In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., stands up against the racial inequalities that plague not just the state of Alabama but the United States as a whole at the time. He claims the solution to racial inequality and the next step in furthing the civil rights movement is through nonviolent action. King’s passionate tone creates a sense of pride and confidence in his cause; as well as his use of ethos, logos, and pathos give the letter a sense of structure and unity. The purpose of Martin Luther King Jr. writing “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was to address the article published by eight local clergymen “A Call for Unity”. In the letter King defend his right to non-violently protest racial inequalities …show more content…
Similarly to how he addressed his fellow clergymen, later on in his letter, King recognizes himself as an extremist. Asking the rhetorical question,“Will we be extremist for hate or for love?”, the question creates an either/or dilemma. (1309). No pressure! King lets his readers know that “Jesus was an extremist in love”, and “Martin Luther”, “John Bunyan”, “Abraham Lincoln”, "Thomas Jefferson” were all extremist as well. (1309). By using well-known names from history and characters in the Bible, King creates a dilemma due to the fact that each of these people are highly respected for the things they have done. The either/ or fallacy is the suggestion that only two alternatives exist when in fact there are more. He uses the either/or logic fallacy to support his claim that extremism is necessary to further the civil rights. He makes it very clear that the time to act is at hand and that his audience is either willing to actively support the cause, or they are actively hindering it. King creates the illusion that all of these famous people he listed are on his side of the argument. The reader then must again choose to either side with King and all these other influential figures, or be against them. This use of logos convinces his audience that that nonviolent direct action is the only option. The reader must be with King, or against