotiation" and legal recourse but failed. In addition to this, King reveals their plan in detail and addresses why resorting to the demonstrations is necessary, rather than "unwise." By indirectly addressing the issues the Clergymen stated, King strengthens his argument and leaves no room for the Clergymen to further enforce their ideas. However, in a

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He reveals his hope that the church will make changes to its current attitude, while at the same time expressing his disappointment. Furthermore, King prefaces this section with a statement that he is a man “who loves the church,” (34) and “was nurtured in its bosom” (34) in order to establish his credibility and appeal to ethos. He suggests that he knows the church

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In Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King writes to the clergymen to defend his nonviolent actions. He goes on to show that his actions are justified and that it's time to move forward from all the injustices toward African-American people just because of the colors of their skin. Dr.King defends his peaceful protests and stated that they can no longer wait, and that is not right that clergymen think they should wait, when they have not been in the position and have felt the discrimination. Dr. King uses emotional, ethical and, logical appeal to convince the clergymen that his actions are wise and justified. Dr. King uses emotional appeal, to try to persuade the clergymen that he is not an extremist as it is being said he is.

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He does this throughout the letter, but one strong example is when King addresses the issue of the Civil Rights movement being made of “extremists.” King uses the criticism to his advantage when he lists many Christian and American idols, like Jesus Christ, Apostle Paul, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson- and redefines them as extremists. This is incredibly effective, as it is very difficult for a clergyman to say no to, “Was not Jesus an extremist for love?”(7). This use of famous figures powerfully supports his purpose of moving his audience to action, as it distances the movement from stereotypically disdained extremism and realigns it with the widely respected values the audience agrees

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In paragraphs 27 through 31, King uses many different strategies that help him reflect his true image. He starts

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The eight clergyman criticise the motives of the African-American civil rights movement, in their piece A Call for Unity that had been published in a newspaper. The eight clergyman judge King’s “nonviolent direct-action program”(King, 1963, p.738) as an outsider agitating the local community. King’s nonviolent program sought to create tension in order to bring light to the injustice that the African-American community was facing. According to King freedom is never given, it must be demanded by those oppressed; justice delayed is justice denied(King, 1963, p.741). Birmingham was a segregated city known for “unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches… than in any other city in the nation”(King, 1963, p.739).

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JoAnna Guzman AP English Period 4 Mrs. Solis 5 February 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. letter “ Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a response to eight Alabama clergymen of 1963. The clergymen had accused King of being an “outsider” and interfering with the racial issues of the community of Birmingham. When writing in response to the eight clergymen from Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical device of historical and biblical allusions.

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this creates an emotion of distress, making the reader want to side with him out of sympathy. King shows his logic by listing actions that are acceptable “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.” (4). He provides a logical analysis of any social activist campaign to show that he knows what is right and wrong. King revisits the wrong-doings in Birmingham when he says that “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (6).

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With the help of these four steps, he justifies the need for the demonstration. King illustrates the city of Birmingham as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States,” (King 2). Here King is able to show that injustices are present in Birmingham, which further justifies his reason for a peaceful demonstration. King proceeds to speak about his method of protesting. He states that negotiation was not met, and that “[their] hopes had been blasted,” that like “victims of a broken promise,” their wishes had been disregarded, (King 2).

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King goes on to explain that he's not an outsider, as they claimed. The protesters are based in Atlanta, and they've been called to Birmingham by a local affiliate. The clergymen have made an error in criticizing the protestors without equally exploring the racist causes of the injustice that is being protested in their state of Birmingham. King then explains in

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First, King appeals to his audience by using ethos which is an appeal to ethics by convincing everyone that they are worthy of being heard. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. writes, “I have the honor of

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When responding to the eight white clergymen, he states, “Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas,” giving the reader the notion that a plethora of criticism must come across his desk. But, he has chosen to write a response and explain himself simply because King feels they are “men of genuine good will” and their criticism is “sincerely set forth.” After the introduction of his letter, he feels he must next explain his location at the time: Birmingham Jail. “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here,” says King. This quote lets the reader know there is a reason behind King’s arrest, a very good reason, too.

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Looking at this letter from King’s time period, one may seem to not understand where King was coming from because the issue was still fresh, but today his letter has lots of

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Although that was enough reason to be in Birmingham King goes on further to say that he is in Birmingham because injustice is here. King says he couldn’t ignore the fact there was injustice in Birmingham regardless if he was an outsider or not. King goes on to say that “injustice anywhere is a danger to justice everywhere” this builds on the theory that “whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Defending his belief on just and unjust laws, King uses a quote of St. Augustine the quote says, “A unjust law is no law at all.” King uses this to answer the criticism on how can you advocate people to obey one law but breaking others.

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King shows Ethos in his letter by writing back to the clergy men who had objections against King’s protest in Birmingham. They basically called him an outsider but by establishing his credibility, King shows that he is in fact an

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In the first quote,”I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every Southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.” He uses words “serving” and “ president.” The word “serving” is important because it shows how he is humble and it makes a connection to the clergymen. Clergymen serve in the Christian church and Dr. King is explaining to them that he too serves the church just in a different way. This is also a way for Dr. King to call them out for not helping their black brothers in Christ.

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