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Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Fight For Equality With White Men

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Just as his use of word choice does, King's use of juxtaposition also strongly supports his claim. King begins use of this rhetorical device by stating, “We watch black men fight for equality with white men, but then we realise they would hardly live on the same block in Chicago.” By saying this King lowers the counter arguments credibility. He is opening our eyes to the injustice present in the Vietnam War. King also uses juxtaposition to appeal to in this statement to appeal to pathos. This forces his audience to have empathy for these men who are fighting for others freedoms, while being denied their own. Without justification, King would lose the comprehension of the audience, and his message would lose relevance.
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Dr. King’s response to the Clergymen’s statements seems to “just” their “unjust assumptions. Starting with Dr. King using his authority of being a person of color; while the Clergymen have legal authority they do not have racial authority. The Clergymen have not experienced the racial prejudice that Martin Luther King and the black community have. Martin Luther King uses examples such as “When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children.” (page 176 paragraph 14)

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While imprisoned, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, ‘A letter from Birmingham Jail’ as a response to eight clergymen who published a statement that emphatically disagreed with King’s methods of protest towards racism. Dr. King’s reply is demonstrated in a writing style that could be described as ‘efficient’ as he balanced different aspects of organization of his thoughts and passion through use of rhetorical devices to achieve an effective argument. Dr. King, possibly from his pastoral background, wrote his letter in an eloquent, sermon-like matter, yet it was his use of rhetorical devices that effectively stitched his argument together and gave it an interesting flow, either by reminding the reader of his purpose in writing, or to progress through his reasons in an impactful way.

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Dr. King felt passionate about his belief that America's involvement in the Vietnam war was unjust, and decided to write a essay on the topic. Dr. King used many persuasive elements to better his chances of affecting the reader. For example, he uses factual information to push points, reasoning to back up said facts, and emotional appeal to speak to the reader on a personal level. Dr. King makes specific points on the unjust use of the poor during the war and the persistent issue of social inequality still plaguing America. Using these methods Dr. King is able to better persuade the reader on the issue at hand.

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King also uses an antithesis when he writes “when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society” (King, paragraph 14). The use of the words “poverty” and “affluent” show the extent of the injustice faced by Black people. King describes Black people as being stuck in a cage to show that their rights have been deliberately stunted, and whilst everyone else in the

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1066 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout reading King’s letter “From Birmingham City Jail” there are many strong points made that could easily compel the reader to understand his point of view. Each paragraph was intricately written to have a deeper meaning. One paragraph that stood out to be the strongest was paragraph twelve. This paragraph had strong points that put the reader in a poignant standing with in the situations that were brought upon, one could easily feel the inequality expressed. If we look at the previous paragraph building up to this one, King starts off by saying “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King 5).

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He demonstrates this by applying Abraham Lincoln ’s quote, “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free” (31) and that of Thomas Jefferson’s “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” (31). King specifically used these to his advantages in order to not only remind the clergymen how and who helped this country came to be, but the explicit connotation of those words. The effect will be significant enough for the audience to relate and reflect how a nation can be capable of great damage from this foreseen

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King is trying to show his audience using his pathos and appeal to emotion fallacy examples, that if the roles were reverse the whites would do

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I agree with him that unjust laws are giving a false idea of superiority and just laws as something that will uplift other personalities, he states, “any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality” (King 3). This is important because he wants to informs his brothers and sisters that the government shouldn’t just focus only on themselves but think of the communities around them. For instance, King states “all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent negroes from becoming registered voters,” which in some countries African-Americans make up most of the populations yet their rights are taken away. Through the use of logos; the appeal to logic, King mentions, “I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit..”

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Compelling Craft The craft of using words to create a mood or an atmosphere takes great skill to make an audience understand and feel the cause a writer is fighting for. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist from the 1950’s to the 1960’s, wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail. In his letter he made a compelling argument to a group of clergymen, who questioned his quest. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his compelling argument using pathos, ethos, and Kairos by utilizing personal experiences, expressing a moral obligation to help, and his timely involvement for direct action.

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Why would King risk the dangers of speaking his mind on issues that could cause harm to him and his loved ones? Why would King risk going to jail by simply just stating his opinion? King’s father was a Baptist minister who always educated the importance of faith. King would take this faith to Morehouse College and Boston University where he would earn a doctorate in systematic theology. Before the famous speech, King was involved in many anti-segregation movements, such as the Montgomery Boycott, The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the March on Washington.

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King’s third paragraph is his final reason, as he states in the first sentence. His third reason for protesting the war is his morals. His claim is that morally he cannot stand by with the violence that is being used, when he wants everything he does to be nonviolent. When he tells followers not to use violence they ask “what about Vietnam? They ask if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems” (Paragraph 3).

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While King does not directly draw conclusion to this, similar motivation existed with the colored community. Not only were civil ordinances used to decrease colored rights, but no representation existed. King also clarifies unjust and justice laws. King urges his audience to remember that the horrendous actions taken against Jewish people during World War II by Hitler Germany was deemed

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946 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr., a minister and social activist, led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He was an advocate for equality between all races and a civil and economic rights Activist. Because of his leadership, bravery and sacrifice to make the world a better place, Martin Luther King was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. His incredible public speaking skills and ability to properly get his message across can clearly be scene throughout the speech. Tone: Dr. King delivered his speech at the university of Oslo in Oslo Norway in front of a large group of people.

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On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy gave his remarks on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Robert’s goal was to inform people on Martin Luther King’s journey and to strengthen people’s attitudes on the whole situation. Robert’s main points throughout the speech were how the country as a whole should move forward, why the states should not resort to violence but unity instead, and he also addressed that the country needed unity, love, and compassion.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.

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