A single person’s thoughts can become many people’s actions very quickly. Whether for better or worse, change in society comes when a group of people join together. Such is the case of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American pastor who helped lead the advancement of civil rights. While in jail for protesting segregation in 1963, King wrote “Letter From Birmingham Jail'' in response to eight white clergymen who publicly criticized his actions. The letter was then published in newspapers all across America. He saturated it with powerful ethical and emotional appeals to convince the clergymen and invigorate the civil rights movement. King’s use of religious allusions and imagery creates ethos in his audience. An initial example of this …show more content…
…Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I can do no other so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."… (King, …show more content…
The listing of each person’s motivation and quote creates a rhythm, emulating the flow of time and visualizing how different people fought for freedom. Eventually, the rhythm is accelerated as the introductions to each person get shorter and shorter, representing that we are getting closer to the present. It shows that change is imminent and it cannot be stopped. Just as how many other good extremists have succeeded in their efforts, King and the civil rights movement will succeed. King utilizes repetition and imagery to create pathos in his audience. A captivating example of this is in the repetitive paragraph about the daily life of Black Americans, beginning “When you…” He writes: …when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park … and see tears welling up in her little eyes … and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos, "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean? … (King,