Martin Luther King Jr wrote the letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in the margins of a newspaper while he was in jail to respond to the clergymen who criticized him. In this letter, King was able to build a strong and convincing argument against these clergymen. He did this by using the rhetorical devices, Logos, Allusions, and Antithesis, to add strong evidence and reasoning to his argument. King, throughout his argument, uses logos to add logic to his claims to make them stronger. During one point of the essay, he explains the unjust actions and the poor treatment that people in Birmingham give to African Americans. “Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any …show more content…
Secondly, King built a strong argument by using allusions throughout his letter. Throughout his argument, King makes reference to the Bible and other religious beliefs to build his argument and to compare and contrast two ideas. “It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the law of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that higher moral law was at stake.” (Para. 21. Pg. -. 277) In this quote, King uses an allusion by making references to the Bible. In making these references, he’s referring to something that a lot of people know and understand. Referring to something that people can understand builds a stronger argument by allowing the people to compare the two things and have a better understanding. Finally, King uses antithesis throughout his letter to build a better argument. In his letter, King uses the form of parallelism, antithesis, to relate two opposite things to each other. “...who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice...” (Para. 23. Pg.