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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Really what is the difference between “I have a dream” and His famous “Letter Birmingham Jail”?The “I Have a Dream” speech spoken and written by The MLK Jr. himself to be read in front of a quarter of a million justice hungary both Black and White in front of the Lincoln Memorial in the largest racial justice demonstration in U.S history. On the other hand the letter from Birmingham jail written to try and explain himself to a group of 8 white clergymen.Written in a small cell in the tiny margins of a newspaper. I believe the difference is whilst in the speech he was trying to rouse the emotions of a quarter million people and lift their heavy hearts in his letter he is calmly trying to explain his beliefs to a group of what he believes is intelligent capable men. Logos: Logical thought speaking by stating fact. Reason Dr. King used this to give his speeches backbone behind the athos an emotion.“Five score years ago a great American whose in symbolic shadow we stand today,signed to Emancipation Proclamation.” “I Have a Dream.”“The marvelous new militancy has engulfed the negro people.” …show more content…

pg.262 paragraph 9. What Mr. Dr. King stated in that quote was that as a result of the discrimination many of the negro population terrorist groups that had sprung up and started committing acts of violence he then goes on to speak about how the negroes must keep the peace. Now unlike his ever famous speech his letter. His letter written on a newspaper in a jail cell collected the courage of many both black and whites to stand up for equal rights.“I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”“We have waited more than 340 years for our God given rights”-mlk Jr. pg.275 paragraph 14.I picked this quote because it emphasized the suffering his people were going through how important now

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Martin Luther King uses Logos and repetition to enhance his argument for civil disobedience. On the first page of Letter from Birmingham Jail King uses the logical method for nonviolent campaigns for the format of his letter saying, “1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive. 2) Negotiation. 3) Self-purification and 4) direct action.” King bases his entire letter on these four steps. In order to show that they are the steps of any nonviolent campaign. This is very logical because it is purely fact that these are the steps.

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Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr's 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a momentous description and safety of the utilization of peaceful battle to inequality. In order to convey his messages of non-violence resistance, why segregation must end, and prove his actions are justified. He passes on these messages by making use of numerous rhetorical techniques. In this essay, it will highlight a couple of the rhetoric strategies.

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In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., he writes to defend himselfagainst the clergymen’s accusations in which he explains his motive on his civil rightsdemonstrations and strives to justify the desperate needs for nonviolent action in the CivilRights Movement. His primary audience throughout the letter was to the religious leaders as hewas responding to an open letter for criticism, whereas the secondary audiences are whitemoderates and the religious population. Dr King’s letter addresses that the white attitudestowards African Americans and the Civil Rights Movements in the 1960s were hostile as theywere unable to accept the movement, especially in the South. Throughout the letter, he usesvarious literary and rhetorical

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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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Birmingham City Jail “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(King 582). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights activist and clergyman, who was arrested in 1963. King was arguing that the citizens of a nation are interconnected and that it is wrong to accept justice in some locations, but injustice in others. King was put in jail because he and others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King uses ethos, logos and pathos to show the criticism, logic and emotions in his story.

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Dr. Kings “I Have a Dream” speech shows powerful examples of logos and pathos. His effectiveness relies heavily on his usage of these two ways to explain the pain and suffering of segregation. By him capturing his true life’s reality through pity and credible sources allows him to become successful in attempting to end the racism crisis. King states that, “when our republic was writing the Declaration of Independence, they were making a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable rights’ of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Logos is the prime example of King using this event of writing the Declaration of Independence.

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Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter in response to a published statement by eight clergymen while incarcerated in a Birmingham jail. In the statement, the clergymen defined King’s “present activities ‘unwise and untimely.’” (King 806) King wrote the response to correct the misconceptions held by the clergymen and to justify his nonviolent campaigns. He felt that the white power structure left the black community with no option but to persuade the community to face the issue directly. King targeted his “fellow clergyman”, the community, and churchgoers.he responded to the clergymen’s criticisms with patience.

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Have you ever wonder how Dr Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the best speech in human history and wrote a letter that brings people together? It's because MLK focuses on using Pathos and Logos. The speech and letter that we are comparing are “I have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, both are written by MLK. “I Have a Dream” MLK wrote for public at the Lincoln Memorial. “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Mlk wrote it to 8 Clergymen in response to criticism.

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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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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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He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the biggest visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. This man was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In both of his writings, he used pathos and logos to appeal to the audience and fit the occasion.

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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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In 1963, Martin Luther King delivered one of the most influential and impactful speeches in history. King's I Have a Dream speech was consistently powerful assertions of emotional appeals, repetition and paradox. In King’s speech, he utilizes pathos to build a relationship between his black and white audience. This is evident through his references to both  black and white children and the history of slavery which appealed to the audience members of the older generation.

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To begin with Dr. King used logos in his speech to educate the people and give them evidence and logic. Dr. King used both logos and pathos in his speech here is an example of logos used in his speech. “ Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, Signed the Emancipation Proclamation. ”(King 261) is the quote that Dr. King wrote in his speech. He is telling them that the African Americans have been free for five hundred years and that was a great point in history but the African Americans aren’t treated equally or fairly.

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Martin Luther uses logos effectively throughout his speech. Dr. King says,“ But one hundred years later, the Negro is not free” ( Luther). The fact is that one hundred year has past still no improvement on the situation. Another example is the analogy “ America has given the Negro people a bad check a check which has not come back marked insufficient funds”( King).He reasons that most people are understanding lack of money. King’s speech was effectively because of how he formatted his speech.

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